Pretty Paperclips for your penpals!

In the interest of transparency, this is another post that will reappear near the holidays as part of the 12 Days of Holiday Gifting - Penpal Edition series I'm doing this year... and also like my last post, it's just too much fun not to do it sooner!

We write to each other all year. Birthdays and fun mini holidays or made up holidays happen all year... honestly, we should be spreading as much fun and joy and pretty stuff as we can. :D

Pretty Paperclips DIY Gift

NOTE: THIS IS A THING YOU'RE SENDING FOR YOUR FRIEND TO MAKE USING THEIR OWN PAPERCLIPS!

In a perfect world this would arrive to you and then you would make your own parts and send them forward. Like a fun RAK using your artwork or creativity.

SUPPLIES NEEDED: colored paper or decorated paper OR colored sticker paper cut into shapes, a shape to trace, washi tape if you choose that style.

Begin by making the decorated paper or colored sticker paper and then tracing your shapes on the back or undecorated side of sticker or paper.

I gift them in 5's, so be sure you include enough.

some washi on a tag works really well to share with friends

*if you're living dangerously you'll need supplies. LOL

I fold the washi or sticker  paper right side in to feed it through the paperclip.

I tend to add a little glue, washi is made to be moveable, afterall.

a sticker, square of paper or piece of washi will seal this.

Include instructions - I have a PDF (pdf here) with photos. I mail the 1/2 of the PDF that relates to the paperclips with my paperclips, not everyone can get to a printer, so please feel free to direct them here, I'm not getting anything for them visiting or seeing my blog, so you're not promoting me.

Mail them as a fabulous little thing that brings your art into your friend's stationery haul without making the USPS remember you for bad reasons. LMAO

If you do this project or received it in the mail and came here to check it out, please tag me at 12SquaredCreations on Instagram so I can see what you did and how clever you are! xoxo I love to get to see!

*NOTE: the USPS does not like us mailing such things as paperclips. I have found if you tape them down with washi tape and spread them evenly across a page that you can include the paperclips in a mail - I just find it a pain in the butt and so does the USPS because of the machines they use. 

IF YOU SEND PREMADE PAPERCLIPS PLEASE TAPE THEM DOWN, USE A GOOD WEIGHT OF CARD TO PAD THE IRREGULARITIES CREATED BY THE METAL AND MARK YOUR ENVELOPE NON-MACHINABLE THEN MAIL AS NON-MACHINABLE (in 2022 this is $0.88 for the first oz. of weight) BY PAYING ADDITIONAL POSTAGE.