How to Make a Pencil Topper

Add personality to your plain pencils with eraser clay.

Pencil toppers add a decorative touch to pencils and come in a variety of shapes, characters and colors. Rather than purchasing prefabricated pencil toppers from office supply or department stores, make your own pencil topping creations with eraser clay. Make an entire set of toppers for each of your pencils to show off your creative style.

Things You'll Need

• Bakeable eraser clay
• Pencils
• Baking sheet

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to the temperature recommended on the eraser clay packaging.

2. Break off a piece of eraser clay about the size of a marble to use as a base for your pencil topper. Work it in your hands to soften it.

3. Press the eraser clay over the end of a pencil like a cap, covering the top and 1/2 inch of the sides, all the way around the pencil. Press it over the end that does not have an attached eraser. This will help you build the topper without worrying about it being stuck on the end of the pencil before you bake it.

4. Build the decorative part of the topper by hand-forming shapes or pieces of objects with several colors of eraser clay. Roll snakelike shapes to coil around the topper or form shapes using your fingers.

5. Moisten the eraser clay that is already smoothed over the pencil with a wet finger. Press the decorative objects that you created onto the moistened clay gently, so you do not smash your handiwork, but firmly enough so the pieces stick together.

6. Lift the entire pencil topper carefully away from the end of the pencil by sliding it off of the end.

7. Place the pencil topper onto the baking sheet and bake it for the amount of time indicated on the eraser clay packaging. Baking the topper longer than directed can result in brittle and crumbling clay.

8. Allow the finished topper to cool on the baking sheet for 20 to 30 minutes before placing it over the end of your pencil to prevent burns.