How to Put Your Old Ink Pens to Creative Use

Do you have a huge stash of old pens that you don't use? Don't throw them away! Put them to good use and use up the ink productively.

It's easy to say "Just write with them," but what do you write? You can write or draw anything you want. These are some creative ideas that will help you use up those pens.

Start a Journal

Your journal can be anything from a homemade journal to a fancy journal purchased at the store. Your journal can have anything in it. Log daily events, your caloric intake, or use it as a monthly budgeting tool.

You can also create a dream journal. Dream journals are used to record your dreams. Even if you only remember images and draw those, you can log your dreams. Use a dream journal to analyze the symbols in your dream from a dream dictionary.

Make a TO-DO List

Writing a to-do list can help you stay organized for the day, week, or month. Write down what needs to be accomplished with your pens on paper. Check off the tasks you accomplished and reward yourself with your favorite treat!

Handwrite a Letter

Everyone loves receiving letters in the mail, even in this day and age of e-mails. You don't even have to say anything of importance, just send a note to say hi and tell someone you're thinking of them.

Practice writing with your other hand

If you are right-handed, then practice writing with your left hand. This will strengthen the muscles in your weaker hand and can train you to be ambidextrous, or the ability to write with both hands. Why be ambidextrous? It will impress your friends and other people.

Doodle

If you have many different colors of ink, then doodle different pictures. You never know what kind of art you may come up with. Draw little creatures that you make up. There are no limitations. Don't criticize yourself if it's not perfect. In art, "perfect" is in the eye of the beholder.

Stipple Art

Pens are great for stipple art. Stippling is an art technique that uses dots to create an image. Draw dots large and close together for darker shaded areas. Draw tiny dots far apart for light areas.

Last Tips for Using up Ink

Pick one pen to use at a time. Designate it as the pen you keep with you at all times. Have a back up pen in case the first one runs out of ink, but don't use another pen until the first one is out. Print out a sticker on a label machine with your name on it. Put it on your pen. Personalization always encourages you to use something. Just remember you paid for those pens, if you throw them away before they are out of ink, it's like throwing away money.