Straws and Stir Sticks Make Great Jewelry

Red, yellow, blue, white - these are just some of the colors you'll now find available when you go to purchase straws and stir sticks. They're plastic, sure, but the colors are bright and shiny, they're extremely cheap, and can be made into some fantastic earrings and other jewelry.

You'll find ordinary-looking straws and stir sticks at many different stores, but online you'll find straws with nautical designs, metallic embossing, Hawaiian prints and many other designs. These straws - or the ordinary ones - make one-of-a-kind jewelry that's great for girls and women.

With ordinary straws you have many options. Cut them into teeny-tiny pieces, cut them into lengths of several inches, wrap them in foil, paint them, or wrap them in sticker papers. String them on fishing twine - or something similar - and you'll be surprised at how great they look.

Spread glue all over the straw pieces, roll in glitter, or tiny beads, then string them. These make glittery statements for holidays or special occasions - and no one will know they're made from straws. Wrap a colorful newspaper strip around the straw, gluing it in place all the way around, then cut into sections. After string these you'll have a comic strip or other design that's never been seen before! Seal the paper with a coat of white glue, or decoupage, and the earrings will hold up a long time.

Make any number of patterns using the straws. Use elasticized thread for bracelets, anklets and necklaces. String many strands of straw sections, then attach all of them to earring hardware, and you'll have colorful, dangling earrings that are sure to catch attention.

It's really easy to work with the straws or stir sticks. To paint or decorate them, embellish the entire stick or straw, then cut into sections. It may be helpful to mark the sections ahead of time, though, to prevent placing jewels and other craft items on a cut line.

There are any number of things you can do to add glamour to the straw sections - even the novelty-type straws. Add tiny jewels, dangle a charm from the end of the straw section(s), paint (use paints specifically for plastics), add rhinestones, glue on sequin, put tiny tassels on the ends, add bead patterns between the straw pieces, glue pom-poms onto the ends, glue tiny vines and silk flowers around and around the straw sections, and plenty of other ideas - all your own!

For a completely different look, purchase loop straws, which have several loops bent into the straw itself. When you cut these kinds of straws into sections, you get straight and curved pieces that give a completely different design to the straw jewelry.

The straw jewelry projects are ideal for little girls, but with embellishments, any woman could wear them, too. Have a jewelry-making party for your daughter and her friends, or sit down with her and make your own pieces. It'll be a blast and you'll enjoy the finished products for a long time.