Magic Band Decorating 101

 

I have the blessing of being a pretty creative person…but the curse of being both a terrible artist and craft impaired.  In my head I have all of these great ideas that I cannot make my hands do.    I have finally learned the hard way, after flushing many a dollar down the drain on failed craft projects ( and that was BEFORE Pinterest!) that I need to focus my creativity on figuring out what I can actually do and make look good.  So when I decided to decorate my Magic Bands, I had to scrap all of my grand artistic ideas of characters and swirls and glitter for something that I could actually execute.

So I present…MAGIC BAND DECORATING 101:  HELP FOR THE CRAFT CHALLENGED

I was really surprised at how easy it was to decorate the bands and how well they stood up to being used in the parks.

First of all, here are some of the supplies that I used for the project:

 

The directions are so simple; I do not even need to show photos!  It really is that easy, y'all!

The solid pink and the solid blue bands have a few coats of glittery nail polish that I scored on a Target run.  I used the color “Fairy Dust” by China Glaze (how appropriate that?).  I put a few coats of nail polish on, avoiding Mickey’s head so that it would be highlighted.  Keep layering coats of polish until you achieve a level of bling that you are satisfied with. I finished with a few coats of a nail top coat.  In this case, it was Orly Glosser.

The  green band, is use a few coats of OPI’s “Charged up Cherry” and a clear top coat over Mickey’s head.  I set of Mickey’s head with a micro point sharpie in Black (correct color not pictured).  It does look better if you Sharpie first and then paint the pink over top.  A few lighter coats of nail polish are better than heavy gloppy ones.

My “Tribute to Frozen” band in blue was probably the easiest of all.  I hit up the scrapbook sticker section of my local craft store and then did a little peel and stick.  I decided Mickey’s head needed a little something extra, so a few coats of a light blue nail polish (I raided my daughter’s stash and I am unsure of the specific color or brand)  and a few coats of “Pixie Dust” did the trick.

At this point, I started to feel a little smug over my results thus far, so I tried my most ambitious band to date….the “Minnie Polka Dot”.  The white dots were made with  simple acrylic craft paint that cost $0.99.  I used a stylus as my polka dot maker.  You can Google “polka dot stylus”, check your craft store, or check in the nail art section of a beauty supply store.  The major key to success is to PRACTICE before you start.  While I was running a bunch of polka dots across my practice page, I learned that I needed to dip the stylus straight into the paint and then dot it straight on the band.  No wiggling, no odd angles.  I also learned that to get the most consistent results, I needed to dip the stylus back into the paint after every dot.  I was concerned about a clear coat smudging the dots, so I opted to use the top coat brush and did clear polka dots over my white dots once they were totally dry.  Once the clear dots were dry, I painted the entire band with a tip coat for a nice finish.

Other ideas to try:

• Mickey head jewels that you can stick or glue on
• Temporary tattoos or stickers of your favorite characters sealed with clear polish
• Swarovski crystals
• A nod to your favorite sports team
• A seasonal band for the time of year you are visiting
• An "I'm Celebrating" band to share your special day
• A family themed band

 And there you have it, an easy-peasy Magic Band Craft for the craft challenged.  Hope it helps get your creative juices flowing!