BISUTERIA CON PALITOS HELADO

Feature Friday- Popsicle Bracelets!

by S UZ Y on APRIL 15, 2011

So I was looking through my vintage craft book

collection and ran across a 1970 Pack O Fun magazine.
This magazine specializes in childrens crafts and while I
have no children at home, Im always happy to try and
take a good idea and run with it. They had instructions
on how to take a simple popsicle stick and turn it into a
bracelet. Well, Im certainly on board for that. The
thought of being able to make wood pliable put all kinds
of ideas in my head. But well start with the project at

hand which happened to be bracelets. So just in time for

Easter Baskets, lets put together some cute bracelets.
With bling.

For this project I used:

Popsicle sticks (bought the industrial strength size

bag from Wal-Mart because this project might go in
future directions)
Drinking glass (for forming- use a glass with a top
opening that is slightly smaller than you want your
bracelet to end up)
Emory board or sand paper
Acrylic paint
Stick on jewels (for bling)
Mod Podge

The instructions in the magazine called for allowing the

popsicle sticks to sit in water overnight. Once they have
become completely saturated, it was simple enough to
curve them to fit into the top of a drinking glass.

I found that I still had to work the wood, warming it

with my fingers, to make it pliable enough to fit into the
top of the glass without splitting. My success rate was
about 60%.
So, I tried it again, but this time I used a pan of water
and boiled the popsicle sticks for about 30 minutes and
then allowed them to sit in the hot water for another 30
minutes. This time my success rate for unsplit popsicle
sticks was about 80%. Either way works well and if you
arent as picky as I am, your success rate might be
better. The sticks are cheap, so Im okay with a bit of
error.

Once the sticks are formed in the glasses, I allowed them

to thoroughly dry overnight and then easily removed
them from the glasses.
I then used an emory board to sand them so that all
edges and paint surfaces were smooth.

Now for the fun part!! I used my acrylic paints to paint

in designs. I wanted them fun and colorful. Re-wetting
the sticks with paint will cause them to open up a bit
(hence the reason that I used a glass with such a small
opening).

Another option for the bracelets at this point would be

to decoupage using scrapbooking paper. Or you could
quill it, or apply fabric, or sequins, or pompoms,
whatever your crazy mind or your ingenious children
come up with.

My final touch was to add stick on jewels that I found in

the discount bin at the craft store, and then add a final
protectant coat of Mod Podge.

A simple craft with cute results! Now what else can we

do with bent popsicle sticks? Hmmm
If you enjoyed this tutorial, you might enjoy my Ice
Cream Cart Bank tutorial. Creating a miniature ice
cream cart out of a wooden bank.
Or if you are wanting to make something cute for the
kids rooms, check out my Flip Flop Pillowtutorial!

Popsicle Stick Bracelets: DIY Tutorial

This month's Etsy Fort Worth Upcycle THIS!

Craft Challenge 'secret ingredient' is popsicle
sticks. I have been making popsicles like crazy
(and eating them like crazy) so I could use the
sticks for this project...you know, so they
would be officially 'upcycled'.
I'm really excited about the way these cute
little bracelets turned out, and I can't wait to
show you how I made them!

TOOLS & SUPPLIES:

popsicle sticks (1 stick will make 2 bracelets)
craft knife
ruler
power drill with 1/32" drill bit
fine sandpaper (120-240 grit)
round needle file (optional)
container with water
wide rubber bands
cylindrical drinking glass (around 3" in
diameter)
paintbrush
toothpick
Krylon Crystal Clear gloss finish spray
(optional)
32" 1mm leather or cord (cut into 2 16 inch
pieces)
acrylic paints
*scrapbook paper (small scraps, at least 3/4"
x 2 3/4")
*Mod Podge

* You can either paint the wood with your own

special design, or decoupage using the
scrapbook paper and Mod Podge. If you
choose the second option, we will still be using

the acrylic paint to finish the back of the

wooden pieces.

INSTRUCTIONS:

First, if you are using used popsicle sticks,

wash them well and make sure they are
completely dry.
Use the ruler to find the center of the stick.
Mine was at 2.25". Use the craft knife to cut
the wood in half. You will have to go over your
cut several times. Do yourself a favor and
make sure your blade is new and it will be a
lot easier :) When you're about halfway
through, you can flip it over and continue
cutting from the other side, but whatever you
do, don't be tempted to snap it when
it's almost done, or it will splinter and you'll
swear and throw things across the room.
I'm not saying I did that or anything... but I
could imagine that somebody might..
Next, use the drill to make holes in the middle

of each end, about 1/8 of an inch in. Run the

drill as slowly as possible to avoid splitting the
wood, which may or may not have happened
to me. Twice. Again, a less ladylike and well
composed woman than myself might be
tempted to shout profanities and begin tossing
things about, but I can assure you that I held
my composure...especially since there are no
living witnesses to tell you otherwise.
(NOTE: this is why I drill the
wood before rounding off the end...)

