DIY Patriotic Beads

{Happy 4th of July!}

I found this amazing tutorial on DIY homemade sparkling beads from drinking straws and just loved how easy it was to put together. 

My school doesn't use glitter in our crafts so I improvised and used glitter glue. For a Patriotic flair, I also wrapped my straws with red, white and blue masking tape.  For the thread, we re- purposed bracing rubber (the colored rubber on braces.  Yes, the braces on your teeth. Not used of course :) 

*It took me 45 minutes to prep and make all the beads; give it a night before cutting the glitter beads to allow the glitter glue to dry. Plan to make these beads ahead of time (I made them Monday to present to my students on Wednesday.)

Not only did my students have fun making Patriotic jewelry they also got to strengthen their eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and patterning. They couldn't get enough of it!  

And how cute do these look?!

Happy Beading!