Personalizing a ballpoint pen with embroidery floss and beads can be a fun and creative way to add a unique touch to your school supplies. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make your own back-to-school personalized ballpoint pen.
Gather your materials:
- Embroidery floss in your choice of color
- Beads (size 6 seed beads work well)
- Ballpoint pen
- ¼” or ½” double sided tape
- Gel super glue
Let’s make your own back-to-school personalized ballpoint pen:
- Start with a full skein of embroidery floss, but don’t cut it. Find an end of the floss and thread beads onto the floss. To make the threading easier, you can use a needle or stiffen the end of the floss with nail polish or glue. Of course, you’ll have to wait until the floss dries before threading on the beads. You can thread as many beads as you want, but it’s safer to thread more than you think you’ll need.
- Next, cut a length of double sided tape about 1″ long, and wrap it around the bottom of the pen. Add another wrap next to the first one, being sure not to leave any gap between them. It’s better to overlap than to leave untaped areas. It’s also OK to overlap the beginning and end of the wrap.
- Position the beginning tail of the floss on the tape as shown. The end of the floss should point toward the top of the pen.
Begin wrapping the pen:
- Now, holding the beginning tail in place, begin wrapping the floss tightly around the pen.
- Add two more rounds of double sided tape as the embroidery floss wraps progress.
- Slide the first bead onto the pen and continue wrapping the embroidery floss.
- Continue wrapping the floss, positioning beads, and adding tape to the pen. Beads can be added randomly or in a straight or diagonal line. The number and arrangement of the beads is your choice. As you become more confident with the wrapping process, you can add three or four rounds of tape at a time.
- As you near the top of the pen, position the last piece of tape even with the top edge of the pen.
- Wrap floss to the top of the pen, and trim leaving a short tail.
- Secure the floss at the top of the pen with super glue. I prefer the gel control formula because it is easier to work with. When the glue is totally dry, trim the tail of the floss close to the glue drop.
- And there you have it! Your back-to-school personalized ballpoint pen with embroidery floss and beads is ready for your first day. Enjoy using your unique creation!
