Natural Materials Cuff Bracelet

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This wearable art is a terrific fashion statement!

Age: 5+

Duration: 10 minutes (excluding drying time)

Learning Outcomes: Learn about the textures and properties of natural materials through manipulation of paper and card board. Exercise fine motor skills.

You’ll Need:

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Before metalwork became commonplace, jewelry was made with natural materials like wood, bone, leather and porcupine quills. Bone and wood beads could be strung on leather strips, but porcupine quills have to be softened before they can be used. Additionally, rawhide can be wet down, molded and once dry will keep it’s shape. Finally, wood can be steamed to the point where you can bend it! Our version of this craft doesn’t use real rawhide, but students can experiment with paper-based versions of rawhide wet-molding and wood bending.

First cut a 2″ strip of the leather design craft paper and set it aside. You will need it later.

To start, mix a solution of 1/2 a cup of white school glue and 1/2  a cup of tap water. Warm water makes mixing easier, but cool or cold water works too. Just make sure you mix the glue in completely, so there are no gluey lumps in the solution. Once your solution is thoroughly mixed, submerge your craft stick in the mixture for up to 90 seconds. To make this process easier, we used the lid of one of Roylco’s beautiful bins!

Once the craft stick is soaked, pull it out of the solution and start to gently bend it into a circular shape. Just like traditional bending wood, your craft stick can still break if it dries out or if you bend it too quickly. Carefully place the bent craft stick inside an empty Play-doh® container so the bracelet will keep its shape. Allow to dry for at least two hours.

Once the craft stick is dry, remove it from the Play-Doh® container. Lay the 2″ strip of paper in your glue and water solution for a second or two and then gently roll the sheet over the outside of your craft stick. Fold the edges inside so the paper is smooth over top of the craft stick. This technique is similar to wet-molding, and because there is glue in your solution, the paper will be firmly glued to your craft stick once everything dries. Place the paper-covered craft stick back in the Play-Doh® container.

Once the bracelet is dry, decorate it with pencil crayon, marker, crayon or paint. Or try cutting out collage shapes from other sheets of craft paper and glue them on to your bracelet.

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Craft Stick Bracelets

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Make beautiful bracelets using our R39100 Wild Animal Craft Sticks! An ingenious process creates a curved shape in the craft stick that you can use as a bracelet!

Age: 4+

Duration: 10 minutes. Project dries overnight.

Learning Objectives: Combine craft stick designs with flower pieces to make beautiful combinations. Observe the effects of glue and water on manipulating the shapes of craft sticks. Use simple techniques to create an effective, visually appealing product.

You’ll Need:

R39100 Wild Animal Craft Sticks

R15657 Wild Flower Paper Bits

• Small plastic disposable cups

• White glue

• Glue stick

• Water

• Paint tray

• Container

• Paper towels

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It’s a good idea to protect your work surface as you will be working with glue and water. Children can share one container of water and glue between each other, but that will inevitably lead to some messes!

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Set up all of the supplies you’ll need. The craft sticks are patterned in 5 different designs, but you can experiment with different designs using the Wild Flower Paper Bits.

P1019192First, mix 1 part water with 1 1/2 parts glue. You want to have more glue than water, as this will help the bracelet retain its shape. I suggest mixing the glue and water together in a bottle. Cap it off, then shake to get the two ingredients fully mixed.

P1019203Pour the mixture into a container that’s long enough to fit the craft sticks inside.

P1019206Dip one craft stick inside the container. Let it sit inside for about 1-2 minutes.

P1019211Once you remove the craft stick, it becomes bendable! Carefully press the craft stick along its length to loosen it up. Grab the ends and gently bend the craft stick inwards.

P1019213Place the craft stick inside the plastic disposable cup along the topmost rim.

P1019216Let sit overnight until it dries. In the morning, remove the bracelet from the cup to reveal a beautiful shape!

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Now you can decorate your bracelet! Pop out a few of the Wild Flower Paper Bits. Choose several different shapes and patterns.

P1019222Dab a bit of glue into the center of each flower. Layer the flowers.

P1019226Finally, add a lot of glue to the center of the craft stick bracelet and press your flower design down onto it.

P1019228Ready to wear!

P1019235You can try a number of different combinations with just a few sheets of flower bits and a great craft stick design!

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