Popsicle Stick Bracelets

My daughter loves playing dress-up, and most of all, loves jewelry of any kind. Sure, you can find all kinds of kids' jewelry for cheap, but sometimes you also get what you pay for...meaning lots of tears after a necklace or bracelet breaks after 5 minutes of wearing it. So, if you're wanting cute kids' jewelry that costs you almost nothing, then these popsicle stick bracelets are perfect! Plus, it's a fun way to spend an afternoon and keep the kids feeling creative.

To Make Popsicle Stick Bracelets, You'll Need:

Popsicle/Craft Sticks {I got mine from CraftProjectIdeas.com}

Emery Board or Sandpaper

Acrylic Paints

Paint Brushes {I got mine from CraftProjectIdeas.com}

Glitter Glue {I got mine from CraftProjectIdeas.com}

Acrylic Jewels {I got mine from CraftProjectIdeas.com}

Craft Glue

Step 1: Place popsicle sticks in saucepan filled with water*. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for another 20 minutes {You could also place the popsicle sticks in a bowl of water and let sit overnight}. This will make the popsicle sticks pliable and easy to work with.

*You may have a few sticks break or split while trying to bend, so prepare to have extras as backup.

Step 2: Start working the popsicle stick into a circle*. If you use larger craft sticks, you can fit them into the opening of a drinking glass to keep the round shape. My daughter's wrists are pretty small, so I ended up putting the sticks into the inside of a toilet paper roll.

*If they start to dry while you are working with them, they will most likely break or split. So, just get them wet again as needed. Hot water works better than cold water.

Step 3: Let the sticks dry overnight. Remove from glass or toilet paper roll and try them on your child's wrist. You don't want to make bracelets that don't fit! If they are too small or are bent weird, you can re-wet them and start again or adjust. If you have small splinters, you can smooth them out with an emery board or sandpaper.

Step 4: Time to paint! For little kids, these brushes worked great and I didn't have to worry about my nice brushes getting ruined. They are the perfect size for little hands! I also like to use plastic Tupperware lids for acrylic paint projects. It peels right off and works great as a nice little palette for the kids to paint with.

Step 4.1: Paint the outside of the bracelets in any colors you choose. You can paint the insides if you want, but with a three year old, that's a little more of a mess than I'd like to deal with... Let dry completely.

I also wanted to give Christy's Cuties a shout-out for making the adorable apron!

Step 5: Add glitter {of course!}. Glitter glue in tubes worked great for little hands. Sure, it got a little messy, but she had a lot of fun being in control of this part! She wanted to use every color of glitter in the package, and we even made a few shapes {like the heart in the picture above}. It was a great learning activity covering colors and shapes. You can leave the glitter on thick*, or paint a line and use a brush to even it out for more coverage. Let dry completely.

*If you leave the glitter on thick, be sure to keep an eye on it as it can {and will} run! It will also take longer to dry.

Step 6: Bling it up! This is another opportunity to talk about shapes, colors, and sizes. The package of acrylic jewels had a good variety to choose from, and it was fun to let her make her own decisions to personalize the bracelets. Glue the jewels on with craft glue, or use E6000 {with a lot of ventilation!!} for a better hold. Let dry completely.

Now you're done! These were so fun to make, and would also be a great gift or party activity.

The possibilities are really endless for personalization.

Thanks again to CraftProjectIdeas.com for sending us craft supplies to play with!