DIY: Jewelry Made From Office Supplies

I am obsessed with office supplies. I love fancy paper stores like Paper Source but there is always a thrill in making magic out of ordinary office supplies, the kind you find at Staples. After Clara and I improvised a paper clip jewelry project awhile back, I wanted to continue making jewelry from office supplies. This DIY jewelry project was partly for kicks and partly serious, I’m still not sure which….so off I went to Staples where I had a blast buying paper clips, brads, rubber bands and more in hopes of creating some funky jewelry! I have a feeling school-age girls would love this project, my three year old Clara was still a little young to get into it, instead she made up her own project: using poster tack and erasers to make figures. I loved her idea, too….so look for future post on Office Supply Sculptures!

Office Supply Jewelry

Materials:

I didn’t use everything pictured here…yet…but boy the color and shapes are inspiring, don’t you think?

And here’s what we made….

Butterfly Clip Necklace: Alternate standard paper clips with butterfly clips for pretty little metallic necklace.

Brad and Paper Clip Necklace: I’m not gonna lie, this one is a little painful! Alternate large paper clips with standard sized paper clips, then fish the brads through the standard clips for decoration. I used brads on the entire necklace but if you just use them only on the front and wear a turtleneck I think this could be a really fun piece to wear! It reminds me of a coral necklace I inherited from my mother….

Giant Paper Clip Necklace: I couldn’t resist buying these enormous paper clips. They are three inches long and gold! You don’t need to do much more than string them together for this simple, artsy necklace.

Rubber Band and Book Ring Belt: I loved these giant colorful rubber bands the minute I laid eyes on them!  Just note that they do dry out and eventually break. Of course none of DIY jewelry pieces we are making here are permanent anyway. And I’ve just started with books rings….I see endless possibilities with these.

Braided Rubber Band Bracelets: Giant rubber bands are so fun to work with! I tried a bunch of bracelet iterations using these as the base; in the end I liked the braided look best. I used a colored paper clip to connect the ends together. Friendship bracelets anyone?

That’s the first installation of DIY Office Supply Jewelry…I hope to start using the erasers and tacks to make a studded piece…any ideas?

Enjoy!

Fill your child’s life with more art, design, and science:

Subscribe via email and check out our FB page where I share tons more creative ideas and resources from around the web.

 Spread Creativity Like Wildfire: Pin This!