It’s fun and easy to make original pencil toppers with Homemade Modeling Dough. Make a simple dough in less than 15 minutes, and use your fingers to shape fun, fanciful, or beautiful creations of your own design. Aunt Annie has included suggestions for creating easy, silly and cute pencil toppers.
This craft project requires few materials and is great for family, classroom or group craft time. The modeling dough can be made in advance and stored ready-to-use in the refrigerator.
Related crafts: Use the modeling dough to make imaginative Refrigerator Magnets. This project includes ideas for forming fall-themed shapes.
Read through the project then gather the materials needed for making the pencil toppers. Follow the craft recipe for Homemade Modeling Dough to make dough balls of green, yellow and pink, or other colors best for the toppers you will be making. For example, Aunt Annie's teddy bear topper requires brown, pink and white modeling dough.
If doing this craft with a group, make one recipe of Homemade Modeling Dough for every three children. It's better to have too much than too little. Leftover modeling dough can be saved for weeks in the refrigerator.
Spread a sheet of wax paper on the table so the dough won't stick.
Pinch off enough dough to make a ¾" ball, and leave the rest in the sealed bag or container. Push the ball onto the eraser end of a pencil and start shaping your creation. Attachments like petals, noses, and ears can be shaped from smaller balls and glued in place with a dab of water. See Modeling Ideas below.
To make several balls of dough the same size, roll the dough into a long snake and cut into equal-sized pieces with the plastic knife. To make ¾" (1.5 cm) balls, roll the dough into a snake about ½" (1cm) in diameter and cut into 1" (2 cm) segments.
When you have finished molding your pencil topper, put the pencil with pencil topper aside to dry in a pencil cup or other tall container. It should dry in a day or two to a hard finish. Toppers may be left plain or painted with nail polish or varnish for added durability. Be sure to work in a well-ventilated area when using nail polish or varnish.
The modeling dough will dry to a hazy finish. To restore the bright color of the dough, rub some vegetable oil into the dry topper.
That's it! Your pencil toppers
are complete!
Tip: The heart and star toppers are easy to make. Create some interest by adding a small heart or circle to the topper in another color of modeling dough.
Tip: Make petals for flowers by rolling five or six balls of the same size, then pressing them flat to form petals.
Tip: Other animal heads can be modeled like the teddy bear. Change the placement and shape of the ears to make a dog. Use pink dough as a basis for a pig. Your imagination is the limit!
Tip: After the pencil toppers are dry, use permanent markers to add details.
