This project just popped into my head, although I’m not quite sure why I was thinking about straws to begin with. (Perhaps it was just stream of consciousness?) But I thought straws would be a material that many people would likely have in their home and would be easy to use in this project.
Depending on the length of the finished band, it could be used as a larger decorative rubber band to hold items together, a napkin ring or a bracelet. If you have nice long beads, you could certainly use that instead of straws for a more mature look.