Superhero Cuff Craft

A superhero costume often includes arm band cuffs.

Make a pair of superhero arm cuffs to wear with a costume or with street clothes. The superhero trend comes in the form of movies, television shows, books and comic books. Even young children understand the concept of a superhero and often have their favorites. The arm cuffs are different for each hero, either in shape or design. Create cuffs from a variety of inexpensive materials. Match the cuff design to a particular superhero costume, or let children make their own.

Paper Plate

For each child, cut a paper plate in half. Roll each plate half into a cone shape. Place a piece of tape on the seam to hold each cone shape together. Cut the point of the cones off at about 4 inches from the point. Remove the tape and unfold the two cones. Have children use markers or crayons to draw a design on each of their cone-shaped cuffs. Roll the cones again, overlapping the edges until the cones fit around the child's wrists and allow him to slip the cuffs off and on. Tape or staple the seams together.

Felt or Foam

Measure and cut a piece of craft foam or felt wide enough to fit around a child's wrist and add 2 inches to overlap the piece at the seam. Measure from the wrist to just below the elbow to cover the entire forearm. Make the length shorter if you want. Cut a second piece the same size. Help the child use chalk to draw a design on the center of each of the pieces. Spread glue onto the design and sprinkle glitter over the glue. An alternative is to help children draw and cut a design from scraps of foam or felt and glue the design onto the cuff piece. Fit the cuff around each child's forearm, overlapping about an inch. Glue or staple the seam to hold it.

Plastic Soda Bottle

Cut a 4-inch-wide piece from a 20-ounce plastic soda bottle. Keep the circle intact. Cut two plastic circles for each child. Help the children cover the edges around both plastic circles with colorful electrical tape. Have the children use permanent markers to color a design on each cuff.

Ribbed Fabric

Recycle sweaters, knit shirts or gloves to make superhero cuffs. Cut the cuffs from the sleeves of a shirt or the wrist cuff from a pair of gloves. Have the children glue large buttons or flat beads onto each cuff as they wish. children can pull the stretchy cuffs over their hands to fit their wrists or forearms.

Cardboard Tubes

Make superhero cuffs from paper towel, toilet tissue or wrapping paper tubes. The children should cut a slit down the length of a cardboard tube, then cut the tube to be as long as they wish. Provide gold or silver cording, colorful yarn or aluminum foil pieces for the children to glue onto the cardboard tube cuffs as they wish. The cuffs will not fit completely around most children's wrists, but will slip off and on easily.

References

• Family Fun: Off the Cuff Bracelets

Resources

• Super Hero Squad, Marvel: Heroes Squad Pictures