Decorating the brace

Dancer Girl opted to get a plain, neutral colored Boston brace with the idea that she would decorate it herself. She didn't want anything too bright or something she would end up not liking a few months down the road.

We had heard that decorating them is tricky because of the plastic surface but it also meant that nothing was permanent so you could redecorate it over and over as your mood dictated.  This was actually a good thing for Dancer Girl.

She had two good friends over and together they tried out some ideas on plastic containers to see what might or might not work.


Decoupage: We tried this technique on the plastic container first.  It seemed to work well but then a few days later it had peeled off.  In the meantime she had tried a bit on the brace in a few small spots and it too peeled off.

This method might work best if you are committed to doing the whole brace (like this at Strength of Spirit) but since that was not the goal at this point this was not an option for us.


Markers: Markers, even Sharpies, seemed to go on faint and dull.  Dancer Girl was not happy with the results.  It also rubbed off fairly easily - too easily.  Redoing it every few weeks or months is one thing, but every couple of days was too much work.


Stickers: We worried they might not adhere to the surface of the brace, but in the end these have proven to be pretty good options.

Dancer Girl tried some that were glittery and while it looked fun, the glitter rubbed off and got onto her clothes fairly quickly.

We found some nice inspirational sayings and Bible verses and those have stuck nicely.  Again, they can come off if she wants to change them but they also are staying fast after a couple of months.




Tape: Decorative tape is all over the place these days.  Dancer Girl was nervous about trying the colorful duct tape. She thought it might work too well and then leave a sticky residue if she tried to remove it.


Instead we went for the smaller rolls.  We found that most work well, although one style didn't stick.

Tape is a great option because you can find all kinds of colors and styles.  We picked up most of ours at either Staples or Michael's craft store.



Rub-ons: We bought the rub-ons by accident actually, mistaking them for stickers! We weren't sure they would work but it turns out these are really nice options!

With some help from Little Sister to hold it in place, the rub-ons were applied and have stuck for quite a few weeks now.





In the end we have come up with a number of fun, easy ways to decorate Dancer Girl's brace.  She likes to be able to personalize it without too much effort, as well as the ability to change something if she wishes.