A Clever DIY That Turns A Hot Sauce Cap Into A Statement Drawer Knob

To the Cholula fans with a taste for upcycling, haven't you held this hot sauce bottle's wooden cap and noticed its future potential? Small and rounded with a flat top and an appealing pale wood finish, it's got to be good for something beyond the garbage can. Cue a charming drawer knob. It's just the right size for an easy grab, and the wood looks good as-is. With a heavy-duty glue like E6000 — a glue you should keep in your home — and a nut and bolt, give a Cholula cap a functional upcycle in the amount of time it takes for the glue to cure.

True hot sauce aficionados might have a varied collection of Cholula products on hand. If you're tempted to paint the caps for an enhanced look, recipes beyond the original (like chipotle or chili lime) come with wooden lids already tinted red or green. Then again, the blonde wood would soak up paint or stain nicely. Once you've got your cap or collection of them, pick up some nuts and bolts that match the thickness of your drawer face or cabinet door. The most standard size is a #8 screw that's 1 inch long, but you may need a #10 or #12 one if your drawer is thicker. If you can shop in person and handle the hardware before buying, it's not a bad idea to bring a Cholula cap along with you to check that the screw's head will fit inside it.

Make sure that the inside of the cap is nice and clean before applying the glue. Put a dab of E6000 inside the cap, and place the screw's head into the glue. The screw should stand as straight as possible. Then, let it stand undisturbed for at least 24 hours before affixing the knob onto your surface of choice. If you're worried the screw might tip out of line while the glue dries and cures, add a bit of hot glue around the edges of the screw. It's not as strong as E6000, but it does harden to a decent hold very quickly.

This amazing way to reuse bottle caps may be best for drawers that slide easily or for cabinet hardware. Even though some glues are remarkably strong, the bond might not hold after lots of hard pulling. If you're sold on creating a set of custom pulls, you can use a bar of soap to keep your drawers stuck-proof; rubbing a bar along the drawer's tracks or any troublesome spots can reduce friction and result in less force you'll need to put on the DIY knob.

Don't like the spice but like another kind of sauce? Many liquor bottles are also topped with attractive caps that deserve a longer life. Granted, these types typically are cork-style, fitting inside the bottleneck rather than screwing over it. This will entail attaching it to the door or drawer by driving a wood screw into the cap to hold it on. Because no glue is involved, you may end up with a more durable pull.