How to Make Beaded Pencils

Embellish school pencils using basic craft supplies.

When your child is starting school for the first time, she may feel intimidated by all of the stark school supplies, such as number two pencils. One way to make school feel more exciting and whimsical is to decorate the pencils using colorful beads. You can buy decorative beads at any arts and craft store, which can be applied using hot glue. This also enables your child to customize her pencils to suit her personal style.

Things You'll Need

• Hot glue stick
• Hot glue gun
• Decorative beads
• Glitter glue

Instructions

1. Push a hot glue stick into the back of a hot glue gun, and then plug the hot glue gun into an electrical outlet to heat up for five minutes.

2. Squeeze a small dollop of hot glue onto the side of a standard pencil, and press a decorative bead onto the hot glue dollop. Hold the bead in place for one minute to let the hot glue harden.

3. Squeeze a second small dollop of hot glue onto the pencil, placing the hot glue next to the first decorative bead. Place a second decorative bead onto the second hot glue dollop, and hold the bead in place for one minute to let the hot glue harden.

4. Repeat this process to apply as many decorative beads as you prefer on the pencil. Allow the hot glue to cool and harden for one minute after each bead is placed.

5. Squeeze a small dollop of glitter glue in the spaces between each bead. This will fill in the spaces between the beads. Allow the glitter glue to dry for 20 minutes before using the beaded pencil.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep hot glue out of the reach of children.

• Hot glue can cause severe burns to skin upon contact.

References

• Technology Student: The Hot Glue Gun