How to Make Your Own Rubber Bracelets

You love the look of those rubber bracelets that seem to be all the rage. But you’ll be danged if you’re going to pay for some flimsy rubber bracelet that only comes in colors you hate, like puce or neon yellow. You can make your own rubber bracelets, totally personalized to your own taste, with a few simple supplies and a few simple steps.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rubber items
• Cutting instrument
• Glue (optional)
• Paint and adornments (optional)

1. Get the rubber. You want to find a rubber tube or circular piece that fits around your wrist. You can browse for such things at hardware, home supply or plumbing stores. You can also get creative and fashion rubber bracelets out of old tires, rubber mats or other debris you find in the garbage or at a recycling center.

2. Decide on the width. If you intend to write something or add adornments, make the bracelet at least a quarter-inch wide. You can go funky and make them several inches wide if you plan on adorning them with several novelties. If you are going to wear several at once, thin looks nice, with a width no more than a fraction of an inch.

3. Cut the rubber to the desired width, and length if applicable, for your personalized bracelet. Use a pair of very sharp scissors or, if the rubber is too thick for that, a pair of pruning shears will to the trick. To insure a uniform width, you can use chalk to draw a line indicating where you are going to cut.

4. Make a closure, if necessary. If the rubber is stretchy, you can sew the two ends together with a very thick thread. If the ends are too thin for sewing, you can overlap them and secure with a heavy-duty glue. If the ends are thick enough, you can use a snap closure, sold at fabric and craft stores.

5. Add your adornments. You can write messages on the bracelet, such as “I love me” or “Michigan rules.” You can use a tacky craft glue to stick the rubber with studs, rhinestones, pieces of broken jewelry you no longer wear or whatever else you may find lying in a jewelry box or ditch.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure both the paint and glue you use is permanent, heavy-duty and waterproof.
• Good jewelry adornments include anything shiny, shells, charms, broken pieces of old statues or bones. You can also use beads, studs and chunks of wood.
• The more outlandish the material used-like a toilet plunger top, disinfected, of course, the cooler your rubber bracelets will be.
• Make sure the glue and paint are thoroughly dry before wearing.