enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

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A fantastic photo of brightly colored friendship bracelets – of the old school woven variety – popped up on Pinterest last week and I couldn't get it out of my head. (Here's the photo and here's the blog post it came from, complete with tutorials.) I dug through my craft supply box for the seven colors of embroidery thread I had and immediately made two bracelets and then plans to go pick up more colors.

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Talk about a simple pastime that brings back memories. I used to be the queen of friendship bracelet making and now I remember why. It's a simple process that generates quick and pretty results. For me it feels a lot like knitting – only for the summer.

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The craziest part was after I tied the first one and hopped in the shower. The water hit the thread and dyed it that dark muted hue and suddenly, I was back in sixth grade and playing in the backyard pool. Memories are so awesome that way.

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29 responses to “friendship bracelets / summer story two.”

  1. kristy Avatar

    that’s so funny.. the SAME thing happened to me with that link floating around pinterest. just last night i finally gave in & sat still long enough to start working on one for my little boy who is not very patient for me to get his ‘rock & roll bracelet’ finished!

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  2. Sarah Avatar

    I loved friendship bracelets! I stumbled upon this friendship bracelet loom thing a while ago, and I know my ten year old self would have desperately wanted it! Here is the link – http://www.amazon.com/My-Friendship-Bracelet-Maker-Threads/dp/B002S4U8M6

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  3. Sherry Cartwright Avatar

    I loved friendship bracelets as a teen and love them now, too. I think I will teach my seven year old daughter how to make them.

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  4. Gayle P Avatar
    Gayle P

    I also saw that picture on pinterest! my sister is coming to visit for 4th of July and we already have plans to make these! and these jersey bracelets : http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2011/03/v-and-co-how-to-jersey-knit-bracelet.html

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  5. Rebekah Hanna-Lozano Avatar

    I was the queen of friendship bracelets when I was in high school, too. I remember walking the halls with bracelets pinned to my jeans so I could keep working on them during my next class 🙂 Last summer I taught my 15-year-old sister-in-law how to make them… I couldn’t believe how quickly it came back to me. I’ve been out of school for 12 years!

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  6. *Dream Weaver* Avatar

    I still have my collection of friendship bracelets 🙂

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  7. desiree Avatar

    love In fifth grade my friends and I started a business selling these, I guess we were early entrepreneurs haha.

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  8. kelli Avatar

    my 5th grade daughter has been making friendship bracelets all year and i love how intricate she’s getting (adding beads, fancy designs)…it gives me hope that she has the creative sewing/craft bug I missed!

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  9. IslandJen Avatar

    ummmm…so I have never made a friendship bracelet before..but you have me completely inspired after this post…

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  10. katie licht Avatar

    i like your orange, red, and teal color combo. I have also been obsessed with making friendship bracelets lately! i hadn’t made one in probably 15 years but I think I did it so often when I was a kid it’s like an automatic muscle memory, i just picked up right where I left off. they’re the perfect craft: easy, inexpensive, and fast enough that I don’t lose interest halfway through.

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  11. Alexandra Avatar

    These look great Elise! Thanks for reminding me of Summer Camp summers and best friends 🙂
    I have been anxiously waiting for a chance to go to the craft store to grab some thread to make my own!

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  12. Melissa R. Avatar
    Melissa R.

    That’s so funny…a few years back I saw a newspaper article about making friendship bracelets and have saved it for years thinking that one day I will try it again. I need to see if I still have it. I’ve moved so many times, I’m not sure I know what book it’s saved in now. Hmmm.

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  13. Skye Avatar

    thanks for the link and the photos! yours are super cute! 🙂

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  14. Krystal Rose Avatar

    love this! i have a small addiction to these! thank you for sharing.

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  15. tara pakosta Avatar

    I TOTALLY have to have my girls make these this summer THANK YOU!!!!! brings back memories for me and I am WAY older than you so they were around even in my day!!! thanks girl!
    tara

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  16. Carrie Rosalind Avatar

    So so pretty and it brings back memories for me too! Definitely putting this on my summer to-do list.

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  17. Katie Pegher Avatar

    I was my own respective frienship bracelet queen in my hood too! SUCH memories! Love this Elise!

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  18. Brittany Avatar

    I love the colors!

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  19. Cara-Mia Avatar

    Ah this brings out so many memories… thanks. 🙂

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  20. All Of A Sudden Life Is Amazing Avatar

    A flood of memories came to me when I saw this post! Thank you for reminding me of sweet friends from childhood. I think I’m going to have to make one!

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  21. Morgan Avatar
    Morgan

    I teach my grade 8 Art students how to make friendship bracelets every spring and it causes a stir throughout the school! Instead of doing math (or whatever) they hide their embroidery thread creations under the desk and knot away. It’s awesome!

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  22. Sandy Avatar

    I think I have a kit I got at Borders for $5 somewhere around her with a book. You can also get the books at Michaels with more options to make the bracelets. I used to be obsessed with these too. We also make little beaded safety pins and would attach them to our shoelaces. We assign a meaning to each color and exchange them with our friends.
    I love the S hook in the tutorial so you can take it on and off.

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  23. Walter Knauf Avatar

    My friends and I used to make friendship bracelets like these. They look very lovely when tied on your wrists and even on your ankle. You feel so cool when wearing lots of them with different shades. You also feel very important when a friend gives you one and vice-versa.

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  24. Miranda Avatar

    I’m so happy you posted this! I was just at the store today with my toddler and we picked up some embroidery floss to make bracelets inspired by that same pin! I was kind of shocked at how good she was at picking out cool colors.
    Hooray for childhood trends coming back to us.

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  25. misti Avatar

    I am now going to have to make these this summer! I never knew how to make them and always got them from friends.
    Thanks for bringing up old memories!

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  26. Lisa Avatar

    I totally rocked friendship bands back in school day years. I think I might just have to give it another go again 😀 Thanks for the memory flashback 😀

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  27. sandra Avatar

    i still make these every couple of months. i wear them all the time and i’m 26. yeah, dont want to let go! lol

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  28. Mo Avatar

    I was JUST thinking about making these again for my girlfriends that I’ve been besties with since middle school. This post confirmed that I should make them!

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  29. thursday Avatar

    So funny! I used to make those when I was a kid. I think I might’ve even just thrown a few old ones out while decluttering a few weeks ago. 🙂

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