We love the look of rustic leather mixed with elegant lace, so we made these Boho Chic Bracelets. For these, we got leather bands at the craft store, but we have also made these with old leather belts from Goodwill! (For an upcycled belt version, you’ll need to add a closure.) You can raid your stash for lace and brooches or broken earrings or shop for these goodies at the craft store, too.
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How To Make Boho Chic Bracelets
Materials
Leather Wristband (Medium) (1¼” x 8¼”)
Plaid Folk Art Waterbase Stain, Oak #2802
1” wide lace trim
1” to 1½” wide rhinstone brooch (or earring or shank button)
6 to 12 Flatback Swarovski rhinestones, crystal, 3mm to 4mm
Wire snips
Sponge
Scissors
Toothpick
E6000 craft glue
Steps
1. Dampen the sponge with the Oak stain and rub it into the surface of the wristband using a circular motion. Let dry.
2. Cut a 6” length of lace trim. Center the lace on the wristband and glue with the E6000. (We snapped the wristband closed and centered the lace that way, so the lace is actually a little closer to one end, but it looks centered while you are wearing it.)
3. Snip the shank or pin off the back of the large rhinestone button or brooch. Glue onto center of the wristband with the E6000.
4. Using a toothpick, apply glue to the back of each rhinestone and glue along the edges of the wristband.
Here’s a little video we made showing how we glue small rhinestones onto craft projects.
Here are the Boho Chic Bracelets we made with upcycled materials. We got the leather belts at a thrift store!
We love getting pinned!
What did you use for the closure?
Hi Lena,
If you buy the leather wristbands at the craft store, like the ones we used in the top photo, they come with snaps already on them. For the ones we made from leather belts, we used screwback button studs and cut a matching hole in the other end of the bracelet. Here are examples of the studs:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Darts-crafts&field-keywords=Screwback+Button+Studs
Let us know if you need more info!
Jennifer & Kitty
I can’t tell you how much I LOVE these bracelets. I’ve never worked with leather before, but I have tons of lace and ribbon scraps, beautiful old buttons, and single vintage earrings.
Thanks Loura! We love how they turned out. They are fun to make with old leather belts from the thrift store too. Sounds like you have all the goodies to make a beautiful one! Or two!
Jennifer & Kitty
Hello,
I was just wondering on the picture that you posted for the upcycled belts, how did you make the one with buttons on it? Did you actually sew into the belt or no? I would love to see a tutorial on that one if you had one. Love the work!
Hi Jenn,
Yes, we sewed the buttons on. We made a series of holes about one inch apart down the center of the leather belt. (You can look for a belt that already has holes as part of the design.) We sewed the buttons on with embroidery floss. Maybe we’ll do a tutorial or video for that one. Great idea!
Jennifer & Kitty
Love your work.
Thank you!
Love these designs, I have lots of scrap leather from my projects and my granddaughters love to work on new projects with thier grammy. Thanks for the ideas.
Thanks Pamela! Have fun!! J&K