Sarah Goldschadt is a freelance graphic designer and crafter who loves to make things, travel, and take pictures. Check out her Etsy shop, her blog, and stay tuned for more craft loveliness when her book, Craft-a-Day, comes out in October.
Guess what! Hidden inside those old-school printer cables are a plethora of wire in a rainbow of colors. With a craft knife and wire cutter, you can transform the wire into bracelets and wow all your techie friends.
Materials Needed:
– Printer cord
– Craft knife
– Wire cutter
Directions:
Trim the ends of the cord with a wire cutter and score the outer layer with a craft knife.
Peel off the outside layer and separate the wires by pulling one out at a time. Make slits in a piece of cardboard to wrap the wire if desired.
To measure the length, wrap a piece of wire around your wrist and add 1.5″. Multiply that number by at at least 4, and cut a length of wire for a small bracelet. Cut a longer length of wire for a larger bracelet.
Make a small loop and start wrapping the wire around the end you just measured around your wrist. Twist the wire with your thumb and pointer finger while the other hand guides it in place.
To finish the bracelet wrap the single end through the loop and twist it around.
You can make a handful of bracelets in solid colors.
Or, double the wires to create a thicker bracelet.
A big thank you to Sarah Goldschadt for sharing this project with us. For more clever projects like this one, keep an eye out for her new book, Craft-A-Day, available in October from Quirk Books. If you make your own bracelet, share a photo with us in the Etsy Labs Flickr group.
2 Featured Comments
Cougar T-Shirt Company from CougarTShirtCompany said 8 years ago Featured
I always appreciate a mind that can make something out of nothing. To be able to see beyond what is right in front of you is a special talent. Thanks for writing!
justthething from justthething said 8 years ago Featured
I used to make these when I was in grade school in the 80's. I got in trouble one day for pulling out our telephone wire to make them!
108 comments
Kelly from KikuPaper said 8 years ago
Always amazed at what people come up with - very innovative!!!!! (Great photographs too.)
Cougar T-Shirt Company from CougarTShirtCompany said 8 years ago Featured
I always appreciate a mind that can make something out of nothing. To be able to see beyond what is right in front of you is a special talent. Thanks for writing!
UpsideDownFrowns from UpsideDownFrowns said 8 years ago
I was thinking the same thing as the two above comments. It is so neat to see what people come up with. That is why I love etsy. So many talented creative people. Thank you!
UpsideDownFrowns from UpsideDownFrowns said 8 years ago
I was thinking the same thing as the two comments above. It is so neat to see what people come up with. That is why I love etsy. So many talented and creative people. Thank you!
Jess from volkerwandering said 8 years ago
Beautiful! What a great idea!
Milly from SecondSpringSoaps said 8 years ago
LOVE this! Already thinking of making some for some geeky friends of mine. :oD
Erika from ErikaPrice said 8 years ago
Great recycling project - a brilliant way of using up all those redundant old printer cables! Thanks for sharing!
Katielynn Gadow from katielynnjewelry said 8 years ago
These are awesome! So creative!
Megan from MegansMenagerie said 8 years ago
Love this! Very creative!!!
Josie from JosiesBoutique said 8 years ago
love this! cute idea!
mycellardoor from mycellardoor said 8 years ago
My dad worked with computers when I was younger and brought home all the cables with him, so I could make jewelry out of them. I always loved the bright colors inside.
Stephanie from StringBeardCraftery said 8 years ago
OMG! My mother works in IT and probably has more of these cords than I can handle. I'm going to her house immediately now to rescue these potential bracelets! I AM OBSESSED WITH HOW-TUESDAY!!!!!
IKA PARIS from ikabags said 8 years ago
Cute idea !
BululuStudio from BululuStudio said 8 years ago
I love upcycling. This is a great project to do with my daughters. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Beliz from ThreadEtc said 8 years ago
Wonderful and how creative idea Thank you for sharing :))
Melanie from TrashyCreations said 8 years ago
This is a great idea! Guess i will have to be on the lookout for printer cables the next time i go rummaging!
jascamille from jascamille said 8 years ago
What a coincidence. Just yesterday, I removed about 60 feet of colorful wire from a cable that had been cut from the outside of our building by the cable company. I said to the guy "ooh, before you try to throw that away, can I have that?" :D
Rasa from Eidrasa said 8 years ago
Great idea!
