How to Make Duct Tape Jewelry

Need a project for young crafters?  Duct tape jewelry is low budget and a lot of fun.

Duct tape or sometimes duck tape is a water resistant fabric-based tape with a strong flexible adhesive. It has been the basis of hundreds if not thousands of creative (and sometimes wacky) uses, so why not jewelry?

 The  ring tutorial  above is by pinkkoala111 on Cut Out and Keep. Come to think of it, duct tape is pretty hardy material for a ring!

I've only used the boring dark grey variety but apparently you can get duct tape as racers tape (or tank tape in the UK). It comes in a multitude of colors to match paint varieties as it's used for repairing fiberglass bodywork in the racing car industry.

Rhonda over at the Dollar Store Crafts blog was really thinking outside the box as her rolled duct tape beads are made in a similar way to paper beads.

One variation is to make the paper bead style versions around drinking straws to form consistent holes. This video tutorial by the Duck brand shows they now make duct tape in sheets and in different patterns. They obviously know people are using duct tape for decorative purposes!

The duct tape rose tutorial by Ashasaurus13 is very effective with the right color tape. It's deceptively easy but I suspect I will only get bits of tape glued to me if I tried it! Someone else on Cut Out and Keep used the tutorial to make the focal in her duct tape bracelet.

Lola Ebola wanted to make duct tape roses for her wedding decor but found she was hopeless at it so she made this duct tape flower hair pin and shared the tutorial on Cut Out and Keep. A variation is this ring version on Youtube.

This simple wristband video tutorial is perfect for the younger set. It can be decorated in so many ways - with stickers, strips of contrast duct tape and marker pens. It's easily removed. Cheap too!

What to do with the left over duct tape roll when the tape is gone? Decoupage it as Bliss did in her duct tape roll bangle tutorial on Cut Out and Keep!

Some fun facts about duct tape :

• Developed during World War II as a sealing tape for ammunition cases.
• Sometimes called duck tape - possibly derived from earlier non-adhesive cotton duck tape used in Venetian blinds
• Used to hold together a makeshift carbon dioxide filtering device after the Apollo 13 space craft lost 2 of 3 fuel cells, thus saving the lives of the 3 astronauts on board
• Recommended as a restraint in case of acute psychosis on the Space Station (2001 NASA manual)
• Used as a wart removal remedy - the jury is still out as to how effective it really is
• Used as a fix with the iPhone 4's antennae problem
• Jewelry is #230 out of this list of duct tape uses

Before you go:

• Fun Statement Ring Designs and Tutorials
• Goofy Rubber Band Bracelets for Young Children
• Toothbrush Bangles

For more tutorials check out my Jewelry Making Tips

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