200 Friendship Bracelets

This is what a bouquet of friendship bracelets looks like. It's insane. 

This is what friendship bracelet confetti looks like. Actually the first attempt is a large block of bracelets because they didn't seperate in the air, but the second picture is much more like confetti or friendship bracelet rain.

I love the process of figuring out who all the bracelets will go to this summer--resident counselors, camp moms, day camp staff, my Young Life cabin, my Wyld Life cabin, campers that I already know and Young Life leaders. Giving away all of these bracelets is so much fun. I remember people's reactions when they are excited to get one, I love seeing them all people's wrists all over camp, and I hope they remind each person that I love them and think they are awesome.

 Here are some things that I think are worth knowing:

1. I never made bracelets when I was younger. I didn't have the patience and I wasn't really good at it. People mostly only made chevrons and diagonal stripes anyways so I didn't really see the point.

2. I started making bracelets in college for the girls in my sorority who loved them. My first big batch of 26 bracelets was for a pledge class of girls that I gave to them on activation night.

3. This is my third summer of making bracelets. The first year I made 50 bracelets, last year I finished the 100th bracelet once I was at staff training and this year I've made well over 200.

4. I've never kept a bracelet that I've made. I give all of them away. It's a friendship bracelet not a yourself bracelet.

5. Making bracelets is more fun when you have other people making them too-- my friendship bracelet role models have included Allison Stamer, Ellyn Hessong, the Brunner sisters, Mary Brody, Taylor Fischl, Cecilia and Hope Vigren, Katy P and Julia Dewolf.

6. The last two years I only made bracelets from Spring Break till the start of summer and didn't make any the rest of the year. This year I've been making bracelets all year long--hence the gigantic amount of them.

7. I never make a bracelet while doing nothing else-- I would get bored very quickly. I'm making them while I watch TV, reading a book, talking at Starbucks, listening to someone. At this point making the bracelet helps me focus and listen better and I can make them without looking so people still know I'm paying attention.

8. I gave away bracelets all school year long to people as I made them, but saved up most of them in this stockpile that is currently at 187 bracelets. (Update--I ended up making 13 more so I could have 200 for the summer.  I almost stopped at 199 but Julia and Cecilia wouldn't let me.) Just this pile represents approximately 374 hours or 15.5 days of making bracelets this year. I've used approximately 1,309 pieces of string. If I sold each bracelet for $10 I could make $1,870. I would guess I spent $150-200 on buying string.

Out of all of those, these are my very favorite bracelets. I loved the crazy rainbow one (6th from the left) so much that Julia duplicated it for me so I could have it on my wrist too. Maybe I'll make a double of more of these.