Decorate office supplies with fabric

While procrastinating at my desk yesterday, I found myself staring at our letter opener and thinking how plain it looked. Clearly I couldn't keep using such an abomination. It must be decorated.

See? It's so.... white. And those clips. So black. No fun. I'd seen some lovely binder clips available for purchase here and here, decoupaged with paper, but I wasn't sure how fabric would work. Experiment time.

1) I tried three options: fabric pieces with iron-on interfacing applied, fabric with HeatnBond applied (not that I was going to iron it to the metal, but it makes your fabric sort of papery when you've pulled off the backing), and just plain fabric.
2) Trimmed the pieces carefully to size.
3) Removed the wire handles of the clips (very easy).
4) Applied spray adhesive to the back of the fabric pieces and stuck them to the surfaces.
5) Reattached the wire handles.
6) Painted on two coats of gel medium (thinned with a little water) to seal the fabric on.

Verdict: My interfacing was too thick. Not needed. HeatnBond was good, because it gave the fabric just a bit of stiffness, making it easier to position. Fabric alone worked okay, too. The gel medium seals it down so the edges won't fray. Happiness.

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