Do you love the look of chunky, colorful vintage Bakelite bracelets? They may look great, but the price tags aren't nearly so appealing. At as much as several hundred dollars each, these bangles are out of sight.

So, here's a bracelet you can make that mimics the originals. Bakelite bracelets are so named because of the material, an early form of plastic, from which they are made.

Coincidentally, our imposters are "baked" bracelets -- they are made from the popular oven-baked clays, such as Fimo or Sculpey.

Just as the original bracelets were made in a wide array of vivid colors, so is the clay available in every color imaginable. And if you don't find just the right one, you can blend two or more colors of the clay together to get a custom shade.

Some people stay away from these clays, thinking that one must be able to sculpt in order to make anything out of this material. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In this project, all you need to be able to do is roll the clay into strips and cut the strips with an Xacto knife. The techniques are simple, and the visual impact of the project comes from layering different colors of clay together rather than any fancy technical treatment.

What You Need

1 small packages of Sculpey or Fimo, white
2 small packages of Sculpey or Fimo, one each of 2 different colors
1 small package of Sculpey or Fimo, black
Xacto knife
Toothpick or needlepoint tool
Large marker or small dowel to use as rolling pin
Clear ruler
StretchMagic clear elastic

What To Do

Roll white, black and both colors of Fimo into strips that are about 1" wide and 6" long. The strips should be about 3/8" thick.

Pace three strips on top of each other, alternating colors. Roll a few times to adhere layers together and slightly flatten.

Use ruler to mark off a strip as long as your clay and 3/4" wide. Cut strip through all layers with Xacto knife. Set aside scraps.

Use ruler to mark off strip into 3/4" segments. Cut strip, forming 3'4" squares.

Repeat with other colors of clay until you have as many squares of as many color combinations as you wish.

Use side of needlepoint tool or toothpick to press patterns of lines in the tops of the squares.

Use toothpick or needlepoint tool to carefully poke hole through each square, going across the square, through the middle layer of the clay.

Arrange the squares in an appealing order. It will take eight of them to make an average sized bracelet.

Use the Xacto knife to "bevel," or cut away a wedged section, from the sides of the squares that are adjacent to other squares. This is so the bracelet will curve to the shape of your wrist and not be too bulky.

Bake clay squares according to manufacturer's directions.

When cool, string squares together on elastic, tie a square knot to secure elastic.