Hispanic Heritage Month Craft- Repujado Mexican Cuff Bracelet

Not only is it Hispanic Heritage Month in September, but we also celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day!  Have you ever seen the Mexican Metal Tooling Art technique?  The process of working a rounded tool on the back side of soft metal to create a beautiful piece of raised art is called Repujado.

Here is a simple form of this technique that your little ones can have fun with and then wear.

What you will need to make a repujado Mexican cuff bracelet:

• Metal Cuff Bracelet
• Foil Pan
• Permanent markers
• toothpick or paintbrush (with a thin rounded end)
• toilet paper roll
• Duck tape

 Note that the foil can be sharp so handle with care. An adult may need to cut the foil first and do all the bending to avoid little ones getting cut.  Cut the toilet paper roll the width you want your bracelet cuff to be and cut your foil an inch or two larger then the toilet paper roll.  Make sure to place newspaper under your work when tooling.

1. Decide what side will be the front and turn the foil over and draw the design with your toothpick (make the point blunt). My little one wanted me to draw and he would color.  You can work on both sides to give it a raised and indented look. Take the rounded end of the marker and rub it back and forth in the large areas of your design to give it a raised look.

2. Wrap foil around the toilet paper roll and fold in edges making sure no pointy ends are out.

3. Then place  duck tape over the back side to cover the ends of foil, as shown above.

My boys wanted some super power, monster truck boy cuffs!