PemberleyCollection from PemberleyCollection said 8 years ago
Blast from the past! When we were younger we would receive bunches of wire from the telephone company and we made bracelets and rings just like this.
Carolyn S. Miller from AutumnLeavesJewelry said 8 years ago
AAAAAA!!! We made these in Bownies, late 1960s, early 70s...I love how things come back round...:)
Carolyn S. Miller from AutumnLeavesJewelry said 8 years ago
*BRownies, not Bownies
Edie Ann from OhHoneyHush said 8 years ago
Wow, my friends and I use to make these when we where little. Brings back memories :)
Emily from styleforlife said 8 years ago
LOVE!!!!!!!!!! WELL DONE. What a brilliant way to recycle! XXXXX EL Vintage
mary from QueenofCuffs said 8 years ago
Love this . . . . classy and yet techie !! An ice breaker - a conversation starter - and if you get in trouble it might be useful - a la MacGyver (oh age telling here!)
Forest Jewelry from ForestJewelry said 8 years ago
Love this kind of wire bracelet making:-)
Jillian Carmine from JillianReneDecor said 8 years ago
Thanks for sharing! These are awesome - I'm going to try it over the weekend with my goddaughter!
Annie from TheLittlestBigSpoon said 8 years ago
Fantastic! It just so happens that I *have* my old school printer cable sitting in my "electronics-to-properly-dispose-of" pile. I know what I'll be doing tonight. Thanks a lot! :)
Lola Ocian from GoldenSpiralDesigns said 8 years ago
Neat! I used to make rings using phone cable wires - also brightly colored! I would sell them on a small blanket on the sidewalk in the summertime. $.25 each, or 5 for $1. I thought I was totally brilliant until some neighbors from South Africa moved in next door and their 2 daughters (a little younger than me) were non-plussed. They said kids in South Africa made them all the time and that they were called Scuba Rings. I was a little deflated. I think it's funny how I used to make little crafty items for sale, even as a child. Etsy was just a natural step. :)
Beadswagon from beadswagon said 8 years ago
This is awesome- recycling the wires in a beautiful way ! Thanks for sharing !
AmprisLoves from AmprisLoves said 8 years ago
Amazing idea!! Would be so much fun making this with the kids, they will LOVE it for sure :)
shanise woods from MsMahoganyB said 8 years ago
I'm gonna try this.... Thanks
Stephanie Maslow Blackman from metalicious said 8 years ago
Repurposing has never been so beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Tee from TeepetalsDesigns said 8 years ago
Wow. All of the possibilities! Will definetly check out the book.
Ele from minouette said 8 years ago
We used to do that with telephone wires, back when people had landlines. :)
Sweet Figments from SweetFigments said 8 years ago
this is awesome!
Amanda Paquette from MoltenPerspective said 8 years ago
I love upcycled stuff! how simple and cute
TheIDConnection from TheIDconnection said 8 years ago
Who Knew! These are really cool
Jennifer Z. from JZinn said 8 years ago
Back in the 80s we used to make these with the wires from telephone cables. I love this update for a new generation and newer technology!
cloudpinestudio from CloudPineStudio said 8 years ago
Great way to recycle. Awesome.
Dianne Cureton from AllThingsByDee said 8 years ago
This is such a neat idea, will try this with my grandaughters on a rainy day! Should be an enjoyable project for the girls.
Jessica Haywood from EclecticallyCorrect said 8 years ago
Thanks so much for featuring my recycled flower ring on this blog post! Old wire is a really fun material to craft with, especially when your materials are free! Great post for How-Tuesday!
Kelly from BaxCatandCo said 8 years ago
This is such a great idea, love the look of these bracelets!
Salima from Cartouchestudio said 8 years ago
Love it !!! Very cute !!!!!! Brings back fond memories of my childhood :) :)
Paola from knitsbypaola said 8 years ago
What a great idea to recycle computer wires! Love it!
Gracie from TheBeautyofBoredom said 8 years ago
Cool, although I don't wear bracelets. I could probably use these for something, some sort of craft project. Too bad I don't have an old school printer to take apart. Or any printer for that matter. Cool idea though.
