Easy Pen Craft

For Christmas, we mailed these adorable pens to our out-of-town family and friends.  

I used to be a server, so I am cursed into being a pen toting, pen collecting, don't-throw-that-pen-away freak.  Naturally, I thought these were just the most perfect little useful gifts ever. 

They were also cheap to mail, inexpensive to buy, and quick to make.  Not to mention, they came out super adorable and personal.  Well, I loved them so much that I wanted one or four for myself.  So today we made more cute pens for me...and Daddy. 

They're color coded.  

The blue print is Skyland. 

The green print is Azariah. 

The yellow print is Noelle.  (Yes, even my seven month old joined in on this one!)

And I wanted my pens to be a bit more special than the ones I sent out, so the red print is me.

All you need is pens and paint. I got a pack of  ten white ballpoint pens from Dollar Tree, and they work perfectly for this project.
I'm sure you can tell how to do this just by looking at the pictures, but I'm going to briefly explain it anyway. 

One child at a time, I dipped a finger in a very small, way-less-than-a-pea-sized bit of paint, and let them touch all the pens.  (Being careful not to let the prints overlap too much! )

Then, I put the pens up to dry for a few hours, and that was it. 

Including set up and clean up, the activitity took less than 5 minutes.

I was pleased to have a small surprise for Jeffrey when he got home, and even happier to add some keepsake, sentimental pens to my collection. 

Besides, who doesn't need pens?! Especially when they've got the cutest prints on them.