10 Minute DIY Pencil Topper

These pencil toppers were so easy to make—and you can make a ton of them for under $10. Double win! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I’m always looking for cute, inexpensive things to do for the kids in my classroom. These are perfect for prize boxes, classroom gifts, or a little something extra for a Valentine’s basket.

My students are going to love these, and honestly you can get super creative with the colors and faces. Best part? You only need a few supplies. I linked anything you’d need from Amazon to make it easy.

Supplies:

• Foam sheets

• Scissors

• String

• Hot glue gun

Step 1: Cut Your Foam Strips

Cut your foam sheet in half lengthwise. Then start cutting thin strips all the way across one half. The thinner the better! The first time I made these my strips were way too thick and I had to go back and cut everything again—oops.

Step 2: Tie the Foam Ball

Gather all your foam strips together and tightly tie a string around the middle. The tighter the better. As you pull, the foam will start to fan out and form a ball—that’s exactly what you want! If you can, use string in a similar color so it blends in, but I used white on all of mine and it was totally fine.

Step 3: Make the Pencil Sleeve

Cut a longer strip (about ½ inch wide) from the remaining foam. Wrap this around the top of your pencil and glue it down. You want it snug so it doesn’t just fall off, but still loose enough that kids can switch it to other pencils.

Step 4: Attach the Foam Ball

Glue the foam ball onto the foam sleeve you just made. Hold it for a few seconds to make sure it sticks really well.

Step 5: Trim the Shape

Give your foam ball a little haircut and trim around it so it looks nicely rounded.

Step 6: Add the Face

Cut out some eyes and glue them on. I used a marker to draw the pupils. Then cut out a small foam circle for the nose and glue that on too.

That’s it! You’ve got a cute pencil topper. If you want to take it up a notch, you can add small details—like tiny foam hearts—for extra cuteness. A perfect 10-minute DIY with limited supplies!