• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Course
    • Teaching Every Reader
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Member Login

The Measured Mom

Education resources for parents and teachers

  • Alphabet
  • Reading
    • Structured literacy
    • Printable Books
    • Pre-Reading
    • Phonics
    • Sight Words
    • Comprehension
    • Fluency
    • Vocabulary
  • Writing
    • Grammar
    • Handwriting
    • Spelling
    • Writing in Pre-K
    • Writing in K-3
  • Math
    • Counting
    • Number Recognition
    • Addition & Subtraction
    • Colors, Shapes & Patterns
    • Visual Discrimination
    • Time, Money & Measurement
    • Place Value
    • Graphs
    • Multiplication & Division
    • Fractions
    • Problem Solving
  • Book Lists
    • Letter of the Week
    • Early Childhood Themes
    • Pre-Reading Skills
    • Math Concepts
    • Writing Mentor Texts
    • Versions of Familiar Tales
    • Holidays and Seasonal
    • History
    • Leveled Book Lists
  • Join Membership
Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
    • Alphabet
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Book Lists
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Membership
  • Contact

PSPKK12349 Comments

Make your own easy and beautiful milk cap letters – for tons of learning fun!

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

I am no longer sharing the printable letters in this post, but you can get printable milk cap letters with each of the short vowel spelling mats on the site. 

things you need to make milk cap letters Gather your materials.  You’ll need:

  • letters printed onto card stock (I am no longer sharing bottle cap letters, but you can get the patterns for the milk cap letters with the printables linked at the end of this post)
  • Mod Podge
  • scissors
  • 1.5-inch circle punch if making milk cap letters
  • 1-inch paper punch if making bottle cap letters
  • wide tipped paint brush
  • a collection of milk or bottle caps

We don’t drink a lot of bottled water at our house, but we do drink a lot of milk.  And since we make our own yogurt (my crew goes through about 6 quarts a week), we have more milk caps than we know what to do with.  My tutorial uses milk caps.

how to make milk cap letters

how to make milk cap letters

how to make milk cap letters

how to make milk cap letters

how to make milk cap letters

how to make milk cap letters

how to make milk cap letters

 And there you have it! It will look like the caps are dry much sooner than 24 hours later, but try not to get too eager as I did – or the paper circles will slip off the lids.  You can always apply more Mod Podge if necessary.

Love Freebies?

Subscribing to our email newsletter is completely free. And when you do, you'll get access to our library of subscriber freebies! Sign up below to get access to a wonderful variety of math and literacy resources.

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: General Tagged With: first grade, kindergarten, milk cap letters

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

Creative ways to write letter P Creative ways to make the letter V Worksheets for short o words
Rhymes for Letter K: Free printable mini-book
Free file folder game for preschoolers: Kites!

Reader Interactions

49 Comments

  1. carlee tredrea

    June 6, 2020 at 5:46 am

    Love these so much. Thank you!
    Is there any chance you could possibly make diagraphs and alternate sounds please?

    Reply to this comment
  2. Kara Coyner

    October 2, 2017 at 10:44 pm

    You can also use the Xyron sticker maker using the permanent sticker to make the backs of the numbers or letters stick to the milk top as a sticker. They won’t come off or mess up. I printed on regular paper and laminated it at school. Then I used the 1 1/4 inch punch so that the label didn’t stick right to the edge allowing it to be popped off. So far they look like they will hold. Can’t wait to make more things to extend this. Math mats-math signs ie plus, minus, equal sign, greater than less than would be great to have as well as punctuation and sight words! Or a blank editable page we could extend the letters and numbers to fit our needs for our students. Thanks for this great set!!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      October 5, 2017 at 12:33 pm

      Thanks for sharing how you’re making these work, Kara! At this point I do not have plans to add to the set, but I appreciate the suggestions.

      Reply to this comment
  3. Susan Frame

    September 24, 2017 at 10:03 pm

    Hi,
    Could I please get numbers 1-30 for the milk bottle cap size?
    Thanks!
    Susan

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      September 28, 2017 at 10:30 am

      Thanks for the request, Susan! Unfortunately I’m really busy right now launching an online course, so I won’t be able to make time for this.

      Reply to this comment
  4. D.

    July 27, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    You can also just use a permanent marker to write on the caps. I write directly on the caps and then use a dry erase marker to change the letters on the caps when I need it.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 2, 2015 at 7:59 pm

      Thanks for the great tip!

      Reply to this comment
  5. Rachel

    January 25, 2015 at 1:23 pm

    Have you ever had issues with these not sticking to the milk caps? I did exactly as you had shown above, but the letters just pull right off the milk caps. I’ll have to try again…

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      January 25, 2015 at 2:00 pm

      DId you wait 24 hours? I had that problem when I didn’t wait 24 hours. Also I have had a couple peel off, but I reapply lots of Mod Podge and let them dry. Another thing to try is to put some double stick tape under the label and then Mod Podge the whole thing. I might do that if I have others that come apart.

