This medical craft is a hands-on experience for all ages! Transform a common wooden tongue depressor stick into a beautiful and creative bracelet! This activity focuses on the concept of medical play as well as creative expression by combining a common medical tool such as a tongue depressor and artistic expression to create unique bracelets!
Supplies:
Large & Wide Wooden Tongue Depressors (Popsicle sticks)
A cup/glass/mug about the size of your wrist
A large mixing bowl/ tupperware container
Warm water
Markers
*Optional:
Glitter
Glue
Yarn
Stickers
Activity Steps:
Let’s begin by gathering all of the supplies needed into one open and clean area! For our younger friends, please grab an adult for help. Some of the steps may be kind of hard to do alone!
Step 1: We are going to start by grabbing our large bowl or tupperware container and filling it half way with warm-hot water. You want to make sure the bowl/container is wide enough for the tongue depressors to lay so that all of it is completely under water. For our younger friends, this is a step that an adult can help with so that we don’t hurt ourselves or accidentally spill the water.
Step 2: Now, take one of the tongue depressors and place it in the warm water. Let it soak for about 10-15 minutes in the warm water! The warm water helps the wooden tongue depressor to be able to bend without breaking.
*Tip: Use a mug or something heavy to place on top of the tongue depressor so that it is fully under the water.
Step 3: Once your tongue depressor has soaked in the warm water, we are going to take it out of the water and shape it to the size of our cup. Start by gently and slowly bending it around the outside of the cup along the curve. If the tongue depressor is too stiff or is making cracking noises, place it back into warm/hot water to soak for longer!
Step 4: Then gently bend it so that it fits and pushes against the inside of the cup you are using. Let it rest on the inside of the cup with the wide flat side resting on the inside of the cup. You want it to fit along the opening of the cup so that when the wood dries it holds the curved C shape of the inside of the cup. This step is another one that can be hard to do. Try asking an adult for help!
Step 5: Keep your tongue depressor inside of the cup and let it dry fully. This will take about a day to do. While you wait, you can start to think about how you want to decorate your bracelet! Do you want to draw a pattern, your name, or maybe add glitter/ stickers to it?
Step 6: When the tongue depressor is fully dry, carefully pull it from the inside of your cup. It should hold it’s C shape! If it starts to bend, that means it is not dry enough and needs to rest a little longer inside the cup.
Step 7: This step is all about decorating! Use markers, glitter, glue, yarn, stickers, or whatever else you have around to customize your bracelet! You can draw on the inside and outside of the bracelet, but just remember that the side facing outwards will be what everyone sees.
Step 8: Once you are done decorating your bracelet, place it onto your wrist by pushing or slipping the open part of the bracelet face down onto your wrist! Congratulations, you now have your very own unique custom bracelet to accessorize any outfit!
~Made by Mollie L.