Do-it-yourself custom bracelets

Disc and loop bracelets make a great blank canvas for crafting!

The possibilities are endless!

All of these buttons I picked up at the local fabric store fairly inexpensively. You can also sometimes find cool button-like pieces in the scrapbooking section of craft stores.

Rings & Things carries a variety of antique brass, antique copper and antique silver buttons that look awesome on disk and loop bracelets and add a lot of texture!

On the left is a button from the fabric store. In the middle is a scrap booking brad, and on the right is silver plated flower button from Rings & Things. They all need the metal trimmed from them so that they can be glued onto the bracelet blanks. Buttons with holes can generally be glued as-is without having to remove any shanks.

Snip off the metal parts with your wire cutters.

The metal from the scrap booking brad came off very easily.

Use a metal file or sandpaper to smooth down the metal edges and make the pieces flat enough to glue.

Decide on a color palate! I decided this one would be silver and white. I added a couple Swarovksi crystal flat backs to the mix for a nice eclectic look. Use a heavy duty crafting glue to glue the pieces. I like E-6000.

Close up of the items on this bracelet! I love the combination of textures!

This bracelet combines rhinestone buttons, antique silver buttons, acrylic textured cabochons, Swarovski flat back crystals, and antique silver and crystal or pearl scrap booking findings.

I also did one with pretty shades of blue and teal! I found this bag of mixed blue and teal buttons at the fabric store and paired them with aquamarine Swarovski flat back crystals and teal acrylic scrap booking cabochons.

I love all the patterns on this one! Stripes, polka dots, sparkly grids on the Swarovksi crystals and bubbly on the cabochons.

Such an easy way to create a one of a kind bracelet!

Because pennies are a little larger and copper, I chose the oval antique copper disk and loop bracelet. Find pennies that match the years you want. For this family, the pennies are Dad (1978), Mom (1981), and the kids, 2006, 2010, and 2014. Also, to make the details on the pennies really pop, I recommend cleaning them with Penny Brite. It will make them shiny and brand new looking.

After cleaning the pennies, cover the surface with permanent marker to antique them. When done covering the top surface with ink, buff off the ink from the high points, so that the black ink only remains in the recesses, making the dates and patterns pop!

Lay out the pattern before you glue to avoid mistakes. In between the pennies, I used adorable little antique copper buttons.

I love how this turned out! What a perfect gift for mom or grandma!

I am using 15mm bezel cups for the maps, so I traced around them on the cities I wanted to highlight.

Then I cut out the map circles with scissors, trimming until the pieces fit into the bezel cups.

Next, put the map pieces into the bezel cups and then seal them by painting them with Elmers glue. Once the glue dries you can add the resin. I didn’t want to fuss with mixing a two-part resin, so I used resin spray instead. I sprayed enough into a small disposable cup, so that I could pour it into the bezel cups. I let it dry for a couple hours, then added another layer and let that layer dry for a couple hours.

Once your map pieces are ready, pick some items for the other spaces on the bracelet. I picked more of those Swarovski flat backs because I LOVE them! I used two different styles, one in golden shadow and one in red magma.

I added small apple charms to the bezel loops. I made a small cut on the loop of the charm and then opened the loop enough to attach it to the bezel cup. Then I closed the loop to secure it.

Now I have all the pieces for my Washington map bracelet!

After I put the bracelet together, I realized it needed more apples! So I attached more apple charms directly to the loops on the bracelet blank.

From top to bottom, silver button bracelet, custom penny bracelet, blue and teal button bracelet, Washington map bracelet.

Winter in Bermuda Bracelet Tutorial by Amy Mickelson.

Crowned Bracelet Tutorial by Rita Hutchinson.

Cute as a Button Bracelet Tutorial by Claudia Crosby.