Make Four Cuddly Character Pencil Toppers With One DIY

Last week, I shared one cuddly character card pattern that can be used to make three different characters (The Child, aka Baby Yoda, Gizmo, and Pikachu), and this week, I’ll complement these cards with one pencil topper craft that can be used to make these three same characters…. plus one!

For each character, you’ll need:

• One pencil or pen
• One ping-pong ball
• One large pom (about the size of the ball)
• Two small pieces of scrap felt, cut to resemble ears
• Two black craft gems or googly eyes.

For the holder, cut the ping-pong in half using a sharp hobby knife (like an X-Acto) to start, and finish with a pair of sharp scissors. Use the knife to poke a small “X” into one half. If you’re working with younger crafters, do this step on your own in advance so the pieces will be ready for them. Another option for smaller kids is to use the bottom half of plastic Easter eggs and just glue them on top of the pencil. This avoids cutting altogether.

Paint the balls as follows:

Silver for The Child’s pod.

One-half red and one white for the Poké Ball, with a black stripe around the open edge of each one. Include a small round white or silver jewel on the edge of the top half of the ball.

Splotchy red, pink, orange, and green for the Gremlin egg.

Push the pencil or pen into the X, and secure it on the inside of the ball with a glue gun.

Add the large pom-pom creature in the container while the glue is still hot—light green for The Child, mottled earth tones for Gizmo, and yellow for Pikachu.

Glue the eyes (or gems) to the front of the pom-pom, and glue the ears to either side of the head. The ears should be cut in little elongated, tapered ovals to begin with. Add a little extra shape to them for The Child and Gizmo. If you painting on some details to the ears, do so before gluing them on the head. It is easier that way.

Finally, glue the top half of the ball on the back part of the bottom ball half, so it looks like an open pod or baby basket, and they are finished!

As a bonus, make a Stitch!

For this little adorable abomination’s ship, tack a thin strip of tape across one half of the ball, and spray paint both sides red. When it dries, lift off the tape to create a “racing stripe” for his red space car. Tack two small blue gems on the front of the bottom half of the ball for headlights.

For the creature, use a blue pompom and slightly lighter blue felt for the ears and patterns around his eyes. Add black gems for the eyes, and a smaller dark blue pom-pom for the nose. Assemble like the other creatures.

These can be given as a companion to your Valentine cards or placed in a small flower bouquet or plant gift to give it some geeky personality.

You can even make one of each of these and tie them with a bow for a pencil bouquet—because even with one idea, a little cuddliness can go a long way.