Duct Tape Bracelets

What You Need:

• Duct tape rolls, various colors and patterns
• Scissors
• Soft, bendable cardboard: rolled-up package inserts work well, as do coffee cup sleeves
• Optional: hot glue gun and decorations like beads, buttons, gems, initials, or shells

What You Do:

1. First, your child should cut a strip of soft cardboard to any width she would like for a bracelet. Make sure it's long enough to fit around her wrist.
2. Next, she can cut strips of duct tape that are just a bit longer than the width of the cardboard.
3. She should wrap each strip of duct tape around the cardboard, securing it on the backside of the cardboard by taping the ends of the duct tape strips onto what will be the inside of the bracelet. She can continue until the cardboard is covered in duct tape.
4. For securing the bracelet around her wrist, there are two options:

a) Roll up a piece of duct tape to be the “clasp” on the inside back of one end of the bracelet. She can attach or take off the bracelet by taping or untaping that end.

b) Help her measure how big she wants the bracelet to be around her wrist (big enough to slide on and off, of course!). Then she can put another strip of duct tape around the outside of both ends of the bracelet, securing it closed that way. You can help her cut the cardboard strip shorter if needed before securing it closed with tape.

5. If she would like to further decorate the bracelet, help her use the hot glue gun to attach a bead, button, shell, or gem on the outside of her bracelet.