"This website is the first
ever craft stick bending site published. I have spent two
years working on the details of how to bend, twist, shape
and mold wood craft sticks of all kinds into hundreds of
shapes.
The first rule in craft stick bending is that there are no
rules. Your goal is to be as adventurous and creative as
possible. My goal is to teach you everything I know about
craft stick bending and to encourage creative kids of all
ages to bend the rules and stretch the imagination to make
creative, fun crafts.
Please enjoy what I have learned and pass it on to others! "
- Brad G
Craft Stick Bending Defined
Craft stick bending is the creative
activity of bending, molding, shaping and twisting all forms
of craft sticks into unbelievable shapes to be glued
together to create countless creations. Please enjoy your
adventures!
How and Why Start Craft Stick Bending
On June 9, 2008, my son, Kenny and I
were on a trip to Seattle from Sequim, Washington to tour
the Boeing Production Plant and Seattle Flight Museum with
my dad, who had worked for Boeing prior to his retirement.
After watching how planes were built, learning the history
of Boeing and spending many hours of fun at the Seattle
Flight Museum, we finally ventured home. Our trip included a
ferry boat ride. While on the ferry, I picked up some coffee
stir sticks to mix our hot chocolate. After a mix or two, I
noticed how flexible the stir sticks had become. Kenny and I
were still filled with the sights of the field trip and
tours, so we started playing and talking about the
possibility of creating a craft stick bending kit and
website for people to learn this skill to create fun craft
creations.
Kenny asked “What do you do when you run out of sticks?” and
suggested using water soluble glue on your projects so when
you’re done with the craft, you can just place them in a tub
of water so the glue will dissolve and the sticks will
return to their original straight shape again.
That’s when I determined that if the sticks were just soaked
in water, they could be bent, twisted and shaped. By the
time we drove home from the ferry, we had talked about all
sorts of possibilities. That night we were off and running
by soaking some sticks I had at home. From then on, I’ve
been inventing, researching, breaking, testing, soaking,
bending and building craft stick projects.