Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Recycled Mini Blind Bracelets

Every morning at 7:30 a.m. I head out for a run around Silverlake Reservoir while listening to a mix of Enrique Iglesias and Megan Trainer.  Before I get to the reservoir I hike through some serious residential hills.  On pick-up days, I see everything from furniture and scrap wood to clothing and closet doors.  At least once a week I see a set of broken mini blinds sticking out of a bin.....Tangled, dusty, a few bent slats and just plain sad for finally having been replaced by new blinds or even some fancy-schmancy curtains.  I decided it was time to take those sad little slats home and recycle them into some fun jewelry.  Remember......invent new uses for things, always try to add some color and do your best to Make Your Mark!
Wrapped with my scrap fabric twine which was originally shared
 in my 2011 book, The Big Ass Book of Crafts 2
Wrapped with scrap fabric bias binding
As usual, I went a little crazy!
Watch how I made them here!
STUFF I USED
Broken mini blind slats
E-6000 Glue
Scrap fabric
Tape
Bias maker
Decorative buttons
Iron
Clothespins
HERE'S HOW I MADE THEM
1.  Roll the slats into bangle shapes and tape them to the size you need.
2. & 3.  Measure and cut 2" wide strips of fabric cut on the exact diagonal of the fabric
4. & 5.  Iron the cut 2" fabric (bias strips) as you pull it through the bias maker
6. & 7.  Glue the end to the inside of a mini blind bangle and start wrapping at a diagonal
8.  Using a dot of glue at the end of the strip, use clothes pins to hold in place until dry.
9.  Use clothespins to hold your glued decorative buttons in place while they dry
ROPE WRAPPED VERSION
10.  Knot two 1/2" wide strips of fabric together and twist one clockwise and the other counter-clockwise as you twist them together
*Sounds confusing but you'll get the hang of it!
11.  Make different color combinations
12.  Using E-6000, glue the end to the inside of the mini blind base and wrap the bangle gluing the end of the fabric twine to the inside and securing it with a clothespin while it dries.
Some with buttons, some without

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