Tooth Brush Crafts

Modern toothbrushes only date to about 1940.

The toothbrush was invented in China during the Ming dynasty in the century before the discovery of America. These first toothbrushes employed pig bristles glued to bamboo handles. They spread to Europe and were in wide use by the American Revolution. But the toothbrush you recognize did not appear until the invention of nylon in 1938. Manual toothbrushes always have a plastic handle and synthetic bristles. They are inexpensive and are intended to be disposed of them after a couple months. But inventive people who don’t like throwing things away have been creating uses for old brushes for many years.

Toothbrush Costumes

Because some children balk at brushing their teeth, dentists have long suggested that parents should make the twice daily chore fun. Small children often enjoy toothbrushes dressed to look like super heroes and soldiers, fairies and princesses. Cut and glue small pieces of fabric to the brush about halfway down the stem for a costume. Use appropriately colored fabric for a face. Draw on eyes and a mouth with markers and decorate the costume with bits of ribbon. Parents should make sure the costume stays at least three inches below the bristles, but other than that, there is no wrong way to do this project. It may even convince him to volunteer to brush his teeth.

Toothbrush Bracelets

Because toothbrush handles are plastic they are easily bent into bracelets for small wrists. Remove the bristles first by cutting the head from the handle with a small saw or a very hot knife. Immerse the handle in boiling water, then carefully remove it from the water with tongs after five minutes. Bend the pliable plastic around a cup or glass then cool the finished bracelet by running it under cold water. If the bracelet does not fit, put it back in the boiling water to soften it, then try again.

Toothbrush Splatter Painting

Children instinctively understand that making art is a way of finding something unexpected. A potentially messy but otherwise easy way to do that is to equip you child with a large sheet of paper, some liquid paint and an old toothbrush to match each paint color. All your child has to do is dip a brush in paint, draw his thumb or finger across the bristles and let the paint splatter onto the paper. The effect is something like airbrushing. Your child can put his hand on the paper and splatter paint around as well. Whatever he does, the result is guaranteed to be at least pretty, interesting and, on most days, frame worthy.

Toothbrush As Artist’s Tool

Artistically inclined kids and adults who like to paint often search for new ways to apply texture and color to a surface. Many artists use toothbrushes for splatters, to simulate foam or mud for example. But because toothbrushes are rough and unload paint quickly, they lend themselves numerous, unusual, jagged effects. Paint can be textured with toothbrushes and they are one alternative to painting with a palette knife. An Oakland artist named Maryly Snow did not actually have a “toothbrush period” but she became so intrigued with toothbrushes that she began collecting them. Her International Toothbrush Collection is now the largest collection of toothbrushes in the world.

References

• Kidsgamesandcrafts.com; “Fairy Toothbrush Craft”
• Kaboose; “Toothbrush Bracelets”
• Family Gentle Dental Care; “Toothbrush Art”; 2008
• Colgate; “History of Toothbrushes and Toothpastes”
• International Toothbrush Collection; “Artist puts toothbrushes in her studio limelight”; Jolene Thym; June 1994
• Art Instruction; “Watercolor Painting Techniques:Using a Toothbrush”; 2011