Very odd ? about lookalike material for curly phone cord?

[cotomom]

First off I have to say I am in charge of props for a school play.

We are doing a 1950's ish play that has a scene with 6 girls talking on telephones about Elvis coming to town. I need to find something super cheap that would look like those curly phone cords (the kind attached to the handset) that I could paint bright colors.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I know this is but I am at a total loss for what to use....

Thanks!

 

[Karel]

Is it Bye, Bye Birdie?

How much are actual phone cords? Maybe you can find some at a dollar store?

Mmm, painting them may be difficult. Maybe spray paint?

 

[FreshTressa]

those self tying shoelaces??

The curly ones that were in like 5-6 years ago. I think they sell them at walmart, or at least they used to!

http://www.furthers.com/shoelaces.htm

 

[iggbees]

those self tying shoelaces??

The curly ones that were in like 5-6 years ago. I think they sell them at walmart, or at least they used to!

http://www.furthers.com/shoelaces.htm

that's what i was going to say too. i used to have them when i was a kid.

 

[Zurealsoon]

A Slinky?

 

[Barb D]

What's the story, Morning Glory? What's the tale, Nightingale? Have you heard about Hugo and Kim?

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Try the dollar store for phone cords. I have a red one on an old phone that I'm not using.

 

[cotomom]

You guys are just awesome!

It isn't bye bye birdie - too high of royalties. This is a play we've written ourselves!

I **love** the idea of the shoelaces but the longest shown on that website is only 7 inches. I think I'll be needing longer to appear more realistic.

I plan to look at dollar store or Big Lots....

Thanks for this WEIRD quest!!!

 

[Seahunt]

Do you have a Radio Shack nearby? If this isn't too expensive, their website shows they stock a 25 foot phone cord for $8.99 - maybe you could cut it?

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103646&cp=&kw=phone+cord&parentPage=search

 

[Sparx]

I vote for actual phone cords. they aren't at all expensive.

 

[mtblujeans]

Can you check with your local phone company, tell what you are doing, and ask if they have any old parts they would be glad to donate to your cause? Or, try second hand stores or the Salvation Army?

 

[Cass]

You need some of these things... like for wristband/key holders

attach them together?

 

[Nancy]

How about using pipe cleaners? You can buy colors and put as many together as you want and you can curl them up too.

 

[cotomom]

I plan to go to Lowes or Home Depot today. Taking the kids on a field trip to see if there is some electrical, plumbing, ??? really cheap .50/foot type of product that would fit the bill. Then to paper mache or cardboard cut out big phone handsets to attach these to.

Then I get to try to find something to make a fancy pen (think those big feather pens). This one has to look like it's from under the ocean, like a sea fan or coral or ??? And a little bottle to look like squid ink or ? to 'dip' the pen into?

What did I get myself into???

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Curl Ribbon - you can get it in bright colors in spools of like 500 ft for under $3 at craft stores. Run a scissors over it and it curls in a continuous loop like phone cords. Just vary the pressure as you drag it over the scissors to get tighter or looser loops

 

[barkley]

there are other materials that curl as well. you could take scissors and do a little test on a sample that the store provides you.

as for the "ink"-just put black paint into a small bottle and swish it around it ends up looking filled but does'nt become a spill hazard on stage.

for a "sea themed" pen-maybe pick up one of those wedding feather pens (i see them constantly at garage sales and goodwill), spray paint (with fabric paint) it aqua and glue on sequins in the shape of a sea horse or shell. i would'nt go with anything that if dropped (and props constantly get dropped) could come apart or break.

 

[Keli]

Is the play "Bye Bye Birdie"? My dd was in that play in high school and she was one of the girls in the scene talking about Birdie coming to town. They used children's play phones in various bright colors. I think Ashli held a pink one. The cords did stretch very far after a few rehearsals so that they could do all their dance moves.

 

[cotomom]

No, it's one we wrote ourselves but has some similarities to that song...

I did find 25. ft. curly phone cords at Big Lots for .......... 1.49! I thought that was a grand deal and snapped them up.

Now I'm hoping that paint will adhere to these cream cords!

Thanks everyone!

 

[disneygals]

Now I'm hoping that paint will adhere to these cream cords!

Thanks everyone!

Sharpie permanent markers would work, they have tons of colors now.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Buy a can of spray primer and dust that over them first to make the paint last longer.