Decorated articles of elastic material

Abstract

A system for producing decorated articles of elastic material in which a rubber band is selected and a design is selected for that rubber band. A preferred embodiment prints or paints at least one of a series of graphic designs around at least a portion of the outer flat width of the rubber band. In a preferred embodiment, the design images are line drawing and silhouette style. In a preferred embodiment, the designs are applied to the rubber band with a wearable, washable, and stretchable paint process. The design may be repeated to go around the entire rubber band or only partially around, whichever way each particular design works best for the width and length of the rubber band.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An article of elastic material, said article comprising: 
 a band of elastic material; and    a design on at least a portion of said band of elastic material.    
     
     
         2 . The article of  claim 1  wherein said design comprises a design painted on at least a portion of said band of elastic material.  
     
     
         3 . The article of  claim 1  wherein said design comprises a design printed on at least a portion of said band of elastic material.  
     
     
         4 . The article of  claim 1  wherein said design comprises a design embedded in at least a portion of said band of elastic material.  
     
     
         5 . The article of  claim 1  wherein said design comprises a line drawing on at least a portion of said band of elastic material.  
     
     
         6 . The article of  claim 1  wherein said design comprises a silhouette style design on at least a portion of said band of elastic material.  
     
     
         7 . A method of forming a decorated article of elastic material comprising: 
 selecting a band of elastic material; and    applying a design to at least a portion of said band of elastic material.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said applying step further comprises applying a design to at least a portion of said band using a wearable, washable, and stretchable paint process.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising selecting a design from a set of designs.  
     
     
         10 . A system for producing a decorated article of elastic material comprising: 
 at least one band of elastic material;    at least one design for said at least one band of elastic material;    a control unit for selecting at least one design from said at least one design; and    an applicator for applying said at least one design to at least a portion of said band of elastic material.