Bead Pens

What You Do:

1. First, pick a pen to make over! For this project, your child can use either a pen that writes in a fun color or texture, or a regular pen that needs a little dressing up.
2. Next, have her pick out some beads to go on the pen. She may want to use alphabet beads to spell out her name or embed her initials within the bead pattern. Seed beads wrapped tightly around the pen also look especially pretty. She may want to avoid large, oddly-shaped beads so the pen is easy to hold – this craft is no fun if you can’t use it after you’re done!
3. Help your child use a ruler to measure and cut off a piece of wire that is about 12 inches in length.  The wire should be thin enough to thread through the holes of beads, but thick enough to hold a shape when wrapped around a pen. She can cut the wire with scissors if it is thin enough, or you can help her cut it with wire cutters.
4. Have her make a loop at one end of the wire with a bead in it, and leave a little extra wire behind the loop.
5. Next, she can start putting beads on the wire in any arrangement or pattern that she likes.
6. Have her continue putting on beads until there is a few inches left at the other end of the wire.
7. Now she can start wrapping the wire around her pen in a tight spiral. Have her use the extra wire near the bottom bead to help secure the wire around the pen (wrap that bit around the pen a few extra times). She can also use the extra wire near the top bead to double or triple wrap around the pen for helping secure the wire to the pen.
8. Give her paper to write on with her new beautiful pen. Perhaps she’ll be inspired to write!