https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/comic-book-cuff-bracelet • Posted by Shala
I love comic books and so does my husband. We are such regulars at our local comic book shop that they know us by name and even give us a discount. Sometimes, if I really like the cover or art in one, I'll buy an extra copy and always buy a few of the cheap promotional comics and search the 25 cent bin for comics to craft with. Most comics currently in print are on much better quality paper than the newsprint you might remember and work great in all sorts of projects.
I love comic books and so does my husband. We are such regulars at our local comic book shop that they know us by name and even give us a discount. Sometimes, if I really like the cover or art in one, I'll buy an extra copy and always buy a few of the cheap promotional comics and search the 25 cent bin for comics to craft with. Most comics currently in print are on much better quality paper than the newsprint you might remember and work great in all sorts of projects.
Wash your hands and use rubbing alcohol to remove any oils from your fingerprints on the bracelet blank. It's a good habit to be in whenever you are using adhesives with metal. Set the bracelet blank aside.
The template is made to fit a 1.5 inch wide by 6 inch long bracelet cuff blank. You can find these easily online, or if you're using another cuff blank, make your own template to fit. This picture is what the template looks like. The bottom is the piece that will go on the outside of the bracelet. It fits it with the outer edges along the curves fringed to fold easily around the curved top of the bracelet. The other edges are left plain. The top part of the template is the inside of the bracelet. Print the template, then cut it in half. cut out around the bottom half without making the fringe cuts. Notch out the corners. For the top half, you're doing it in reverse because it also works like a window to pick the part of the comic book you want to use for your bracelet. Pierce the inner rectangle, then cut it out leaving a window.
Use the window piece to frame pages of the comic book until you find the image you want. You can angle it anyway you want. When you decide which image you want to cut out, lay the pattern from the bottom over the image, trace it, then cut it out. Cut the corner notches off and fringe the top and bottom 1/4 inch deep and approximately 1/4 inch apart.
Put a small puddle of Mod Podge on the plate to work with, always use just a bit at a time adding more as you need it. Use the foam brush to spread Mod Podge on your bracelet blank, then starting from the center of you image, apply the image to the outside of the bracelet. Then apply Mod Podge to the inner edges of the bracelet blank. Fold in the sides first to the inside, then fold down the fringes. The reason you fringe it is because the inner diameter is a bit smaller than the outer diameter, the cuts will help it lie smoothly. Let it dry for 20 minutes, then coat the image with Mod Podge. After the outside has dried for 20 minutes, apply another coat of ModPodge.
Let that dry, then use the window again to find the inside image. This time, you'll trace the window on the page, and cut it out. Apply Mod Podge inside the bracelet, then put the image in, starting from the middle and smoothing out. Allow to dry for 20 minutes, then coat with Mod Podge. After the inside has dried for 20 minutes, apply another coat of Mod Podge.
For more durability you can spray on a coat of acrylic clear sealer after it's cured. I also used the Mod Podge to apply tiny aluminum stars on the outside. They were cut using a star punch from an aluminum can. I added 3 coats of Mod Podge over them to make sure they were well adhered.