On a cold day, when the kids aren’t thinking about swimming, go swipe one of their pool noodles. Just a small section from the end of the noodle is all you’ll need to make any number of fashionable jewelry pieces or clothing accessories – and your child will likely never notice that a small chunk is now gone from the noodle. Pool noodles come in a variety of colors so that makes them perfect for creating jewelry and accessories that match or coordinate with many different outfits.
The perfect pool noodle is one that, when you look at the end of it, it has a flower shape, with a hole through the middle.Use a really sharp knife to cleanly cut a section from the end. Cut between a half-inch and an inch-wide section, depending on the jewelry or accessory piece you want. The cut piece seemingly has five petals and is fairly large. To make it much smaller, cut off one or more of the petals, and glue the cut ends back together; a dot of hot glue works great. You can also cut the section from the pool noodle and then cut around the outside edges to make it much smaller.
Cut single petals, duo pieces, or other parts of the original flower, to make the designs you want. Lay a large foam piece down, stack a couple of smaller flowers, and sew or glue them altogether. If you want, cut pieces from various colors of pool noodles to make more interesting flowers.
When you’re finished with the basic design you want there are all kinds of embellishments you could attach. Sew or glue on a silk flower, leaves, beads, a large rhinestone, a tiny ball, or any other embellishment.
To turn your creation into a hair bow, use a needle and thread, and sew a ponytail tie to the backside. To make a brooch, just attach a safety pin to the back. Create a necklace or bracelet by cutting a strip of fabric to be the size you need. Sew or glue the pool noodle design onto the fabric, then use velcro as a closure. Or, use a few stitches to sew the foam onto a chain, piece of leather, or wire. To make an earring, scrunch a section of the foam, then push a jump ring through it, and clamp the ring onto the earring hardware.
Glue or otherwise attach the foam flowers to hats, head bands, coats, sweaters, belts, purses, and more. They’re colorful, adorable, and fun to make.