How to put a stapler in Jello

19 comments

1. I wish this had been available 2 weeks ago, because I bought my sister a mug that says I Love Dwight (Cafepress.com) and instead of using the traditional wrapping paper, I wanted to put it in some Jell-O, but it didn’t work. The Jello just didn’t want to stick to the mug. Can’t wait to try this out!

2. Hahaha, that is TOO COOL. I’m so gunna try and make this, lol.

3. I would use the recipe that John the prop guy made. You can actually throw it in the air and catch it. Also, I put a stapler in and once I took it out, I was able to just peel the Jello (well, Knox gelatin) off and it didn’t leave a residue at all.

   Also, his recipe is nice because you can just flip the mold over onto a dish and run water under the bottom so it just slids right out.

   Just my two cents from somebody who has done both.

4. My fiancee and I also used John the Prop Guy’s recipe and it worked out great. We did it on his coworker’s mug. We actually used more water than it says to use in the recipe and it still worked great and held the heavy mug up just right!

5. If you guys took notes on quantities and steps, etc., post ’em here and I’ll amend the recipe with your notes! :)

6. there should be a “stapler in jello” special on the food network. haha.

7. sweetttt

8. The Jello Stapler site isn’t loading :( I think we’ve probably sent too much traffic their way :P

9. hmm so knox gelatin is better? where do you get it though…

10. Knox gelatin is available at the supermarket. Chances are you’ll find it right next to the JELL-O.

11. For those of you who have done this, what method of suspension did you use? Floss, or the filling part-way method?

12. I used green Jell-O as that seems to be Jim’s color of choice on The Office. My husband suggested I use the Jiggler Method on the box to get “stronger”
    Jell-O and I do think it helped. He also suggested doing a foundation layer, also a good idea. I made it in a Pyrex loaf pan and soaked the sides in hot water to help it release (another tip from the Jell-O box). It was a big hit at our office as a birthday gift to a fan of The Office. P.S. It has been sitting at room temperature all day and has not disintegrated.

13. I just tried this, and it didn’t work so well. I didn’t use dental floss – I used the other method (fill it a bit, let it set, drop in stapler, fill up the rest). The stapler fell through to the bottom (the ‘foundation layer’ re-liquefied when the second layer hit it), and the whole thing just kinda fell apart when I inverted it.

    The problem, I think, was that I used 2 cups of water per package – for molding, you’re supposed to use a 25% less (or so the cooking blogs all say). I’m guessing that using the Jiggler recipe would’ve worked, too.

14. I did this. I did a good job of this.
    I have a tutorial on how people can do the stapler prank on my site located here.

15. Jello Prank I did to some co-workers after being inspired by Jim in The Office can be found on my blo.

16. has anyone tried to mail the jello/stapler. i would love to send it to someone, but not sure if it would work. any tips from anyone who has sent it

17. NICCCEEEEEE.

    and i have to say, OfficeTally will always be the ultimate fansite.

    (wow, was that really suck-up-ish of me??)

18. I poured 3 cups of boiling water into 4 small boxes of westernfamily green jello and 2 packages of knox gelatin, stirred til smooth. Cooled in fridge for 3 hrs. I then used clear 25lb fishing line and duct tape to suspend the plastic stapler (painted black with sharpie)above the cold set mixture. I repeated the process of making the jello, only this time I allowed it to sit at room temperature until cool, I then poured it over the stapler. Allowing it to cool for a while kept it from melting the previous layer. Using Knox gelatin also helped. I plan on repeating this with yellow jello for the calculator. the stapler looked flawless, you could not see the fishing line and after immersing in hot water for only a moment it released right out of the plastic bowl. Before hand take the staples out, and use a full size plastic stapler, painted black, these are the lightest staplers.

19. for mailing, go to the craft store, Roberts, Michaels, or JoAnns, and ask for liquid resin. If you explain to them that you want to suspend a staper in what appears to be jello they will walk you through the steps. you will want to use a full size plastic stapler, paint it black with a sharpie marker, and use fishing line and duct tape to suspend it over the bowl. they will tell you how to mix it and what to line your container with, your liner will be determined by the type of resin. you can tint the resin to any color you like, lemon or lime would be a good color. your present will arrive looking perfect, and best of all, it will be a permanent display.