Cue Rocky theme song.
This week I left my girls in charge of deciding what we would be making. Keep in mind these are teenage girls we're talking about! I'm learning that they think about boys and accessorizing the most.
They used their internet time to do a little research and came up with this idea.
 |
| Popsicle stick bracelet |
They started with wide popsicle sticks and boiled them in a pan on the stove for 15 minutes. Easy enough!
While the sticks were boiling the girls chose glasses.....the kind you drink out of.....to use to form the bracelet. They had a hard time finding glasses that would be the right size. Therefore, the bracelets don't stay on the wrist very well. So make sure you have a glass that has a small opening. I thought a wine glass would be good. We'll see about that since I plan on trying this project again myself at home.
When the sticks hit their 15 minute mark in the boiling water they carefully removed them, one by one, from the water with tongs! Originally, their idea was to dump them into a strainer to avoid the hot water but, they found that this only caused the sticks to cool faster and therefore they weren't bendable. They broke quite a few sticks in that process. So, back to the drawing board. Again, they boiled the sticks for 15 min, this time leaving them in the pan on the stove and using tongs.....Problem solved!
 |
| this stick splintered as it was shaped but this is the idea. |
Once they had their stick out of the water they were able to slowly shape them to fit into the glass. Where they would leave them to dry all night and most of the next day just to be sure they wouldn't straighten themselves out. A few of the sticks splintered as they were shaped. Notice the photo above. I wouldn't try to cover these with scrapbook paper like we did because I don't think the splinters would allow a smooth area but I thought you could actually cover it with fabric to hide the splintering and to keep your arm safe! Waste not ladies and gents. I'm going to work on that today at some point to see if it's a good idea or not.
After your popsicle stick bracelet is completely dry you can cover them with your paper. We used scrapbook paper.
 |
| bad photo....sorry. |
We traced an unshaped stick onto the back of a piece of paper, cut it out and trimmed it to fit the stick. Using mod podge we adhered it to the stick, let it dry and BAM! It's a cool bracelet!
I'm so proud of the girls for taking charge of this project and working through the road blocks that popped up. To see them so excited and so proud was truly a wonderful thing. They gave me some advice in case I wanted to do this project again. Use smaller glasses, don't reach into the pot of boiling water and take your time forming the bracelet! The students have become the teacher!
*I realise that I am not the best at writing a tutorial. Please bare with me! I'm working on it. I hope this inspires you to tackle a project of your own. I do think these would be a fun thing to make and as far as decorating them, the possibilities are endless! Fabric, paint, paper and wait for it........GLITTER! I would not suggest wearing these in the shower or while doing dishes! Not sure they would hold up!
No comments:
Post a Comment