Flower Pencil Decoration
August 19, 2009 | By
Well here in Georgia it’s back to school, so I’ve been thinking about school related crafts. My daughter, Alyssa, just entered the second grade and she just loves pencils. As we walked through the door on the first day each child received a pencil in celebration of the schools 20th anniversary. Alyssa held that pencil like it was the most precious thing ever.
The pencil seemed kind of plain though and I found myself thinking about how to dress it up. Just about everyone has probably seen those pencils with fake flowers glued to the top sticking in a clay pot. Cute idea that I thought I would adapt for my purpose using felt and a few other materials. To make our flower we chose yellow and orange felt. The only other things you will need are tape, scissors and yarn or ribbon. 
First we cut two strips of felt, one strip of each color. Our strips were 6” x 2”. Using the scissors cut a series of slits along one edge, making sure to stop about half an inch from the edge, kind of like you are making fringe. Each piece of fringe represents a petal and is about ¼” wide. Do this to both pieces.
With one strip lying on top of the other, lay the pencil at one corner on the side that has not been cut. Now roll the felt around the pencil and use a piece of tape to secure the felt to the pencil. Use the ribbon or yarn to cover the tape. We used green acrylic yarn which we wrapped tightly around the base of the flower.
To finish it off, fan out the petals a little so that it resembles a flower. You now have a cute decorated pencil for school. Taking this idea a little further you could make several in bright cheerful colors and put them in a clay pot. Don’t forget you would need coffee beans, marbles or something else to stick the pencils into. For the petals you could use paper that already has a design or your child could decorate a plain sheet using crayons and markers. I think these would be great for home or to give as a gift.
Camille Jacks Morgan is a mom and a PT computer teacher. She runs an ArtFire Studio at www.artfire.com/users/bycamille and Etsy Shops at www.cmorgan3511.etsy.com and www.homebycamille.etsy.com
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