I’ve had this sunflower pen since… I can’t even remember when. I think I got it at a bridal show as a freebie from some vendor.
Now, I lose pens like it’s on purpose or something… I swear I can set one down and 5 seconds later it’s wandered off somewhere random. (Backpacks, the car, a shelf, stuck into my ponytail…) Except this one, and it’s not because I love sunflowers or anything, but it’s sorta hard to lose a big flower.
My son’s new daycare had a cute pot of these pens for the parents to use when signing their kids in for the day. I figured they’re probably easy to make, and since I’m still trying to find half most of the things we packed for moving, the easier the better until we get more settled in. That and there are boxes all over my desk, so my workspace is like… from here |————————————| to here. Maybe like twice that.
So, here’s what you need :
- Flowers (duh). Pick ones that aren’t gigantic but will fit well at the end of a pen. Gerber daisies are always a safe bet.
- Pens (this is a really helpful list, right?). They need to be the really basic kind with a little end cap, not the click pens. I used a pack of PaperMate ones.
- Floral tape. You can find this easily in any craft store. One roll is plenty.
- Hot glue or superglue
- A pot. I got a basic one at the craft store.
- Beans, stones or marbles… something to anchor the pens. I used pinto beans but you can really use whatever… coffee beans would look cute too.
- Baby powder
The hardest part is first. You have to pry the caps off the ends of the pens. I just used some beat-up old scissors and sorta hacked at them pried them off. Don’t worry if you mark up the pen a bit, it’s getting covered.
Now, use wire cutters or beat-up scissors to cut the flower stems about a quarter to half inch from the flower base. You want enough to stick into the pen top where you popped the end cap off. Put a little glue on the flower base, stick it into the pen end, and let it set.
Then, take the floral tape and, starting at the flower end of the pen, start wrapping. It sticks to itself and is really easy to wrap.
You’ll end up with some sticky hands at the end of this… sticky hands and cute, sticky pens.
I was aiming more for cute, non-sticky pens, though, so I did a little searching online and found a great tip. Get some baby powder on your hands and rub it down the pen over the tape. It gets rid of the sticky feeling (and makes your pens smell nice too)!
Pour some beans or stones into a pot, and then stick your pens in. That’s it!
Here’s how mine turned out! I picked some fun colors, and threw in a “manly” blue flower so hubby can’t complain about having to write with a flower. 😉
They’re so cute, and really handy! (And they won’t die because someone forgot to water them, not that that ever happens.)