Use the knife to round off the cut end of the

popsicle stick. You may want to use another
rounded end and trace it with a pencil for

guidance. Don't try to take the whole curve in

one swoop; shave off small bits at a time and
you'll have better control of the curve.

Smooth the freshly shaped end with the

sandpaper to take care of any bumps or
splinters. I sanded the other end as well, so
they both matched as closely as possible. Try
to take care of the splinters around the drill
hole as much as possible too, and if you
happen to have a round needle file, this would
be an excellently awesome time to use it!

When you are satisfied with the shape and

smoothness of your wooden pieces, it's time
to let them soak! I filled a plastic container
about an inch high with warm water and let

the wood soak overnight. If you are in a hurry,

you can toss them in a pan with water and let
them boil for 10-15 minutes, then let them
soak for another hour or two in the warm
water after you turn off the heat.
We are soaking the wood to make the pieces
pliable, so we can give them a nice curve to fit
on a wrist better. This step is optional,
especially if you want to make your wooden
centerpiece shorter...or if you want to make
earrings or a pendant.

After the wood has soaked enough to make it

easy to bend slightly with your fingers, use the

widest rubber bands you can find to strap
them tightly to a (cylindrical object about 2.75
- 3" in diameter). Use your thumbs to press
the ends around the glass and encourage the
curve, and leave them to dry for a few hours.
Using a hair dryer will speed up this process,
but make sure they are completely dry before
moving on to the next step.

Now that your popsicle stick pieces are nicely

curved and dry, you can either paint them
with the acrylic paints, or decoupage them
with Mod Podge and scrapbook paper. I'll show
you the latter.

First, paint the back of the wooden pieces with

the color of your choice and let it dry. You'll
notice from the first photo below that I didn't
do it in this order the first time, but it's much
easier to paint the back and sides before the
paper is in place so you don't have to worry
about overpainting. Again...just saving you
some headaches.

When the paint is dry, paint some Mod Podge

on the top of your bracelet piece, then turn it
over and lay it on the back of the piece of
scrapbook paper you have chosen. Press the
paper to fit the curve of the wood and let it
dry before cutting the excess off with the craft
knife.

Use the toothpick to gently poke through the

paper from the back of the centerpiece, just
slightly so you can see where the hole is. Then
push the toothpick through the hole from
the front of the piece, and twist it and push it
all the way through the hole so it tucks the
edges of the paper inside the hole nicely.
Repeat for the other end.

Paint another one to two coats of Mod Podge

over the top and sides (make sure you get the
edges of the paper where it meets the wood),
letting the piece dry between coats.

OPTIONAL: Spray the front of the finished

piece with 2 coats of Krylon Crystal Clear gloss
coat, allowing to dry between coats and
according to the instructions on the can. I
always finish my decoupage pieces this way,
to give them a nice glossy shine and seal
them well. I do the same for the painted
pieces.
When everything has dried completely (and I
mean completely - don't even think about
touching this thing if it ain't dry or you'll ruin it
with fingerprints, and don't come crying to me
for sympathy), grab a 16" section of cord and

thread it through one of the holes. Tie a knot

using both strands together and secure it
firmly near the edge of the wood. Repeat for
the other end with the other piece of cord or
leather.
Cross the ends in the middle, then loop one
end around the other side of the cord and tie a
knot around it. Pull it as tightly as you can to
secure it well but so that it will still slide up
and down on the other piece of leather for an
adjustable closure. Repeat on the other side,
knotting the other end of the cord around the
opposite side of the cord. Trim the excess
cord, leaving about 1/4" of the ends sticking
out. You can snip these closer if you want to
glue the knots, just be careful to glue only the
outside of the knot so it will still slide well
enough to work; you don't want to glue it in
place. (If you glue, use hypocement or
superglue).

That's it! You're all done, wasn't that

awesome?? I had so much fun with this
project I made three different bracelets, and
next I'm going to make a pendant for a
necklace.

I'd love to see your projects, please feel free to

leave links to your own upcycled popsicle stick
creations in the comments below, and of
course I would be honored if you'd like to link
back to this tutorial on your own blog,
especially if it has inspired you to post one of
your own! However, if you'd like to include a
photo, please only use the photos of the
finished bracelets, not any of the step-by-step
or in-progress shots without asking first. If you
have any questions at all, please ask - I don't
bite (too hard) :)
BISUTERIA CON PALITOS DE HELADO