Lolly stick bracelet

Having recently gotten into crafting thanks to my friend Marisa (you can find her here), I came across these bracelets created from popsicle sticks or lolly sticks as we know them here. Now the very idea of using a lolly stick and bending it to create a bracelet was very intriguing so I just had to try it! I found the tutorial here and have finally managed to do it, although my finished product is no where near as lovely as the bracelets in the original post.

The lolly sticks can be bent by soaking them in hot water and then shaping them by warming the wood through with your fingers. Then insert them into a glass so they hold a circular shape. You will find full details in the tutorial link above.

I did use coloured lolly sticks but the colour comes off when you boil them, so you will need to paint them again.



Once mine had dried, I painted them all, but as you can see they did open out a bit due to the wetness of the paint.



So just as the paint was drying I inserted them into the glasses again and they came back to the bracelet shape quite easily.


Once they had dried overnight, I painted some designs on each one. I have not painted in a long long time so you can see the result of an unsteady hand!!



I then added some decorative shiny bits I had lying around to add a bit of sparkle and some good old silver glitter glue.



And ta da! I love how these turned out!







Now all I need to do is buy some sealant/lacquer tomorrow and seal them with a protective coat. I was so excited, I couldn't wait until I'd done that to share this with you!
Let me know what you think - I'd love to hear your comments!

This post is linked up at:
Smile Monsters
Sun Scholars
Sassy Sites
Be different act normal
Along for the ride
Cherished Treasures
Flamingo Toes
Making the world cuter
Craft O Maniac
Sew Happy Geek