Trendy Ikat Bangles

Trendy Ikat Bangles make for a great gift idea or customize the jewelry for a special outfit for yourself!

This is a sponsored post for DecoArt for whom I am a Core Blogger. As always, all ideas and opinions are 100% my own.

Mother’s Day is around the corner. One of my first thoughts for gift ideas on Mother’s Day is almost always jewelry! Why not give mom something you would like to receive yourself? Today’s craft project is a fun and simple Mother’s Day gift that can be customized to her liking and style. (Not into giving this out as a Mother’s Day gift? Then make it for yourself for that special outfit you’ve been saving in the closet!)

Either way, the best thing about these Trendy Ikat Bangles, is that you have total design control to make them however you like!

Supplies:
Wooden Bangles
Safari Life Decou-Page Paper
Gloss Finish Decou-Page
Americana Acrylic Paints in Ebony, Sea Aqua, and Boysenberry Pink
Assorted paintbrushes
High grit sandpaper

DIYBangles.com was kind enough to send out some of their wooden bangles to dress up!

I was able to match up Americana Acrylic paint colors perfectly with the ikat-patterned Decou-Page Paper.

Let’s start with the larger bangle. Paint the inside and outside bangles in your desired colors. For me that was Boysenberry Pink on the outside and Sea Aqua on the inside.

Apply decoupage to the flat areas on the bangle then press a piece of the decoupage paper over it. Give it a moment to dry then lightly sand the edges to “shave off” the excess paper.

Use a thin paintbrush to outline the decoupage paper in Ebony paint. If your fine paint skills are similar to mine, it will look like eyeliner gone terribly wrong! Don’t worry, we’ll fix it up in the next step.

Allow the black paint to dry then lightly sand edge of the flat surfaces on the bangles to thin out the black paint. This will create a more polished look and get rid of that crazy eyeliner look.

Finally, apply a couple of coats of the Gloss Finish Decou-Page to the bracelet.

Cut a strip of the Decou-Page Paper that you want to use on the thin bangle. Make sure it will be big enough to wrap around the bangle.

Tear the paper into little strips. Decoupage each piece of paper to the bracelet, keeping the papers in order as you tore them. This will keep the pattern intact. Only add decoupage to the rounded front and sides of the bangle. Do not decoupage the back side.

Once paper is decoupaged all the way around the bangle it will look a little odd with all that extra paper pointed toward the inside.

Lightly sand the paper around the edges to remove the excess.

Paint the inside of the bangle in one of the matching colors of the paper.

Apply a couple of coats of Gloss Finish Decoupage all over the bangle once the paint is dry to make it nice and shiny.

Once the decoupage coating is completely dry the bangles are ready to be worn. Pretty easy right? You can definitely whip up some of these for mom next month! Or create that custom piece of jewelry you need for the one outfit you just can’t find anything to go with.