Estimated time to complete activitiy:
15 min. per flower

Materials needed:
'stick' type ball point pen(s)

silk flower(s)

green floral tape

hot glue gun

horizontal cutters (for cutting wire stems of flowers, as needed)

Description:
A pen with a Flower on top is conspicuous enough that it tends not to 'wander' from one's desktop by accident. ;-)

Instructions:
Basic concept: the flower (and leaves, as desired) are attached to the Top part of the pen by wrapping tightly w/the green floral tape...and then you keep winding down the length of the pen until you get close to the tip (writing end)...after that, you may wish to wind at least partially back Up again (for full coverage).

Other suggestions or comments:
If you think the flower is not adequately secured, some hot glue here n' there, up near the top, can help. If you've added leaves, pressing the leaves up against the hot glue 'blobs' can hide some of the glue ;-) There are so many different types of silk flowers available that there is no single perfect method; you'll customize/perfect your technique as you go along.

Adults should handle hot glue application, but within moments, kids can help press and hold flowers in place, until they firm up.

Your "vase" may be as simple as a decorated soup can. The soup can is the approximate size of the vessel you'd need to hold a 'bouquet' of flower pens. Thrift stores a potential source of vases. Dollar Stores may yield vases and flowers. Consider adding a few Butterfly pens to the bouquet, too; they can be found with attached wires, so the handling is much the same as w/flowers.

Fat daisies, sunflowers, and other 'layered' blooms will require more care, glue and patience than smaller, simpler flowers, but are worth the effort once you get the hang of it!

Our PTA set up basket bouquets of Flower Pens in the teacher's lounge. This was an effective visual display, and the small token of appreciation is useful to all.