To me this is a great summer craft: making decoupage wooden bangle bracelets. It’s so easy & fun, and your decoupaged bangles will be ready to wear within a few hours.
* Note: I am talking about wooden bangles here. However, let’s use that term liberally. You could use use plastic, paper or metal bangles also. Don’t limit to wood. See what you can find at your craft store or Dollar store, or better still, see what you can recycle, and take things from there.
Decoupage How-to
- Take a plain wooden or plastic bangle.
- Find some pretty paper, like recycled wrapping paper, or some glossy magazine pages.
- Coat bangle with white glue.
- Apply paper.
- When dry, seal with another coat of white glue.
Unique Bangles Decoupage Ideas
Once you’ve made one decoupaged wooden bangle, it’s time to go WILD! Here are a list of creative ideas for your decoupage bracelet:
- Create vacation souvenirs by using maps of your favorite cities you’ve visited. Consider all kinds of maps: Disneyland maps, NYC subway maps, museum maps, city maps, country road maps … you get the picture.
First a layer of plain paper and then a whole lot of cut-out pictures of flowers to create your own flower power bangles.
- Use Chinese newsprint, for an glue on lentils for an ethnic look.
- Use printed photos of your family for a keepsake
- Pretty Japanese rice paper or gift wrapping paper for any kind of look.
- Find a theme, and stick to it. E.g. cover your bangles with vintage images from sewing patterns
- Glue on pictures of Buddha, Mother Mary, or Saints, for a spiritual bracelet. Add rosary beads to give texture. Decoupage the remainder of the bangle with cut-out crosses, roses or lotus flowers or Buddhist symbols.
- Type up personal affirmations in beautiful fonts. Cut them out and decoupage these words and phrases for an inspiring bracelet.
- Use vintage images to get some old time pep.
- Use quotes from famous people or pages from a favorite book, e.g. Pride and Prejudice.
Creative Ideas for Texturing Decoupage Wooden Bangle Bracelets
Now that you’ve got a bunch of the paper decoupaged bangles, add a few with a different texture.
- Thick layers of glitter glue can do miracles. Design a pattern of glitter glue. Then, when dry, varnish over the glitter glue.
- Glue on or stick on plastic jewels or beads for glamor. Again, varnish after.
- Glue on lentils, mung beans or other seeds for another ethic look. Also needs varnish after.
- Cover your wooden bangle up: Knit right over it using wide cables, or
- Use simple crochet stitches instead, and add crochet flowers afterward.
tag: wooden bangles
