Crafts You Can Make from Office Supplies

Well, what do you know, y’all? I’ve gotten to the bottom of every junk drawer in the house. And what did I find? A couple hundred dollars’ worth of never-used pencils, boxes of staples, and a potpourri of paperclips—not to mention many different sizes and colors of rubber bands. I’m trying not to get too ornery about fulfilling all those school supply lists that demand the purchase of office supplies every summer, only to get them all back by the bagful the following spring. Never fear—I nearly broke a sweat traveling all over the Internet to find these fun suggestions for crafts you can make from office supplies. They’re cute, useful, and great time-fillers for those long days at home.

Rubber Band Ribbons

My momma kept every rubber band that ever held together a bunch of broccoli or a box of blueberries. She’d loop them over the kitchen faucet handles until they piled up and got slimy (eww!). I keep them, too, but I toss them dry into the junk drawer—and then I forget about them until the clean-out-the-junk-drawer urge comes around a few times a year. Colorful rubber bands make great ribbons to hold repurposed brown paper bag wrapping paper around last-minute gifts for that sweet sibling or auntie. Just be sure the bands haven’t dried out and gotten all crispy, or they’ll break before they even make it around the package.

Pencil Pillar Vase

That unopened, unused box of number twos turns a boring plastic vase into a cute desktop organizer for pens, highlighters, and… more pencils. You’ll need a cylindrical vase or large plastic cup, one of those hoarded rubber bands or a ponytail holder, and a piece of ribbon to add some class. Put the band around the vase, tuck a full box of pencils (or as many as fit) upright inside the band next to each other to encircle the vase, and hide the band with a ribbon bow.

Staple Skyscraper

This one is great for the budding architects or engineers in the family. Use those unused bars of staples as beams, joists, and studs to make a model skyscraper, cabin, or house. With a little ingenuity, these staples can become model planes, robots, or tracks for mini toy trains. Save some staples for the literary prodigy in the family to bind a booklet of their latest poems and stories.

Paperclip Page Markers

Yes, I could have said “bookmarks” instead of page markers, but I started with the alliterative headings, so I’m committed. Anyway, it’s easy to make a cute bookmark out of a paperclip by just adding a bow, attaching a string of beads, or adding tags decorated with stamps or stickers.

As long as there’s no limit to your imagination, there’s no limit to the useful and decorative crafts you can make from office supplies. Brainstorming your next junk drawer crafts project will occupy your time and generate activities for your kids without an expensive trip to the craft supply store.

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