Last Christmas (“I gave you my hearrt!”) I had an obsession with polymer clay. I made some ring dishes, Christmas ornaments, thought about jewelry (probably the only craft I haven’t done). So I have tons of it in my craft room.

I also love pens. I think I pick some up each time I go to the office supply store. Pencils too. I saw somewhere that you could put polymer clay onto pens, bake them, and bam. You have these super cute pens!

Supplies:
*Polymer clay
*Ballpoint pens (where you can remove the ink)
*Sharp knife
*Wax paper
*Cookie sheet
*Aluminum foil

Directions:
First you need to choose the colors you want to use for your pens. I had Dylan choose the first one so of course, it was purple. I had some clay that was already mixed together from previous projects so I used some of that or added a solid color to it also. They turned out so cool that way.

Remove the ink barrels from the pens.

I used Sculpey III clay. When you take it out of the package, it is already scored in 4 different quarters. Cut one quarter in half and start rolling it in between your hands.

 
You’re going to feel like it’s not getting soft, but with the heat of your hands, it will. Roll it into a “snake” (as we call it here). Make it about the length of the pen.

Now take your second color and do the same. Lay them next to each other and grab the ends.

Now twist the ends as much or as little as you want. The less you work your clay, the less intricate your designs will be (I’ll note at the end how I did each one).

 
After you are done twisting, roll it on the wax paper so it smooths out.

 
Fold it in half and twist again. Now roll it until it’s smooth. Again, the more times you twist and roll, the more intricate your design will be, so do it as much or as little as you’d like. Once you have it where you want it, roll it out to the length of about 2 pens. 

Take your super sharp knife and slice off the end; about 1/16 – 1/8 inch. Now make slices that same size of the rest of the “snake.” You should get about 2 pens worth.

Once you’re done slicing, push them onto the pen until they stick. Place them randomly along the pen. (Don’t worry about white space. We will work on getting that closed next.)

Once they’re all placed, roll the pen on the wax paper. You’ll notice that the white space gets filled in with the clay pieces.

Keep rolling until there is no white space. Lay them on the foil lined baking sheet (not touching each other) and bake them for 20 minutes at 275 (or whatever the directions say on the package). Remove from the oven and let them cool before handling.

And of course, since I’m “playing” with my clay, Dylan needs to do the same. He loves this stuff.

I am OBSESSED with how these colors came out!

These orange and red ones – the top one I twisted and smoothed out one extra time than the bottom to show you the differences.

This is from leftovers of 2 of the other ones.

The top one I didn’t twist and roll. I just sliced up a solid purple and a solid teal and placed them on the pen. The bottom one I twisted and rolled once.

This is leftover from a ring dish I did so it was already twisted and rolled and flattened, and then I twisted and rolled it once. I love how this one turned out!

This is my “bacon pen,” haha. It was a piece of red and white left over from a ring dish and then I twisted and rolled it with a pink one.

Love all these colors! You can do many colors, fancy designs, whatever! There is no right or wrong way!

 
We love headbands in our house for Reagan. I even got Dan on board with picking one out when he gets her dressed – and he’s pretty good at it!

My best friend had a baby in June and when she posted her big reveal picture of her, she had the sweetest headband on. It was tied into a perfect little knot. I knew I had to have that for Reagan!

Beautiful Baby Brooklyn! Welcome to the craziness!

So, of course, I set out to create an easy, cheap DIY. The elastic that I used can be purchased at the fabric store, but I grabbed mine at the Dollar Tree because I pretty much live there, and I didn’t need to go to the fabric store because I already had the fabric I wanted to use.

Could you die with this fabric? It was a fat quarter bundle from my new favorite fabric store – Wal-Mart! And I am obsessed with it.

Here are the elastic ties….(I just untied the knot).

These are just basic black, but if you’re looking for super cute colorful ones, look no further 😉 (Promise, it’s not a shameless plug for myself! Use coupon code UNDERCONTROL for free shipping!)

You can do this with a yard of fabric, but I wanted to do the tutorial with a fat quarter. It’s totally up to you. Here’s what you need:

*Elastic (the kind for headbands) at least 7 inches long (these are 8.5)
*2 pieces of fabric – 3.5 inches x 11 inches each (pressed and ready to go)
(Fat quarters say they’re 21 inches, but they’re 22)
*Sewing machine and all its components

Directions:
So, to get that size fabric pieces, I cut one of the quarters 3.5 x 22 inches, then cut it in half.

Take one of your pieces of fabric and fold it with the right side in, long ways.

Pin it along the open side and put your last pin in about 2 inches from the end. This is where you’re going to bring your seam inward toward the fold to make the ends pointed.

Start sewing and curve in when you get to your last pin (about 2 inches from the end) and pull it in just under the corner. Back stitch over it.

Cut off the extra so it’s not keeping the inside bulky when you flip it right side out.

Flip them right side out and fold the seam about 1/4-1/2 inches in. Put 2 pins on the elastic so that you have 2.5 inches showing in the middle.

Sew along the edge to sew it shut.

Now you can decide where you want the knot at the top of the headband. Wrap it around her head and knot it. I went based off of her other headbands – they are 14 inches.

I have already made her 2! Such a fun way to get some more color into her outfit 🙂

Before I get into this one, I have to confess.

These decorations were not used for a 4th of July party. They were for our Memorial Day party. Almost the same concept, right? I mean, it’s not, but the color scheme is the same.

Anyway, they were super easy and pretty cheap.

The smaller mason jars I had on hand from freecycle (if you’re not on freecycle, you should be) and the larger ones I bought (Ball jars) from Wal-Mart for less than $1 a piece. I think it was $10 for a box of 12.

For the sand layered candles, I just bought 3 containers of sand at Hobby Lobby and layered them in the jars. Also, a tip about buying colored sand from Hobby Lobby – I am not sure if craft sand ever goes on sale, but the wedding sand does and it is exactly the same thing, but cheaper if it’s on sale. So if it’s wedding sale week, check out the wedding aisle first. This also goes the same for other wedding stuff – ribbon, tulle, organza bags, table runners, etc. Always check the wedding aisle first. You’re welcome.

The candles were bought from Wal-Mart – also super cheap; and the hemp cord was brought up from my basement. Like most of my craft items. It is a mini Hobby Lobby down there, I kid you not.

When you layer your sand, be careful not to let it brush up against the side. It will stick. Then you’ll have to brush it down with a paint brush or pastry brush. I didn’t brush mine down because I didn’t realize it rubbed on the side until after I added the white. And I used all my sand. So once you start this, you can’t start over.

Then I just plopped the tea light candles in and tied the hemp cord on. Storing these bad boys until next year’s party is going to be a pain because you really can’t shake them up. Right now they’re just sitting in a spare room in the basement.

For the utensil jars, I found some ribbon at Wal-Mart (their craft section is awesome) and just hot glued each layer to the next. So simple!

I plan on reusing these every year for our Memorial Day party. The table cloth was just 2 yards of fabric (from Wal-Mart!) that my talented mommy added more fabric to and give it some extra length.