Polymer Clay Projects.
Make a Polymer Clay Covered Pen
By Beth Karp
This is one of the most popular polymer clay projects out there, and understandably so. It's simple to make while the payback is so satisfying: a beautiful one-of-a-kind object d'art that you can actually use and even refill. Not to mention the pen's new-found chubbiness makes it seriously comfortable to hold. It's win-win.
The only warning I have is to choose your polymer clay wisely. For this particular project, because it's a utilitarian piece and will surely be dropped on the floor a few times, stay away from regular SculpeyIII - choose Premo, Fimo or Cernit, they've got the durability you'll need.
As for what to cover the pens with, if you do canes, go crazy! I've never been a big cane girl myself (too lazy) so I just do a mishmash of clays stuck together. If you check the link at the bottom of the article you'll see a photo of the finished pen; a pasta machine'd mix of gold Premo, Fimo Granite and Transparent Fimo along with whatever scraps I didn't clean off my workspace. I wad up the colors, shape it into a little sausage, slice it in half, mirror the pieces and roll it into one psychedelic pancake. The mix of translucent in there gives it depth and the whole mix is very marble-like. But that was just one pen of dozens I've made (ah, so many pens...so little time).
Another fun technique is to roll the covered pen (prior to baking) in colorful seed beads. You end up with a very cool result: texture, sparkle and even some girlyness. Fun!
As always, with polymer clay the sky is the limit on what you can do, so have a great time discovering your inner pen-maker. I bet you'll be so pleased with your fabulous new pen, it might even take some sting out of check-writing (ok, probably not). So without further ado, go make a pen!
What You'll Need:
A strong Polymer Clay such as Premo or Fimo
Pasta Machine for making clay sheets
Ballpoint Pens (we like some rubbery Pilot Pens we found, just make sure you get refillable ones!)
How To Make It:
1. Roll clay through pasta machine to make an even sheet. You can twist up different colors to make great patterns.
2. Measure pen circumference and height and cut a rectangle that size from your clay.
3. Roll the clay around pen casing, join and smooth edges together. Smooth over end nicely, too.
4. Bake.
5. Once cooled, insert pen innards back into newly covered pen casing, screw on tip and voila, you're done.
Flo Karp is owner of the Polymer Clay World website. To see a photo of this project and more great projects, visit our Polymer Clay Projects page. For a full selection of polymer clays tools, clay and supplies, visit us online. Happy rolling!
Polymer Clay Projects.
