Make a Duct Tape Flower Pen

What’s more beautiful and convenient than a flower made out of duct tape? There's no dirt, no thorns and no need to care for it. If you want to liven up your boring old pens and give them a bit of pizazz, why not make a duct tape flower pen for a friend or loved one?

Steps

Making Your Petals

1. Pick a pen. This pen is going to act as your stem, so look for a pen that doesn't have a clicker on the top or on the side. You want the stem to be smooth and clean.
2. Get your duct tape and other supplies. Think about what color you'd like your flower to be when selecting the duct tape. Red, white, and pink are good colors, especially if you want the flower to look like a rose. You will also need a pair of scissors, or a small cutting knife, and a cutting board or a surface where you can cut the duct tape.
   • Have one to two rolls of duct tape in different colors if you’d like to make a multicolored tape flower pen. Get a small roll of green duct tape for the “stem” and the “leaves” of the flower pen.
3. Cut pieces of duct tape for the petals. If you're making larger flowers, cut 23 squares of two to three inch pieces of the duct tape you're making petals out of. If you are making smaller flowers, cut 11 squares of two to three inch pieces of the duct tape. Lay out the pieces of duct tape, sticky side up, on a clean, flat surface.
4. Fold the petals. With the sticky side up, fold one of the corners of a piece of tape down half way across the square of tape, making that corner into a triangle. Keep a half inch of the sticky side uncovered at the bottom of the tape.
   • Then, take the other corner and fold it over to meet the first fold in the middle of the tape square, making the top of the tape into a triangle. The tape should now look like a wide triangle, with a stripe of the sticky side at the bottom.
   • Repeat these steps for the rest of the pieces of tape. You should have a collection of triangles with a stripe of the sticky side at the bottom. These are your petals.
5. Trim the petals. Use the scissors or the cutting knife to trim the top of the triangles so that they are rounded, instead of pointed. The pieces of tape should look like round petals. Your rose petals are now ready to be attached to the stem.

Attaching the Petals to the Pen

1. Create a “stem” with the pen. Roll the pen lengthwise across a long piece of green tape, with the sticky side up. Do this until the pen is covered in several, even layers of green tape. Cut off any extra bit of tape so that the tape doesn't extend past the length of the pen.
2. Make the center of the flower. Tightly roll the triangle piece around the top of pen, with the rounded side of the petal facing the top of the pen. Use the sticky side on the triangle piece to secure it to the pen. This will be the center of the flower and you will build the petals around it.
3. Attach the petals to the flower. To do this, you will continue to attach the pieces with the sticky part on the pen and tightly roll the pieces around the pen. Keep the rounded side of the petals facing the top of the pen as you attach and roll them.
   • Slightly overlap the petals as you attach them and keep the tips of your petals even. Don’t roll the pieces all in one straight line. Instead, position the triangle pieces under each other, overlapping slightly, so they unfold like the petals of a flower.
   • As you roll the triangle pieces onto the stem, crinkle them at the bottom with your fingers. Do this by using your thumb to push the bottoms of the petals to mush them so they are crinkled, once they are attached to the pen.
4. Add the leaves under the flower, also known as the sepals. Make two sepals, following the same steps you completed for the petals.
   • Cut two two to three inch squares of green duct tape.
   • As you did with the petals, fold over two of the corners of the pieces to make two triangles, with a strip of white sticky tape showing at the bottom.
   • Wrap the two pieces around the stem at the base of the flower, one of each side of the flower.
5. Accessorize your flower pen. Now that you have created a beautiful flower pen, make it more realistic by spraying floral perfume on the petals, or use your fingers to crinkle the petals slightly.
   • You can also make a bouquet of duct tape flower pens. Create more flower pens by following the same steps.

Tips

• If you stick a piece of tape in the wrong spot over another piece, don't worry! They easily lift off of each other as long as you don't press down too hard.

Video

Template:Video:Make a Duct Tape Flower Pen

Things You'll Need

• At least two rolls of of duct tape (various colors)
• A pen
• Scissors or craft knife
• Cutting board

Related Articles

• Make Duct Tape Flower Pens/Pencils
• Create a Duct Tape Twist Flower
• Make a Duct Tape Bracelet
• Make a Duct Tape Rose

Sources and Citations

• Videos provided by SoCraftastic

See also

• Make a Cute Duct Tape Bracelet
• Use Duct Tape
• Make a Duct Tape Rose
• Make a Duct Tape Bullwhip
• Make a Duct Tape Book Cover
• Make a Duct Tape Turtle
• Make a Duct Tape Dress
• Make a Duct Tape Ring
• Make a Duct Tape Cap
• Make a Duct Tape Tie

Read more ...