Brown Bag Handle Bracelet

Show off your stylish side with recycled jewelry crafts. A Brown Bag Handle Bracelet from Heidi Borchers is shockingly easy to make and so chic! Don't throw out those brown paper bags - repurpose them and create pretty bangles instead.


 

Materials:

• Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue in the Gold Bottle
• Aleene’s Spray Acrylic Sealer Gloss
• Brown grocery bags with handles (two handles for each bangle)
• Scissors
• Toothpick (to apply and spread glue)
• Clothespins (to hold together while drying)
• Jar (desired size is determined by desired size of finished bangle)
• Rubberband
• Acrylic paint (your choice of color plus black and/or gold)
• Cosmetic sponge
• Stencil (I use the mesh bags that you find many vegetables packaged in or the mesh that comes on the back of mosaic tiles)

Instructions:

1. Remove two handles from grocery bags.
   
   
    
2. To flatten handle into strip, run folds over scissors edge. (This would be similar to how you use scissors to curl ribbon.)
   
   
    
3. Cut approximately 2″ from each end of strip to remove the stiff ends.
   
   
    
4. To join two strips together, apply approximately 4″ of glue to end of wrong side of one strip (the side with the seam).
   
   
    
5. Overlap to glue the ends of the two strips together ad hold in place with clothespins while glue dries.
   
   
    
6. To create bangle, wrap strip around jar to determine overlap. Apply glue to one end of strip (approximately 4″).
   
   
    
7. Bring other end around to start to form bangle. Apply a small dab of glue to unglued end.
   
   
    
8. Press to join together.
   
   
    
9. Slip onto jar and secure with rubberband. Leave undisturbed until completely dry.
   
   
    
10. When dry, remove bangle from jar. To create a smooth final surface on the bangle, cut strip of brown bag approximately twice as wide as your bangle. Glue to outside of bangle, wrapping excess around to inside and glue in place. Use fingers to smooth brown bag. Let dry completely.
    
    
     
11. Paint bangle inside and out. Let dry.
    
    
     
12. Select desired pattern to use as stencil.
    
    
     
13. Wrap around outside of bangle and hold in place.
    
    
     
14. Dab sponge in black paint to pick up paint. Do not oversaturate with paint – a little goes a long way. Dab over entire stencil area being careful not to let stencil move.
    
    
     
15. Remove to reveal design. Let dry completely.Spray bangle with gloss to seal and add shine.
    
    

For a comprehensive video tutorial of this project, check out How to Make Brown Bag Handle Bangle Bracelets.