OMTWI Kids Craft: Toothbrush Bracelets {Tutorial}

Are your kids already bored this Summer? 

I have a solution! A kid friendly, easy-to-do, adult supervision required Kid Craft: Toothbrush Bracelets!

They can be new or old plastic toothbrushes.  Just round up a bunch of kids, you can even invite the neighbors. Don't forget to have them bring their toothbrush.

The color options are endless and they are a breeze to make.

Using a Toothbrush has NEVER been so fun!!

TUTORIAL:

 Ok FIRST let's talk toothbrushes. In order to make the tooth brush bracelets you need tooth brushes that are 100 % plastic.

I got really excited when I found a bunch at the dollar store but because they are made of recycled plastic the won't bend like we want them to for the bracelets.

The best one's I found were at Wal-mart. They were in a pack of four for about $4.98, which ends up costing a little over a dollar a toothbrush...not too bad! I also found the ones that are clear with plastic striping bent better than the ones that were all plastic.

**Also, I will add that this craft can be made by kids and for kids but done completely with ADULT supervision due to the need to boil water.**

SUPPLIES:
pliers, one saucepan full of boiling water, one saucepan full of cold water, a thick dish towel, and your willing participants.



Step 1 -- You will need to pull the bristles out of the tooth brushes. I found that if you stuck the HEAD of the toothbrush in the hot water for 30 seconds and then bend the head back, it will open up the bristle holes making them easier to pull out. Do this step near a garbage can because the bristles can get messy!

Step 2 -- Place the WHOLE toothbrushes into the boiling water for about 3-5 minutes.

**I had a concerned parent who made a comment about not wanting to use a gross used toothbrush on their child. Through boiling the head of the toothbrush and then boiling the whole toothbrush for a few minutes, should rid of all the gross germies!**

Step 3 -- Remove the toothbrushes from the boiling water with your pliers and bend them into shape with your dish towel. We made ours into an oval shape and that seemed to work out pretty good. However, when you are done if you don't like the shape you can put them back into the boiling water and keep trying to get the best shape.

Step 4 -- Once you have shaped the brush drop them into the cold water to help cool off.

Hope you enjoy these bracelets like we have and that they will help you have a the best Summer!

If you have any other questions let me know!