Smoke and Mirrors Cuff Bracelet!

Smoke and mirrors is a metaphor for a deceptive, fraudulent or insubstantial explanation or description. The source of the name is based on magicians' illusions, where magicians make objects appear or disappear by extending or retracting mirrors amid a distracting burst of smoke. The expression may have a connotation of virtuosity or cleverness in carrying out such a deception. A cover up, a disguise.

****

So I made this a long time ago but then one of the mirrors fell off and I forgot about it until I was going through my craft bag and saw it. So I fixed it and now its good as new and I’ve even started wearing it again!

I bought a few blank cuff bracelets at Michaels a few years ago to play around with adding things to them. I decided to use the sort of misty dark black one for this project as it gives it a smoke and mirrors vibe, lol! I also bought a 25 pieces bag of assorted size round mirrors at Michaels but other sizes and shapes are available. I basically thought about the way I wanted them arranged and then hot glued them onto the cuff bracelets. It was that simple and when the mirrors occasionally come off just hot glue them back on. They stick pretty well and in the many years I’ve had it only one time has 2 mirrors fallen off. The other day I wanted to remove one and place it closer to the others and I literally couldn’t get it off and had to just leave it there. So the hot glue method worked real well and you can’t really tell the mirrors have been hot glued on there so no worries about it looking cheaply made or anything.

Also be careful when driving or wearing when it’s sunny outside as it will reflect like a disco ball, lol! The edges can be sharp too so be careful with that as well. Another thought I had is this would be great if in a survival bag as man you can use those mirrors to signal for rescue, lol!

It can be worn like any cuff bracelet up high or lower on the wrist but I found after the mirrors were attached it was harder to bend the bracelet a little to fit better so high on the arm was a better fit for me but only because my wrists are smallish and if worn lower it tends to fall off.

So I hope anyone that likes this tries this out and maybe they can do a different interesting design with the mirrors then I did! And have fun wearing your own little disco ball on your arm! Though the phrase smoke and mirrors isn’t so great I think it has a connotation of mysterious means and a bit of fun like a disguise worn at a masked ball, so in that sense I say when you wear this I hope you feel mysterious and very much a lady of smoke and mirrors, lol! Leave a dazzling array of loveliness in your wake!

• A 25 piece assortment of round mirrors- At Michaels for $1.99, though if you have a coupon found in your paper or if you get their emails you find out when deals are or they send coupons that way too, so if you use a coupon you can get one of these items for cheaper. Or you can locate similar items in any craft or home decorations store.
• Blank Cuff Bracelet- Black or copper like ones at Michaels for a few dollars I think $2.99 or $ 3.99 but that was a few years ago, though if you have a coupon found in your paper or if you get their emails you find out when deals are or they send coupons that way too, so if you use a coupon you can get one of these items for cheaper. Or you can locate similar items in any craft store or perhaps refurbish a cuff bracelet or any other type of bracelet you already have and haven’t used in quite some time.