If you like unusual jewelry, then you will definitely like this bangle. As you might have guessed from the title, this bangle is made from bark. I used walnut bark and added some beads. This bangle will cost you almost nothing.
Total Time: 40 Minutes + several days for the bark and varnish to dry
Yield: bark bangle about 0.4 inches wide
Supplies:
- 1 freshly cut walnut branch, about 25 inches long and about 0.8 inches in diameter at cut, non-green bark should be undamaged and about 17 inches long
- knife
- scissors
- iron ruler
- bottle with a diameter equal to the diameter of the bangle you want to make
- rubber band
- sandpaper
- varnish for wood
- brush
- awl
- copper wire
- pliers and wire cutters
- beads
Steps:
- Make a cut with a knife and peel off the bark of the walnut. The bark of a freshly cut walnut branch is peeled off very easily.
- Calculate the bangle length: 3.14 * bangle diameter. Cut a strip of bark that is 0.4 inches wide and equal to the length of the bangle + 2/3 the length of the bangle to make another partial turn.
Cut the strip so that it is sharp at one end, like the apex of an isosceles triangle. Round the corners.
- Wrap the bark strip around the bottle with the narrow end on top (see photo). Secure the bangle-shaped strip with rubber band and leave it on for a few days until the bark dries very well.
- Remove the rubber band and carefully remove the bark bangle from the bottle, spreading the ends slightly apart. Do not push the ends too far apart so as not to break the bark bangle. Sand the edges of the bark bangle.
- Cover the outside and inside of the bark bangle with varnish. Leave to dry well.
- To decorate the bangle and make it heavier, add beads where there is no second turn. To do this, carefully make two holes on both sides. Pass the wire with the strung beads through the holes so that the ends of the wire are bent and hidden under the outermost beads (see photo).