Book: Totally Awesome Rubber Band Jewelry

When I saw my daughter sorting through our assorted rubber band collection in the kitchen one evening, carefully picking out the smallest ones of uniform size, I knew she had a crafty plan. And then, when she intently sat intertwining them together by hand with practised ease that night, as I read to her in bed, I knew something was in the making. And finally, when she used a brightly colored small paper clip to join the ends of this long linked rubber bands and handed it to me with a "For you, Mama!" I beamed as I tried on my new bracelet.

Rainbow Loom™, Cra-Z-Loom™, FunLoom™ fever has been running high for a while among kids all over the country. My daughter and her school friends have been exchanging handmade rubber band bracelets over the last couple of months, no loom in sight. Of late, a bunch of brightly colored rubber bands seems to be turning up as a fantastic goody-bag filler for kids' birthday party favors.

When I received a review copy of Totally Awesome Rubber Band Jewelry, I had to check it out for myself and share it here.

The book features instructions and ideas and tips and tricks to keep an enthusiast occupied for hours. From simple basic pattern to more intricate ones like starburst, fishtail, and zipper patterns, the book shows pictures with step-by-step instructions, as well as a finished product. Almost all instructions involve using the loom and the hook that is part of the kit. My favorites were ear-rings, flower-charms, and hippie belts.

As always, this book can be a stepping stone or an inspiration for creating one's own patterns and products. No single book can provide all possible things one can create with this material. Only a handful of items are clearly shown for making from start to finish, the rest being more for understanding the patterns and extrapolating and experimenting for fun.