Pencil Tops

For a dangly decoration, tape the center of a 12-inch piece of embroidery floss to a pencil just below the eraser. Wind the ends of the floss around the pencil several times, then tie them together. String beads, charms or bells onto the trailing ends. Tie overhand knots below the last beads to keep them from slipping off.

To make a fringed pencil top, cut out a 6-inch-wide felt circle with a 1/4-inch slit in the center and slip it over the eraser. Then, make a series of 2 1/2-inch cuts inward from the edge of the circle. Or, for a stand-up fringe, you can wrap and tape colored paper around the pencil end and snip downward through all the layers.