Cardboard cuff bracelet

[Luna1375]

I posted a while back about getting all these short cardboard tubes from my boyfriend's mom. They held yarn, and when she uses up the yarn, she gives me the tubes.  Thanks to a suggestion from here, I've been making lots of cuff bracelets out of them by covering them with scrapbook paper, coating with Mod Podge and Triple Thick Glaze, then sealing with acrylic sealant.  I think they've been turning out nice!  Here's a couple of pics of my favorite one:





Oh, I also made that paper hand to display them for photos, pretty simple really, just traced my own hand. 

[Ravenau1]

Gorgeous!

[curiocait]

These look awesome & very green

Impulse buy at a craft fair? way cute, I'd totally buy one

[hello color!]

This IS cute! I actually like the inside paper better, though. I haven't seen it at the craft stores, so do you mind sharing where it's from? Thanks!

You can also cut up poster tubes to do this, if you have a source of free poster tubes. At my school, trash from the chem department (that's not chemical waste) always sits out in one of the halls for a long time before it's picked up, and I like to rummage through it for craft supplies. There's old/broken equipment, super-dated supplies, ancient furniture, and lots of mysterious stuff they keep discovering as they're getting ready to renovate the building. Would be a great site for a photoshoot, really, cause that place has this interesting, stuck-in-time atmosphere. I mention this because they tend to have poster tubes there from time to time... Yesterday, I was really stressed out before taking a midterm, and rummaging and finding some nice foam there calmed my nerves

[Luna1375]

hello color: both of those papers are from the same paper pack, "Offbeat" by Basic Grey.  Maybe I'll do some bracelets with the more subtle papers on the outside too.  I just love a bold pattern though. 

[scraparcs]

Very neat idea!  I've not seen this before and I've definitely looked at lots of neat bracelet, cuff, and bangle ideas.

[Born2bWild]

This is really cute!

[meshell]

The bracelet looks great!  You have excellent craftsmanship and a great eye for choosing patterns.

I love your idea for the display too.  I'm not sure if you are planning to take photos or set up a display to sell them, if you are I have a small suggestion!  If you could make another display in a solid color, the contrast would really make your bracelets pop.  I love the pattern on the display that you made, I think it would work great for solid colored bracelets.  Just a thought!

Hope to see more of your work! 

[Luna1375]

Thanks for the suggestion! I did try it with a solid tan color for the display, and it looked weird to me, I dunno, like it was trying too hard to look like a real hand.  Looked like a creepy sort of ghost hand in photos.  The idea for the display is really just because my own hands are ugly.

[PimpernelSmith]

Thanks for the suggestion! I did try it with a solid tan color for the display, and it looked weird to me, I dunno, like it was trying too hard to look like a real hand.  Looked like a creepy sort of ghost hand in photos.  The idea for the display is really just because my own hands are ugly.

I used to work with framing and art display, and have a suggestion:  when in doubt, or when wanting something that can be used with a variety of colors (like your display), choose a solid green.  Good, natural green almost never fights with other colors.  
       As my mentor expressed it: "Think about a green lawn; no matter what color of rubber balls you throw on it, they all look fine!"
 


I love the cuff! Does the triple glaze dry solid enough to fight humidity?  I never play with paper elements in jewelry because I live in an area with 80%+ humidity in summer, but your idea is really REALLY inspiring!