flower pens

The weather was so beautiful this past weekend ... the snow has melted away except for the one spot where my daughter's snowman stood guard ... the winter coats were left behind as the kids play on the street and rode their bikes for the first time this year ... and I'm starting to dream about spring flowers.

I noticed that Michaels had spring (silk) flowers on the front page of this week's flyer and I'm going to make a bouquet of flower pens for my studio office desk. I created a bunch of these flower pens a couple of years ago for my youngest daughter's school. They sat in the school office in small clay pots and everyone commented on them. I was so pleased to find out that a number of the school staff were inspired to make more of them to decorate their desks as well!

Here's what you need to get started:

inexpensive ball point pens (the ones that you can remove the end cap), small silk flowers (with or without leaves), green floral tape

Let's make it:

1. Remove the end caps from the pens.

2. Use a pair of wire cutters to cut the stem of the silk flowers about 1/4" from the base of the flower (or long enough to fit into the empty space at the end of the pen). You may want to cut a couple of leaves off to add to the pen - optional.

3. Place a bit of glue in the open end of each pen and add one flower. Allow the glue to completely dry before continuing.

4. Starting close to the flower at the top of the pen, wrap the floral tape around the pen. Continue to wind the tape all the way down to completely cover the pen and create a "stem". You can add a leaf or two as you wrap the floral tape ... keeping in mind the placement and where you will hold the pen when it is in use. 

I like to display a bunch of pens in glass jars or clay pots. 

Welcome spring!!