      Reply to this comment
      • Rachel

        January 25, 2015 at 2:02 pm

        Yes. I’ll attempt another coat tonight. Thanks for the tips!

        Reply to this comment
      • Stephanie

        December 27, 2016 at 1:40 pm

        Hi!

        Does it have to be cardstock? Will it adhere right if I were to use regular paper?

        Thank-you!

        Reply to this comment
        • Anna Geiger

          December 28, 2016 at 10:54 pm

          I don’t think there will be a problem with it adhering… I like to use cardstock because the paper doesn’t wrinkle when it gets wet from the glue. You could give it a try and see how it works. I almost think it might adhere better with regular paper. I really like these, but eventually I had a problem with the circles coming off.

          Reply to this comment
  6. sara

    November 4, 2014 at 1:09 am

    Thank you a lot for the great effort you are putting in these teachable printable samples
    they are of great help, I am sure to many of us teachers.thank you again

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      November 7, 2014 at 6:11 am

      You’re very welcome, Sara!

      Reply to this comment
  7. Paty_c

    September 28, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    Wonderful ideas!!

    Reply to this comment
  8. Coombemill

    August 12, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    Great idea for milk bottle tops

    Reply to this comment
  9. Gude @HodgePodgeCraft

    August 12, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    These look great! You could also put magnets on the back too and use them on the fridge/a cookie tray?
    Thanks for sharing at this week’s #Pintorials

    Reply to this comment
  10. Emma @ P is for Preschooler

    August 12, 2014 at 6:22 am

    What a great way to reuse milk caps – and learn letters at the same time! #pintorials

    Reply to this comment
  11. Marie

    May 29, 2014 at 3:37 pm

    This is wonderful!!
    The possibilities are endless.
    Thank you for sharing your talent:)

    Reply to this comment
  12. Beth

    May 3, 2014 at 1:17 pm

    Finally a use for all those caps I’ve been refusing to throw away. Thanks!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      May 7, 2014 at 9:10 pm

      You’re welcome, Beth! Have fun!

      Reply to this comment
  13. Terri

    March 13, 2014 at 2:19 pm

    I use milk caps in my daycare / preschool. Love them, and so do the kids. I am re-doing all of my milk caps using your printables. May I suggest that you make a set for numbers?

    Thanks!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      March 24, 2014 at 8:24 am

      Hi Terri! I hope the new milk caps work out well for you. I’ve added milk cap and bottle cap numbers at your request. Come back to the post to get them!

      Reply to this comment
  14. Paper and the Pea

    August 17, 2013 at 12:16 am

    This is so awesome! 😀 Now we just need to collect some caps.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 20, 2013 at 9:52 am

      Start drinking your milk now 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  15. Lauren

    August 7, 2013 at 7:08 pm

    I love this idea! I’m always saving our caps. I just need to get one of those punchers and I’ll be set. Thanks for sharing our paint palette idea too!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 7, 2013 at 7:10 pm

      Seriously, I don’t know how I lived without my puncher :). As I was posting this my six year old wondered when WE were going to try your paint palette idea. I guess I need to set up a homemade easel and let her get to work!

      Reply to this comment
  16. Anna Geiger

    August 7, 2013 at 5:32 am

    Thank you so much for the feature, Beth!

    Reply to this comment
  17. Michelle

    July 30, 2013 at 11:09 pm

    Thanks for sharing these. They look great! We don’t go through quite as much milk as you guys, so it might take me a little longer, but I am going to make these for my kids.They will love them.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 7, 2013 at 5:32 am

      So glad you can use them, Michelle!

      Reply to this comment
  18. Carolyn Wilhelm

    July 30, 2013 at 8:29 pm

    You make such beautiful printables and everything is so neat and organized! I had no idea about those helpful circle punches, when I get them (soon) I will click on this post first to get to Amazon. Excellent!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 7, 2013 at 5:32 am

      You’re so kind, Carolyn! I’m glad it’s an idea you can use. Honestly, I don’t know why I held out so long to buy circle punches! They’ve changed my life 🙂

      Reply to this comment
      • Carolyn Wilhelm

        October 9, 2013 at 8:19 pm

        I finally got my punches, thanks again for the great idea and patterns.

        Reply to this comment
        • Anna Geiger

          October 22, 2013 at 5:13 pm

          You’re welcome, Carolyn!

          Reply to this comment
          • Renee

            February 25, 2015 at 2:12 pm

            Hi there – this is an awesome activity. I can’t wait to try it with my preschool children. Just wondering which size paper punch you used? Amazon has extra large large and medium. Many thanks for sharing your amazing idea!! Renee

            Reply to this comment
            • Anna Geiger

              March 3, 2015 at 12:21 pm

              Hi Renee! I linked to the punches I use at the top of the post – it varies depending on if you’re doing milk or bottle caps. In the tutorial I’m using the large one for milk caps: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OMZXGU?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000OMZXGU&linkCode=xm2&tag=themeamom0e-20 (affiliate) I hope that helps :)!

