Bubble Wrap, O Bubble Wrap, how do I love you?

Did you know today is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day? TRUE STORY! So let me tell you a little bit about the bubble wrap I use to wrap the precious handmade goods that I send to you.

This is how I buy my bubble-wrap…

… in ginormous rolls that are 188 feet long, perforated every 12 inches so that I can rip off piece by piece as I need it. I call the pieces “sheets” because when I tear off a bunch and make a pile during holiday seasons, it reminds me of 12×12 sheets of scrapbook paper. This big baby runs me $26, which when you consider that the first piece usually has tape over it, and the last piece is glued to the cardboard roll inside… it gives me 186 uses (this averages out to about fifteen cents per “sheet”). Sometimes, like in the example below, I actually use two “sheets” per piece, as some of my pieces are larger and need a little extra bubble wrap love.

When my ceramic studio is a little cleaner than it is right now, I have a pole hanging above the place where I slipcast; it’s there for drying yarn, but there’s also just enough space between it and the window that if I take off about two dozen “sheets” of bubble wrap, I can fit this monster on the pole and then pull sheets off of it like a … well, like a giant roll of plastic paper towels.

So, on to wrapping!

First what I do is wrap your treasured piece in tissue paper. If it’s something like a bowl or a mug, I’ll also fill the empty space with packing peanuts. I started doing that because it gives extra cushioning; hollow pieces like that, even when wrapped, can break when knocked around. I’d rather put extra packing peanuts in there for safety and padding, than risk breaking something you liked enough to make it your own.

After the tissue paper wrap and packing peanuts, I’ll evaluate if I think I need one or two sheets of bubble wrap. This mug definitely called for two — I will use one if 100% of the piece is covered with bubble wrap when I’m done, but if any parts of the four corners don’t meet… it’s on to sheet #2.

Here we have a happy finished mug, off to be boxed (with more packing peanuts) and sent to its new home. While I do worry about sending my babies off into the wide world – especially overseas – thanks to bubble wrap, I’m not nearly as worried about them as I could be.

Thanks, Bubble Wrap! I do appreciate you!