01/10/2012 - Rubber Circle Bracelet

This is one of those projects that just happened. I started cutting out rubber circles with a different project in mind, but it evolved into this bracelet. 

Recycled Material: rubber inner tube
Other Material: jewelry wire, beads

Tools: scissors, 2" round craft punch, long nose pliers


How I did it: As with most of my rubber projects, I cleaned and prepared the inner tube by slicing it open before I started cutting. I used a 2" Fiskars round craft punch to make circles - I made about 14 circles. The inner tube that I used was a tad bit thick so it took a few pressed of the punch and a little bit of pulling the circle out to make it work. I ended up using scissors to cut out the inner circle so the width around was 3/16". I then overlapped the edges of two circles and used the jewelry wire with a faux pearl strung on it to connect them. I tucked the ends of the wire between the two rubber pieces and clamped the wire down with the pliers. I wired 4 circles together like this then connected the first and last circle to make the bracelet. I then repeated this process on a separate bracelet then put one over the other so the edges of two of the circle from the top bracelet were centered over the middle of the circles on the bottom bracelet. I did not attach the two bracelets together because I think it would have made it look to "clunky".

What I would do differently: I am quite pleased with how this turned out so I wouldn't change anything on the structure of the bracelet. I used some cheap pearls left over from a project I did a few years back, so next time I will use a nicer bead. My mother-in-law suggested using silver beads, which I think would look really nice. One thing that I would love to figure out is how to drill holes in bicycle ball bearings to make beads. I asked my hubby, the bike mechanic, if this is possible and he said they are made with stainless steel and would be hard to clamp and to get the drill set to make a hole. I am stubborn though and will probably give it a try anyway...with safety glasses so I don't lose an eye.