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Macaroni Made: Cardboard Tube Bracelets

Earth friendly crafts for April

By Kindle Rising April 21, 2011
At last week's Earth Day Festival I did a craft that made use of recycled cardboard tubes.  While I started collecting toilet paper rolls months before the event, and even had friends contribute to the cause, I still needed to come up with something that would allow me to cut the rolls at least in half in order to have enough.  As I sat pondering a cut TP roll one day, the following idea was born:  Bracelets!
Materials
  • Toilet paper or paper towel rolls
  • Paint (and brushes), markers, crayons
  • Decorative materials (I used scraps of paper and a jar of colorful buttons)
  • Glue
  • Clothespins*
What To Do
  • Cut the tubes 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide
  • Cut a slit in one side to open up the tupe
  • Decorate the tube with paint, crayons, etc.
  • Glue on decorations
  •  *If you use paint or a lot of glue, you'll want to hold the two ends of the bracelet closed with a clothespin while it is drying.  Otherwise the roll opens up and won't stay on your wrist after it's dry.

Ta da!  A neat-looking bracelet and a very cool new way to use a cardboard tube!