You have a beadable pen, but you want to make it really special! No more boring barrel on your desk. You want sparkle, a bow, something with pizzazz! Well, that's what we will do here. I will teach you how to do it from our video, right to the final sparkly dunk. I will also warn you of the not-so-easy bits. (There always are!).
A little intro. I'm Zoe, the woman behind ZoeDIY. This tutorial is a narrated walk-through of our video made with the materials on hand in the order in which they happened. Not just theory.
Here's the juicy truth. If you've been searching how to make a beaded pen and landed on our page, then this is just one of many! A clay based technique. Just one of the options. It may not be the 'correct' way, but it is an easy way that produces something rather cute. If it has been done with a different method then that's also fine. No beading police is coming to get you!
A quick note before we get started. The pen in the video has already been covered with white Clay at the beginning of the demo. We are shaping and decorating off of that, not mixing or wrapping the bare pen. The Clay is preexisting (another important point). Keep this in mind while reading.
Before You Start: What You Need
So what's in the video. The pen uses one certain kit of items (I will link the ones we carry so you can hunt down the same things if you want. You don't have to match it bead for bead.). But this was the kit that made this pen.
| Item | What it does here |
|---|---|
| Beadable pen | The base. This is how the base looks in the video from the beginning of the build after being covered in Clay. |
| A Clay + B Clay | The Clay body you shape and decorate |
| Yellow shaping stick | For refining the shape of the Clay surface |
| Mini bow charms | The small recurring decoration along the barrel |
| One giant leopard-print bow | The statement piece resting near the top |
| Sugar Diamonds | The granular sparkle finish |
| Disposable gloves + a shallow tray | Keeps your hands clean and collects the Sugar Diamonds |
Here are the ingredients for the base. Check out our beadable pens collection. Clay (our A Clay + B Clay set). Smoothing tool (yellow shaping stick). Sparkle (Sugar Diamonds). Small bows used in this video don't have an exact match on our site. However you can browse the nail charms for a style you love. Large leopard bow is a decorative bow. Nothing special to source.
Step 1: Shape the Clay Already on the Pen
Okay. The hands are on the pen. White and sandwiched around the barrel of the pen. The only thing not in your hands right now is the top metal rod. What you're doing at the moment is just working with your hands. Press and smooth the Clay as much as you want, using your finger to push a little. Work the Clay. Make it sit flush, all the way around. No tools yet. Just fingers.
Keep a close eye on the top rod that is exposed. That's the fiddly bit, just where the pole exits. Just work that area carefully and smooth it over before progressing.
And take your time here, I know it can be really frustrating trying to blow through the boring shaping stage just so you can make the pretty bows, but really? So take your time and press and turn, press and turn, until the whole barrel is as smooth and even under your fingers as you can make it. Boring? Yes. Important? Also yes!
Step 2: Refine It with the Shaping Stick
Next, the yellow stick. Now the finger marks are on the clay, we need to use the shaping stick to smooth the surface. Use the shaping stick over the clay, smooth out the finger marks and any lumps from step 1. Do this all around the whole barrel. Then re-move back to the top opening again, and tidy round the rod area to make it smooth.
The stick is for fine tuning. I haven't got a magical pressure number for you here. Breathe. A nice, flat clay base is what you want for the next bits to sit on, so relax.
Step 3: Press in the Little Bow Charms
Here's where it gets adorable. Get the small bow charms and start pressing them one at a time into the Clay, working along the barrel. One, then the next, then the next, creating the repeating pattern as you go. Push each one in as the video shows.
Position them in any spaced whatever. The video flows through them along repeating row so that's the pattern where going to aim for, but frankly this is where you call the shots. Arrange them straight or spread them out, just keep hammering them home one at a time (easy tiger) until the barrel has that rhythmically busy ornament look.
Step 4: Add the Big Leopard-Print Bow
And now for the statement piece. See that bright metal rod jutting out the top? That's what this goes on. Insert the exposed rod through the center of the large, leopard print bow, then slide the bow downward toward the top of the pen until it settles in. Done! Rod through the middle, bow slides down. Too easy.
Just get it centered and slid down against the top, and it looks deliberate. One big bow at the top, all those little bows down the body. Nice!
Step 5: The Sugar Diamonds Finish
And this final step, one more to go! so take your pink Sugar Diamonds (the sparkly stuff) and sprinkle it over the shallow tray. Take your Clay covered barrel and roll it through the Sugar Diamonds, rolling and pressing so the exposed Clay picks up the granular sparkly coating the way the video shows.
Roll it, press it, turn it, whatever get it covered even. Pack in those sides you didn't get before. The tray will catch the ones that go flying about so you're not creating a mess everywhere (you will still create a mess, that's Sugar Diamonds for you!). Keep going until the exposed Clay has a completely sugared appearance. Then you're finished adding things.
The area often forgotten? The areas hidden from view! It's quite simple to make the front of the Clay look inviting by holding it into the air and squealing "Ooh! Pretty!!!" but really neglect the back and underside, then when you've put it down a bare patch will stare back at you. So be sure to rotate the entire thing as you work; front, back, sides, whole thing. And give it a gentle squeeze into the tray!
The Finished Pen
And there you have it! A boring old beadable pen turned into a not-so-boring glitzy topped-off bubbled-up number with a leoparding bow on top and a sugared body. There's little bows down the barrel, a great big bow at the crown and the whole thing is so shiny and blingy, it really catches the light.
Let's be clear about one thing. The video is of the finished pen, not of it in use, so I won't be making any claims about the actual writing experience or how well the finish stands up to use. What I will say is that it looks good. The rest is up to you.
Making It Your Own
Same thing, these are pink bows and pink sparkle but that is of course nothing to do with the design! Replace the little bows for any other shape that catches your eye (stars, hearts, tiny little blooms, whatever) there's a whole bag full of them to choose from in the nail charms. Do you want a different color of sparkle to go with the pink Sugar Diamonds? That's fine.
That's part of the fun, really. No two people end up with identical pens! Switch up the charms, switch up the color, switch up the energy. But because charms vary in shape and size, treat them as design alternatives rather than a promise that every one sits in the Clay just like these little bows. Make one to complement your favorite mug, or desk, or just your mood that day.
A Few Questions
Is this the only way to make a beadable pen?
Nope. Not even this one. There are plenty of other ways to bead and decorate a pen. This one is just a pretty one. This is one Clay-based approach, our approach in the video.
Is it possible for me to select other charms?
Absolutely. The exact small bows here aren't a current match on the site. You can go through all the nail charms and select whichever design you like, just keeping in mind that different shapes and sizes may sit differently in the Clay.
Am I required to get the same beadable pen?
We're not claiming an exact match for the pen body in the video, and different pen bodies can vary, so check the one you're using. Bear in mind the video begins with Clay already on it, so you'll be starting there.
Is ZoeDIY planning to share more tutorials about pens?
Yes, we have more in store! We keep sharing beadable-pen techniques, supplies, and project ideas so be sure to visit us again.
That's one of the ways to make and decorate a beadable pen, Clay, bows, and lots of Sugar Diamonds. That's just one way of doing it, and not even the last we'll feature. We're going to keep posting beadable-pen instructions and inspiration here, so keep an eye on this page and check out the beadable-pen projects hub for more to try. If you want a completely different style, check out our Pink Flower beaded pen tutorial.
Written and reviewed by ZOE, Business Owner at ZoeDIY.
