Buttoned Up Craft Stick Bracelets

April 12, 2012

Buttoned Up Craft Stick Bracelets

I am loving all the adorable versions of this throw back craft from my childhood I am seeing all the web these days. When I got a stash of Granny's Button Box stitched buttons from Buttons Galore and More in the mail last week, I knew I had to give this old craft a new try and incorporate these adorable buttons.

The concept is rather simple. Wood can be manipulated when soaked in water since it tears down the wood fibers. So, grab some jumbo craft sticks and lets get started.

First, bring a pot of water to a boil. Turn off the burner, Insert the craft sticks and let them soak for about 10-15 minutes. Put a few more in the water than you will think you need. I broke a few not being patient while trying to bend them.

Once the sticks are soaked. Grab some appropriate sized glasses or plastic cups and patiently work them into the glass. Work slowly if you don't want to end up with a lot of broken sticks like I did. It takes a little patience to get the hang of it

These have to set up for 24 hours to completely dry. While they are drying, go ahead and grab some acrylic paints and pattern papers to coordinate with the buttons. I used Americana Acrylics by DecoArt and some older random simple printed patterned papers.

Here is another step you can do while waiting for the sticks to set up, On the wrong side of the patterned paper, use a pencil and a jumbo craft stick to trace it.

Use a pair of scissors to cut the paper out.

Once the bracelets have dried, gently remove them from the glasses.

Paint the bracelets in the colors of your choice.

Use a decoupage medium like collage pauge and a foam brush to apply the papers to the front of the bracelets. Allow the medium to dry and gently sand the edges of the papers even with the wood.

Now comes the fun part! Glue some rhinestones in the center of the stitched buttons using a tacky glue like Aleenes Original Tacky Glue.

Glue the buttons to the front of the bracelet and let dry.

My bracelet's didn't turn out as snug as I wanted them to be, so I used some chain and jump rings to pull them a little closer in. I can still fit them over my hand without using a closure such as a lobster clasp but that still be another option. Learning from this, make sure you use a glass or cup that is slim enough if you want to skip this step!