Liz P. from PillowDesignStudio said 8 years ago
Holy cow, what an awesome idea! I'd love to try this, then have people be very surprised when they ask about it
Elisa Guardiola from swampSWAMPBABY said 8 years ago
a while back the bank of america building i used to work at was moving out and they threw away all sorts of old computer stuff and desks.being the hoarder i am i took so much stuff home!including a bunch of cables like this,i used some for some mixed media artwork and some i saved.thank you for reminding me to go dig those out! :) those bangles are super cute!
Nicolle Kasch from GeekChicDesign said 8 years ago
Love this! Will have to do this with my niece when I see her... I have TONS of random cords laying around full of possibilities.
Pearlie from Splendere said 8 years ago
What a great discovery! Must try it!
Leasa from LeasaDesigns said 8 years ago
My boyfriend (at the time / now husband) owns an alarm co. = tons of small colorful wire! Years ago while he was busy installing and doing service - being the crafty person I am - took all the scrap wire and would weave small baskets, etc. So thanks for letting me relive... and now I'm going to look for my baskets!
Scott from vinylclockwork said 8 years ago
Very Cool Idea way to be creative.
Princess M from ArtOfPrincessM said 8 years ago
whats a creative idea! <3 really want to try it
iammie from iammie said 8 years ago
Lovely!
LC from cafedebutta said 8 years ago
very cool items. i will try this!
VaLon Frandsen from thevicagirl said 8 years ago
I love it. I make things out of computer wire all the time, but I haven't ever thought about twisting them like that. i am totally going to make some now.
PurpleGurl from PurpleGurl8 said 8 years ago
Love it!
Tati from birdienumnumshop said 8 years ago
Beautiful ! :)
Ro from cat2owl said 8 years ago
Love it! Very innovative!
Judy Murphy from vegasblingrocks said 8 years ago
My friend makes gorgeous copper jewelry from old wires that she strips from discarded electronics. She uses a utilitiy knife, very labor intensive. I will show her this FUN article!
Susanne Major from LineaLina said 8 years ago
This is so cute! Such an amazing idea!
Emily Lim from shuqi said 8 years ago
Briliant idea. I would want to wear them:)
DearDemoiselle from DearDemoiselle said 8 years ago
These are so cool! I had no idea there were so many lovely colours inside a printer cord. * contemplating my printer *
Catherine Keaney from CatherineKeaney said 8 years ago
Such a great idea!
Niftic from NifticVintage said 8 years ago
What a fabulous way to recycle and reduce waste! Taking something useless and creating something beautiful is my mantra!
Melanie Ashton from anthropomorphica said 8 years ago
Very resourceful!!
CheLLe from ChellesCraftCorner said 8 years ago
As somone already said, back in the late 80's we used to do this as kids with telephone wire! Great post.
CC from bluewhitewear said 8 years ago
I love this! Thanks so much for sharing!
justthething from justthething said 8 years ago Featured
I used to make these when I was in grade school in the 80's. I got in trouble one day for pulling out our telephone wire to make them!
Barb from TheVintageThread said 8 years ago
Who knew the innards of old printer cables were so colorful? These would be a great project for the kiddos at my school! Thanks for sharing!
Golden Hearts MILLAN from AgapeArts said 8 years ago
THAT'S VERY CREATIVE!
Aaron Kish from JewelryRage said 8 years ago
Very creative, the bracelets look great.
Molly Shannon from MullaneInk said 8 years ago
what a fun way to make brecelets! Now all I need is a printer cable.... hmmm!
Melissa Cyrenne from BigRockWeddingFavors said 8 years ago
Blast! Why did I get rid of those cables! I want to try this!
Melanie from merVazi said 8 years ago
I can't wait to try this with my daughter. She made an orange juice stand with a friend last weekend, and loves to make stuff, pretty much a no-brainer in my eyes. Thanks for sharing this!!!
jardinsavage from JardinSavage said 8 years ago
Nice. Growing up we used to do the same thing only instead of bracelets we did rings. Same procedure just smaller scale. Fun...
Sarah from perebags said 8 years ago
Fun!
