Make A Dreidel Bracelet

Before: Dreidel

It's Chanukah and there are many dreidels floating around the house. Gather a few extras and create a fun bracelet to celebrate the holiday.

Happy Chanukah!

Materials
Dreidels
16-gauge copper wire

Tools
Size 52 drill bit
Flex shaft, Dremel or drill press
14-gauge cup burr or wire rounder
Needle files

Order the dreidels

Step 1
Select the dreidels and arrange them in the order you like. We used seven dreidels but the number you need will depend on the size of the dreidels. The size links you make and the length you need for your bracelet.

Wash the dreidels with soap and water. Some of our dreidels had smudges of chocolate on them since some of the game players ate their loot.

Mark the dreiel

Step 2

Drill the dreidel

Mark the dreidel with a center punch and then drill a hole in the dreidel to create a bead.

Step 3

Feed the wire through the dreidel. Use pliers to create a medium sized loop on either side of the dreidel.

Step 4

Assemble the bracelet. Attach the dreidels link by link until the bracelet is the desired length.

Step 5
Make the hook and eye clasp. Make a few chains of links to create several eyes so the bracelet is  adjustable.

After: Dreidel Bracelet by GeltDesigns.com

Step 6
Attach the hook and eyes of the clasp to the bracelet.

Related Tutorials
Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make a Dreidel Pendant
Make Dreidel Earrings 

Further Reading
"500 Judaica: Innovative Contemporary Ritual Art (500 Series)"; Ray Hemachandra, Daniel Belasco.
"500 Bracelets: An Inspiring Collection of Extraordinary Designs (500 Series)"; Lark; 2005.

Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: dreidels, sivivon
New Jewelry a Day.

Make a Bracelet from a Plastic Box Handle

Before: box handle

This is a quick and easy project made from the handle of a box. Soften and form the plastic, drill holes and add findings for a chic new bracelet.

Materials
Box handle

After: Bracelet by GeltDesigns.com

16-gauge brass wire 

Tools
Automatic  center punch

Gather tools

Drill and drill bit
Chain nose pliers
Wire cutters
Rawhide mallet
Steel block
Bail making pliers

Step 1
Gather your tools and equipment.

Step 2

Drill holes in plastic handle

Mark the plastic handle with an automatic center punch. Drill a hole in each side of the handle.

Step 3
Place the plastic handle in very warm (but not boiling) water and shape the plastic until it takes the form of a cuff bracelet.

Step 4
Use the bail making pliers to create a heavy "S" clasp using the 16-gauge brass wire. Cut off excess wire using the wire cutters. File the ends of the wire smooth using a cup bur, needle file or sandpaper.

Bracelet by GeltDesigns.com

Step 5
Place the formed wire clasp on the steel block and hit the clasp with the rawhide mallet to harden the metal and prevent the clasp from becoming misshapen.


Step 6
Feed the formed clasp through the drilled holes.

Related Tutorials
Make a Bracelet from a Handle
Make Your Own "S" Clasp

Day 111. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: box handle New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Valentine's Day Cuff Bracelet

Before: Scrap paper, metal

Happy Valentine's Day! Today is the last day in our V-Day series as the big day has arrived. Whether you love Valentine's Day or think it is a commercial hoax victimizing the American people, February 14 arrives every year. We like to use V-Day as an excuse to craft using hearts and other themes of love. 

Oops! Stamping error

Today we grabbed some scrap metal and the front page of a magazine to make a cuff bracelet. The metal was previously cut into cuff bracelet length but was relegated to the scrap heap due to a stamping error. The second letter was sideways. Oops. Nobody will know the cuff bracelet was originally created for a different design because we covered the stamping error with paper that we decoupaged as a form of cold enamel over the entire surface of the cuff bracelet.

After: Bracelet by GeltDesigns.com

Tools
Xacto knife
Self-healing cutting mat 
Oval bracelet mandrel  
Rawhide mallet 
Cross peen hammer 
Steel bench block
Half-round file 
Lortone tumbler (optional)


Materials
Scrap paper 
Scrap 16-gauge nickel silver sheet metal
Diamond Glaze or Mod Podge
Paint brush
Bowl of water (to clean paint brush)
Transparent embossing powder
Heat It Craft Tool

Cut paper to size

Step 1
Place the paper on a self-healing mat and cut out the paper using an Xacto knife. 

Step 2

Hammer the edges

Form the bracelet. Use the rawhide mallet to shape the cuff bracelet around the oval mandrel. File the edges of the metal until jewelry smooth. Place the cuff bracelet on the steel bench block and hammer the edges of the cuff bracelet to thicken the edges, add sparkle and harden the metal so it retains the oval cuff shape.

Stamped Gelt

We stamped the inside of the bracelet with our signature "Gelt."


Step 3
Decoupage the paper to the cuff. Glue the paper to the cuff. Paint Mod Podge over the surface of the paper using a paint brush. Sprinkle transparent embossing powder over

Decoupage the paper onto the bracelet

the wet Mod Podge. Shake off excess powder. Use a heat gun to melt the embossing powder.

Related Tutorials
Cold Enamel a Washer to Make a Pendant
Make a Valentine's Day Necklace from Shoe Lace Charms
Make Heart Earrings from Copper Staples
Make a Beer Bottle into a Heart Pin
Make "Kiss Me" Heart Earrings
Make a Valentine's Day Pendant from a Scrabble® Tile
Make a "True Love" Bracelet from Scrabble® Tiles
Make a Valentine's Day Pendant from a Copper Washer
GeltDesigns Tutorials by Topic
NJAD Index (Days 1 to 60) by Type of Jewelry
NJAD Index (Days 1 to 60) by Type of Found Object  


Further Reading 
"500 Bracelets: An Inspiring Collection of Extraordinary Designs (500 Series)"; Lark; 2005.

Day 86  Month 4. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: magazine, scrap metal
New Jewelry a Day.

Have a very happy and crafty Valentine's Day! Tell a friend, family member or lover how much they mean to you.