DIY Promotional Pens

I am addicted to Pinterest!! I have been wondering what took me so long to get on the Pinterest bandwagon and then I remembered that I was working 12 hour days managing a cafe when all my friends were talking about it and never had the time to really get into it. Anyway...now that I am running a small handmade business and have a more flexible schedule...I have found time to pin!! ;)

One of the coolest ideas I found on Pinterest recently is this post from Chocolate on My Cranium. The idea is to take pens with clear casings and insert pretty paper into them. Their finished pens:

So...I love that idea on its own, but when I saw this post I immediately thought what a great promotional tool it could be for small businesses. I've tried to order promotional pens before for my business and the smallest quantity I could find was 100 units. Most companies won't let you order less than 250!! I don't need that many pens lying around....at least not yet, so I decided to take my DipDaDip stamp and kraft paper and make my own.

And here they are:

I love how they turned out!! At only $2.34 for a 5-pack of pens, these are way more affordable to make on an as-needed basis. When you've got a limited budget, sometimes you have to get creative!!

For step-by-step instructions on how to make your own, check out the post over at Chocolate on My Cranium.