Pear Pen

t!m Holtz outlines this tutorial in his book, distressables 2. Using strips of cardstock around toy block beads, then gluing into a stack and inserting a bic stick pen...viola! A clever gift you won't want to give away! Step 1: assemble materials.

Step 2: Stamp Lockhart Pear repeatedly on a piece of white cardstock.

Step 3: Color in some pears with the gold leafing pen, layer others with brown Copic markers.

Step 4: Continue coloring using the green Copic markers. Outline all pears in BV31 (pale lavender) to make them 'pop'. Step 5: Cut colored, stamped cardstock into 2-1/2" wide pieces by approx. 5/8". Fold around blocks, adhering with a strong adhesive, leaving drilled holes open. I used Crafter's Pick Ultimate! glue - it is a waterbased superglue. You could use Mod Podge or Elmers too. Ink all edges of covered blocks with a Distress pad. I alternated two Distress pad colors here (Antique Linen & Peeled Paint). Step 6: Adhere all covered blocks together with adhesive, aligning holes, and allow to dry. Use a pair of wire snips to carefully remove the ink barrel from the Bic Stic pen. Use the wire snips to remove the open end (about 1/4") of the barrel without ink. This will allow the pen to fit nicely into the altered block sheath.

Step 7: Cut a square of stamped, colored cardstock to approx. 5/8" square to cover the hole in the top of the pen and ink edges. Affix with glue.

Step 8: Stand pen upright and ink wood opening with Distress pad. Paint inside open hole with glue and insert pen barrel, pushing firmly into glue and allow to dry.

Step 9: Coat pen with a thin coating of MicroGlaze. MicroGlaze makes the entire pen (both wood and cardstock) waterproof, impervious to fingerprints and so forth! Find a spot for the pen to dry - the inside of a ribbon spool works great - once dry buff with a clean, soft cloth. I had a bit of leftover stamped & colored cardstock, so I created a card to match (see pic at top of this post). This pear image from Lockhart is one of my favorites. I created an oval mask from cardstock and used a Copic airbrush system to create the lime halo. Stamped image, colored with Copic markers. Gift and card? check! :) Thank you for stopping by!

Lockhart Pear image; white cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Archival Ink in Jet Black (Ranger), Distress ink pads in Antique Linen and Peeled Paint (Ranger); card uses Pears in bowl image from Lockhart, Memory Box card in Granny Smith, black cardstock (SU), Nestabilities dies, black brads, Copic airbrush system.