Another great project brought to you via The Crafty Crow. I saw this a while back and thought it was perfect for Huck.
After his friend Finn's birthday party Huck wore the plastic wrist band from the swimming pool entrance for over a week, refusing to let me take off his "video watch." I finally cut it off while he was sleeping, hoping he wouldn't notice. No dice. The next morning I tried to play dumb, "It probably fell off in your sleep. Maybe it's lost in the sheets." He wasn't buyin' it. "I think YOU took it off!" To which I said, "Look! Something shiny!"
Ultimately I had to promise to make him a NEW video watch. A BETTER one! And I did. Assorted felt, some old TP rolls, a hot glue gun, the hole-puncher, a little elastic and KABAM! Superhero power braceletty computer watch gadgety gizmo cuffs!
I could just die from the raw joy on this face--that's his real super power
He loved them so much he begged me to make one for Finn, too. And John. And...I had to stop him there.
He also said, "Mom. You are the best maker ever." I melted. And that, my friends is why I cut out tiny pieces of felt and burn my little fingers with hot glue in my free time instead of, you know, reading a book or watching Oprah or something like regular people.
With the glue gun fired up and the TP rolls out, I went ahead and made a few more cuffs for various important super powers, too. A lightening bolt for creating storms and being all Zeus-like, a star for flying and what-not, fire for shooting flames and melting things that need to be melted, and a special order cuff Huck calls his "ice sword" that can fight AND turn your enemy into ice. Cooooool.
PS--I think this would be an awesome project to do with a gang of boys at a play date or superhero themed birthday party. I found that, given some drying time, kid-friendly school glue or tacky glue works almost as well as hot glue. Make 'em, break for cake while they dry, strap 'em on, then put that sugar to good use running around zapping things.
PPS--Here's a great tutorial for an upcycled superhero cape made from an old T-shirt. They used a kids size shirt and did sew an embellishment on the back. If it was me (and it likely soon will be) I'd use a man's shirt for a bigger cape. And using fabric paint for a big letter or design on the back would make this project 100% no-sew.
