DENVER — How could gum wrappers make a woman wax nostalgic? I’m glad you asked. It happens while she’s teaching her two daughters how to make the same gum-wrapper chains she made when she was 12.

The difference today? A 12-year-old in 1978 had no lack of brightly colored gum wrappers with which to work. Carefree Bubble Gum pink, Juicy Fruit yellow, Big Red, uh, red. But these colors of the paper chains we laboriously folded in the 1970s — are no longer available. Gum sticks today still arrive in silver foil, but the color-charged paper sleeve is hard to find.

No matter. Today’s candy makers have given us plenty of substitutes for crafting wrapper chains, and craft stores offer a smorgasbord of paper, including brightly patterned origami papers, that elevate this craft to a higher level of elegance.

That is, of course, if you can call a paper bracelet and matching earrings elegant.

If I recall my own childhood correctly, this craft is handy for fidgety ones during long, family car rides. Its mindless repetitiveness is soothing, and the creative potential boundless.

Substitute the outer wrappers from Starburst Fruit Chews or Hershey’s Miniatures for the obsolete paper gum wrappers. And look around for other possibilities: A friend’s Swiss brand of mini-chocolates recently were eaten quickly so their shiny red papers could be turned into a brilliant bracelet.

Alternately, use origami paper, which is similar in weight and can be cut to size. The instructions below are slightly different from the traditional gum-wrapper-chain instructions, which can be found at www.Cutoutandkeep.net using Starburst wrappers (see “wrapper bracelet”). By cutting origami paper to size, we eliminate several steps.