              Reply to this comment
  19. Kristine White

    July 29, 2013 at 12:54 pm

    I have several sets of bottle cap letters in my classroom for spelling extensions that are starting to fade. I think it’s time to redo them with my modpodge! Thanks for the great idea!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 30, 2013 at 6:15 am

      Mod Podge feels like a miracle product to me 🙂 I hope you have success with this!

      Reply to this comment
  20. Colleen

    July 29, 2013 at 8:16 am

    Love these. Thanks for the great how -to post!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 30, 2013 at 6:16 am

      You’re welcome, Colleen!

      Reply to this comment
  21. Jennifer Fischer

    July 27, 2013 at 10:37 am

    I need to print those out! Much better than me writing on the caps with a sharpie! Thanks for including our post. I will be sharing this!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 30, 2013 at 6:15 am

      Thanks so much for sharing, Jennifer!

      Reply to this comment
  22. Renae

    July 26, 2013 at 8:23 am

    I never think about saving things like milk caps etc. What a great idea. Perhaps I’ll start. Thanks for sharing. Feel free to check us out at http://everystarisdifferent.blogspot.com.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 30, 2013 at 6:15 am

      Thanks for checking it out, Renae. Looks like you have been VERY busy over at your house!

      Reply to this comment
  23. Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

    July 26, 2013 at 7:17 am

    Great idea! I am always looking for things to make with my milk caps. 🙂

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 29, 2013 at 7:24 pm

      I hope you can use it, Gina 🙂

      Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Milk cap spelling mats - short e words - The Measured Mom says:
    September 21, 2020 at 10:51 am

    […] got out our new spelling mats and our milk cap letters (learn how to make them and get a free pattern in this post).  When you go through the cards you will find both easy and more challenging words […]

    Reply to this comment
  2. Thirty-Five Things to Save for Play - Picklebums says:
    February 3, 2016 at 3:45 am

    […] Caps – Make a colour matching game, or some letter and number caps. Make bottle cap stamps or a cool bottle cap […]

    Reply to this comment
  3. Make Your Own Alphabet Letters with FREE Printable! - Blessed Beyond A Doubt says:
    September 11, 2013 at 6:01 am

    […] The Measured Mom has detailed instructions on how to make your own letters with milk caps! She includes  FREE patterns to make them pretty, too. […]

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Grade Level Key

  • PS Preschool (ages 2-3 years)
  • PK Pre-K (ages 4-5 years)
  • K Kindergarten
  • 1 1st grade
  • 2 2nd grade
  • 3 3rd grade

Hello, I’m Anna!

Welcome to The Measured Mom. I’m so glad you’re here!

Meet Our Team

Love Freebies?

Subscribing to our email newsletter is completely free. And when you do, you'll get access to our library of subscriber freebies! Sign up below to get access to a wonderful variety of math and literacy resources.

Shop Our Newest Resources

At The Measured Mom®, our mission is to share high quality educational resources that are engaging for students and easy for educators.

Fluency Centers – MEGA BUNDLE

$39.00

Phonics Centers – MEGA BUNDLE

$49.00

A-Z Letter Cards & More

$12.00

Shop All Resources

Members get more!

The Measured Mom Plus is the perfect online membership for Pre-K to third grade educators.

Learn More

Love Freebies?

Subscribing to our email newsletter is completely free. And when you do, you'll get access to our library of subscriber freebies! Sign up below to get access to a wonderful variety of math and literacy resources.

Join our online course and get the tools you need to teach every learner in K-2!

Confidently teach every reader in your classroom. Still have time to live your life.

Learn More

Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher

Check out these recent podcast episodes:

  • What does the research say about alphabet instruction? with Dr. Shayne Piasta
  • What is set for variability? A conversation with Dr. Marnie Ginsberg
  • How to help students improve language comprehension – a conversation with Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan
More Episodes

Check out these FREE email courses...

Get strategies and tools to teach a particular topic with a free 5-day email series! Just click an image to sign up. We recommend signing up for just one at a time.

For Pre-K Educators

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

Learn how to develop this important pre-reading skill with a free 5-day email series!

How to teach preschool math

How to teach preschool math

Learn exactly what to teach your preschoolers in this free 5-day series!

For Kinder & 1st Grade Educators

How to teach kids to sound out words

How to teach kids to sound out words

Learn my top strategies for teaching kids to "sound it out"

How to teach sight words

How to teach sight words

Get strategies and tools for teaching sight words to young learners!

Tips for teaching phonics

Tips for teaching phonics

Sign up for our free 5-day email series to learn what phonics skills to teach and how to structure your phonics lessons!

For 2nd & 3rd Grade Educators

How to build reading fluency

How to build reading fluency

Learn smart strategies for helping your learners become fluent readers with this free 5-day series!

How to build reading comprehension

How to build reading comprehension

Discover the essential reading comprehension strategies for 2nd & 3rd grade and how to teach them!

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” –Matthew 6:33

Copyright © 2023 The Measured Mom •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy & Disclosure Statement  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs