Silly bands - theyre all the rage! Nearly every little girl in America is now wearing the silly bands, and for that matter, lots of boys are too! The colorful and uniquely shaped bands are actually cheap bracelets that have caught on like wild fire. No, it doesnt cost a lot of money to buy a handful of the popular bands but why bother? Especially since its much more fun to make them yourself. Whether youre a child or an adult youll have fun coming up with the designs, the colors and the styles of the silly bands you want rather than having to grab what they offer at the store. All of your childs friends will absolutely have to know where he or she got them; now its up to the child whether or not to give away the secret! Quickly run in to a craft store and grab a few sheets of flat craft foam. Youll find its available in packs of the same color, packs of assorted colors, small sheets or large sheets, and individual sheets in a multitude of colors. Its not going to take a lot to make one silly band so youll have plenty of each color left over. Thats okay, though, because the foam sheets are not expensive and can be used to make even more bracelets for your childs friends or to use for other craft projects.
Decide on the design you want for the first silly band. Often, you can find images in coloring books that are helpful to make patterns. Large pictures of stars, suns, flowers and similar objects can be perfect for creating unique shapes for the new silly bands. You can also create your own shapes and designs just by drawing them onto the foam. Measure around the childs wrist and cut that measurement in half. Mark two dots on the foam to show the width of the wrist. Do not go between those two dots as you cut and draw or the new bracelet will be too small.
Decide on the design you want to use and draw it on the foam. Draw a zig-zag shape all the way around, draw a wavy circle, make a flower pattern or choose something else. After drawing it onto the foam youll actually draw it once again - only larger. A mere eighth-inch from the original drawing go around the perimeter of the drawing and duplicate it. Now you have a band shape that features the design you want. A helpful tip: use a disappearing ink marker from a craft store and your bracelets wont end up with ink marks on them. Begin cutting out the bracelet by cutting the outside shape out first. Take care to be accurate and make sharp cuts wherever there are points and corners. A pair of scissors with a very sharp end is pertinent. After cutting the outside of the bracelet you can then cut the inside. Make sure you are very accurate while cutting or the band will be wider in some places and more narrow in others. Thats it; youre done! The bracelets stretch enough to allow the child to easily slip them on and off the wrist but hold their shape once theyre on. You can embellish the bracelets with things like sequin and glitter and that allows you even more options for making the bracelets unique. Kids wear several different bracelets at a time so go ahead and make many more while youre at it. It only takes a few minutes to make each one so its not a big ordeal to make dozens. Theyre perfect to give as gifts or for kids to just share and trade. Drop them in Christmas stockings and Easter baskets. Make black and orange sets for Halloween or choose neon colors of craft foam to make wild shades that grab attention. Your kids will love them - of course, you already know that!
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