DIY Upcycled Bracelet

I have a serious thing for jewelry. The problem is, like with any undying obsession habit, it can get pretty expensive. Even buying supplies to make my own jewelry can cost a pretty penny and extra pennies are sometimes hard to come by these days. That's why I love it when I find ways to fill my jewelry box that don't cost me a thing!

The other day, while digging around in my craft closet, I came across a bag of cardboard tubes that a relative had given to me. One in particular stuck out. About the size of an empty roll of duct tape, it seemed perfect to use as a chunky bracelet.

All it needed was a bit of sprucing up. I dug up some lace scraps and leftover streamers and got to work with my trusty decoupage glue.

I layered on the paper first for a nice pop of color in the background. Once the paper is dry, go ahead and seal it. I used a spray on sealent for decoupage. If you skip sealing it, just make sure you keep your bracelet away from water. You really don't want the paper to come undone or the color to run the second you go to wash your hands.

Now, for the lace! Glue it all around the outside and let it dry. Things can get messy if you try to rush. For the inside, I suggest using glue at its regular consistency to hold down the lace. There will be some overlapping going on and the thinner glue just doesn't have what it takes to reign in the stiffness some laces can have.

If you look close, you can see that I put another layer of paper around the inside and sealed it with a gloss spray. I just wanted to smooth things out and make sure my lace stayed in place. There's a reason I suggested using thicker glue for the inside. Ha!

I may have mentioned this in a past post, but I really love projects that are flexible. Nothing kills my imagination and enjoyment like instructions that are set in stone. The beauty of this project is that you don't have to use any of the same objects I've used here. Use anything that will fit your wrist. Trade the streamers for tissue paper, pages from a magazine, or hell, even paint it! Who says you even have to use lace at all? Give the kids some crayons and a few stick-on plastic jewels and it's time for dress up! There are so many things you can do!