Google+ House Revivals: Easy Ways to Embellish Paperclips!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Easy Ways to Embellish Paperclips!

It's that time of year when we are filling in and organizing new planners and calenders! I've always loved getting a brand new calender or planner and filling in birthdays and anniversaries and all those other "hard" dates right away. I like to keep several paperclips in my planner to hold my place, or to hold lists or receipts.


I am not into complicated planners -- my system must be simple or I just won't do it.  If a planner adds another layer of complication to my life, I don't want it. For instance, paperclips are awesome, but they need to be easy to see and differentiate from each other and grab.



Here are some easy ways I found to embellish paperclips to make them easier to use in planners -- and notebooks and recipe books, too!


Since I have a stash of vintage buttons and bits of trim, that's what I used. Here's what you will need to make these pretty embellished paperclips:

  • paperclips (longer clips are best)
  • shank style buttons (these don't need to be vintage -- maybe you can rescue one from an old blouse)
  • bits of ribbon or seam tape
  • hot glue gun



Now,thread the the paperclip through the shank of the button. In the picture below, I have the paperclips on the far left and far right threaded correctly, but the one in the middle needs to be slid the rest of the way around so that the paperclip will function properly -- I didn't realize it until after I glued it, but it was easy to fix.


Use a tiny dab of hot glue to hold the button in place.


Now you can either tie or glue a length of ribbon around the shank of the button -- or skip the ribbon.


If you don't want the bulk of a button, you can simply tie on a piece of ribbon or trim and secure in place with a dab of glue. Twill tape or rickrack works great for this.


Use these pretty paperclips to mark your favorite recipes, or to organize your papers.


This project is so quick and easy, you will want to make them for your friends, too!


If you enjoyed this tutorial, please check out the House Revivals sidebar for ways to subscribe, so you won't miss any of the projects we have planned! Please feel free to use the icons at the bottom of this post to share on you favorite social media sites.

Do you keep a planner? What tips do you have for successful planner organization?