Ok, yes, I'm a thief. But look how cute this is! I couldn't resist. Actually, what you see in the pic is what I made after going to the public library and asking to borrow a pen. It wasn't until this horrible red flower (I swear it was the size of one of my throw pillows) was placed in my hand that I noticed someone actually took the time to wrap the ugly thing with green tape to make the stem. Huh, pretty! While this horribly gaudy pen was meant to be that way so that no one would WANT to steal it... what would it look like if made to be pretty and match the decor of your home? And it would serve the same purpose: to keep the pens in their place. I mean, that would be an awesome house warming gift too! This little gem guarantees that I NEVER have to go in search of a pen again!!! I totally stole the idea!Pen Bouquet
What I got from the dollar store:
Retractable pens (refillable kind)
Brown mini pot that matched my decor
Pretty silk flowers (with thin wire stems)
Dry beans (any kind)
What I got from the craft store in the floral dept:
Flora Bond Glue
Stem Wrap Tape
What I had at home:
Scissors
Pliers with wire cutters
First, prepare the pens and flowers. Write with all the pens to be sure they work and do NOT retract them. Unscrew all the tips and remove ink and springs. Measure the stems of each flower one to one and half inches from base of flower and clip the excess with wire cutters. Wrap the cut edge with tape.
With the empty pen casing, place a dab of glue just above where the tip goes and begin to wind the tape. Click on the pic to enlarge so that you can see that I did not glue or tape the threading where the pen tip screws back on. Make sure to wrap the pen tightly as you are taping. You will not need the glue again until you reach the top where the flower goes. Once you reach the top, be sure the pen is NOT retracted. Place the flower stem along side the pen casing as you continue to wrap tightly securing the flower. Once you reach the very top, wrap the tape tightly over pen's clicker (?) to secure it in the engaged position and wrap the tape around the flower base. Do this a couple of times to be sure the pen will not retract when in use. Snip the tape and place a dab of glue to secure the tape in place. Allow the glue to completely dry before replacing the ink, spring and pen tip. The finished pen allows me to replace the ink whenever it dries or runs out.
Finally, I filled the decorative mini pot with the dry beans so that the pens will stand up in the the pot and voila.... a beautiful pen bouquet that is simply a beautiful decoration. Mine has it's home next to my phone message book in the phone center. 
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