ShellbyFay from Diddies said 8 years ago
Love, love, love this idea! I'm so going to try this... as soon as I find some cable.... *starts pulling out cables from behind reception desk computer* ...-_-_-_-zzzzip-_-_-_... *whoops.*
Kerry Baker said 8 years ago
My friends and I made the same bracelets in middle school. My Dad would bring scraps from the electricians off the jobs sites home for us. Memories!
kristin from blackmoonsky said 8 years ago
love these!
Jana from bhangtiez said 8 years ago
Awesome!
Marina from Maggani1 said 8 years ago
What a great idea! I'm going to try it!
Terri Croswhite from customcrochetbyterri said 8 years ago
Thank you so much for sharing this, it just gave me another idea for the use of these wires, going to use them in hats to stiffen the crocheted brim - THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!
NicoleNicoletta from NicoleNicoletta said 8 years ago
such a cool idea! wires are so easy to come by
Melissa Eager from CreativeArtbyME said 8 years ago
Thank you for featuring my cuff bracelet in this blog post! I love finding new ways to use wire! this was one of them. One mans trash is one mans treasure! :)
Ali Nichole from Ringgg said 8 years ago
Thanks for including my Ringgg in your feature :D Very cool how-to!
Kirsti Joy from KaiceJoy said 8 years ago
what a clever idea!!
sewinggals from sewinggals said 8 years ago
That's awesome!! Great way to recycle!!!
Windy City Novelties said 8 years ago
GENIUS!!! Great way to recycle household goods that are broken and are usually thrown in the trash.
Lauryn Quinn from thefrolickingfrog said 8 years ago
Wow! So many colors! This is an excellent idea. Now to untangle all those wire in the junk box ;)
Dina Stornello said 8 years ago
cool
AnneKo from PetitsPixels said 8 years ago
I love these ! What a clever idea ! Thank you :)
Cristina C from GiftsWithCharm said 8 years ago
excellent!
Sylvia N from myshinynotions said 8 years ago
That's so nifty! Thanks for sharing!
bee zazzler from FancyFeetBoutique said 8 years ago
Absolutely amazing....I would of never thought of this! Such a genius idea! I love em! :)
Stef and Mark from HomeStudio said 8 years ago
Very Cute!
lolabella14 from Lolabellas said 8 years ago
Those are adorable! Very creative.
Abbie Burgess from MiniatureMadeSimple said 8 years ago
i love these quick easy creative tutorials!!! They are so creative and I love the use of old wires!! Recycling old items into something new is my thing and this is a great craft idea!! Good job ^_^
Angelique Gordon-Stuart from VioletVanilla said 8 years ago
@ Lola Ocian > Im from South Africa, and yes, we used to make bracelets, bookmarks and key-rings from telephone wire and call them 'scoobie' wire bangles, as in 'Scooby Doo', dont ask what the connection was, lol! @Sarah thanks for the flashback into the 80's! awesome tut, tnx!!! ;)x
Dee Hicks said 8 years ago
I'd love to see if my Kindergarten class could make these when we study ecology&recycling. of course I would do all the wire cutting ahead of time. thanks so much!
BululuStudio from BululuStudio said 8 years ago
Ok, I tried this project and I loved it. But is there any other way to finish the closure? Thank you.
Mara from MaraSaxer said 8 years ago
Haha wow, did this ever not work for me. The wire does not hold the shape at all and just comes uncoiled immediately. Maybe with a good bit of superglue or some sort of end fastener it might work.
Ecolibrio from Ecolibrio said 8 years ago
Thanks for including my bangle bracelets in the feature. love.
Pamela from Enrichments said 8 years ago
Brings back a lot of memories! Used to make and trade these as a little girl in the late 60's and early 70's! What fun to see them come back.
tinker from beadsbytinker said 8 years ago
So fun! These are super cute & easy - will try with the kiddos & add some beads :)
miriam coombe from miricoo said 8 years ago
Will be off to the I.T. department on Monday begging for old cables to make into bracelets! Thanks for that. Recycling is such fun!
Nicole Bottles from FreshSqueezedLymeAid said 8 years ago
ethernet cables work wonderfully too! and they break so easily :D. i crocheted a bracelet and it looked fantastic too!
Rachel from PeppersJewelry said 8 years ago
Thank you for another unique jewelry idea!
weng shouxin from chinaflokart said 6 years ago
very good