Dreaming of Spring: Recyled Rainbow Necklace

We have been trying to think of a way to re-use the caps from baby food “squeezies” (which are fantastic when you are out and about with little ones!) and thought this was a playful re-imagining:

Materials

• Washed food pouch caps of various colours
• Twine or ribbon
• Wooden beads
• Gold paint
• Gold glitter
• Paint brush
• Smock
• Paint tray
• Bamboo skewer with end cut off by an adult
• Floral foam
• Scissors

Directions

• Don your smock.  Stick your skewer into your foam and put your beads onto it, placing it in your craft tray.  Paint your beads gold and while they are wet, sprinkle them with glitter.  This will make the “gold” at the end of your rainbow!

• Cut a length of ribbon or cord the size of your arm.

• Lace your caps and any beads that you may like on your cord or ribbon.

• Add your gold beads.

• Our ribbon got a bit stuck when we did a few of the beads so we first took the end of a thin paintbrush and pushed it through the bead to clean out any wooden bits.  We then used the brush end to help push the ribbon through and it worked like a charm!

• Explore various patterns, until you find one you like.

• Knot your necklace and enjoy it!

Purpose

• Re-using objects.
• Developing fine motor skills.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care & supervision.
• Remove your necklace when playing (e.g, on the playground) to prevent strangulation.
• Be sure to wash your hands after using glitter.
• Beads and caps can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things in their mouths.
• Yarn, ribbon, cord etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore it is important that it is used for its designated purpose and with direct adult supervision.
• Use a smock and a craft tray to protect surfaces and clothing.
• Be careful with a bamboo skewer as it can be sharp.  We recommend an adult cutting the end off prior to use.