Hello, in this instructables tutorial i will be teaching you how to turn your old pens into a fun dart game! I will attempt to give you as much detail as I can by showing you lots pictures (in case you are a visual learner) and by explaining directions as clear as possible. Also i will give you extra support on steps I think you might have trouble on, and at the end i will have a set of tips for you. This tutorial will be entered into "Office Supplies Contest" I would highly appreciate if you voted for me :) ! Thanks for taking your time and looking at my tutorial I hope you enjoy!

You Will Need :

- 4 push pins
- Scissors
- Glue stick or hot glue gun
- Pen (preferably one that you remove the ink from easily)
- Colored pencils
- At least 1 rubber band
- 1 ruler
- At least 2 pencil top erasers (or erasers)

Step 1: Removing the Ink or "Ink Holder" From the Pen

To begin constructing your dart you must first remove the ink or "ink tube" from the pen. You can do that by simply unscrewing the bottom part of the pen from the top part. That only works if you are using a "clicking" pen, if you are using a common "papermate" or a just an average pen you can easily remove the ink by pulling on the tip of the pen. The ink or ink holder should come along with it.

Step 2: Adding Grip to Your Dart!

Lets begin building your dart by adding grip to it! In this step you will need the ink or ink holder and 1 rubber band.

step 1 : take the rubber band and twirl it or wrap it around the top of the ink ( opposite end of the tip ). Keep on doing this until you can not wrap it around anymore or until you believe it is tight enough.

step 2 : Slide the rubber band down the tube until you reach just before the tip. You might find this process frustrating, but do this slowly and carefully so that your grip will look good. You do not want to do this carelessly and then after your done realize that you need to redo it because it doesn't look good. Keep in mind that the tighter that you have wrapped the rubber band around the ink tube, the harder it will be to slide it down. (MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT COVER THE TIP OF THE INK)

Step 3 : This step is OPTIONAL, if you want you can put and additional rubber band around the tube if you think the one rubber band you have already added isn't enough. On my case as you can see in the images, i decided to only add one rubber band and keep them "spaced" to have a bigger surface area covered with the grip(rubber band).

Step 3: Adding Stabilizers to Your Dart !

Now that your dart has a grip, lets finish it by adding stabilizers to it! This will stabilize your dart as it flies through the air and it will also give it a classic throwing dart look! In this step you will need a piece of paper, a ruler, scissors, a glue stick or hot glue gun, and colored pencils.

Step 1 : Draw 3 1 inch by 1 inch squares on your piece of paper, make sure they are straight by utilizing a ruler.

Step 2 : Color and Decorate these squares with your colored pencils so your dart looks cool !

Step 3 : Cut these squares out and fold them in half, turning them into triangles. ( make sure you have the colored sides in the outside of the fold so you cans see the colors and or patterns)

Step 4 : This a a tricky step so be careful. Carefully make a small cut along the fold line of each 1 inch by 1 inch squares. See PICTURE 1 for a closer look.

Step 5 : Now that you have cut along the folding line of the squares that should now look like triangles fold the "base" of the triangle up on the side that you have made the small cuts on. This should create a base for the triangle. (this is the base you will use to glue the stabilizers into the dart ( ink tube). THIS STEP SHOULD LOOK LIKE PICTURE 2 AND AFTER THE THREE STABILIZERS ARE DONE IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE PICTURE 3. If you wish you could also snip off the tip of the base as seen on PICTURE 4 for a neater look before initializing step 5.

Step 5 : This is the final necessary step to finalize the making of your dart. You will require 1 glue stick (or a hot glue gun),your 3 stabilizers, and your dart in progress.Place glue on the "base" of the stabilizers and stick them around the end of tube(dart) on the opposite side of where you have placed the grip (which should be next to the tip of the dart). Make sure the "taller" side of your stabilizer is facing the end of the tube. The stabilizers height should DECREASE in height as it gets closer towards the grip of the dart. Your dart should look something like the dart in PICTURE 5 (after finishing all these steps).

Optional Step : You may decorate your dart with a sharpie or a permanent maker if you wish. :)

Step 4: Making a Taget !

On this final step I will be teaching you how to make a target for your dart and give you some tips. You will need colored pencils, pencil top erasers (or eraser), 4 push pins, somewhere to push the pushpins into ( card box, notification board, etc...), papers, and if you want to go that extra step you will need a PC and a printer.

Step 1 : First a target... You can do that by either drawing a target on a piece of paper, or you could print a target of of the internet or make your own using your computer. ( on my case I chose to print some targets of of the internet) Here is a link to a place where you can find targets : www.google.com.hk/search?q=target&btnG=%E6%90%9C%E7%B4%A2&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&hl=zh-CN&tbm=isch&tab=wi

Or you could just type in the key word Target or Targets into google images :p

Step 2 : In order for your dart to puncture the paper(target) or "stick through it" you will need to make some adjustments by cutting some pencil top erasers in half or some pieces of normal eraser. On my case as you can see in PICTURE 1 I decided to cut 4 small pieces of an old eraser ( 1 for each push pin ). Notice that the pieces aren't that tall or big they only need to be about 1 cm by 1 cm square. It needs to be small enough for you to be able to push the pin through your target, the eraser, and still have a small part of the pin left for you to puncture the surface where you are placing your target. ( look at PICTURE 2 for details )

Step 3 : Now all you need is to first puncture your target, then the erasers, and finally the place you have chosen to mobilize your target to. After that have fun! I Hope you enjoyed my tutorial and congratulations you have finished making your own dart set! :) (please use the dart with responsibility , do not throw it towards any living thing, be careful with your eyes and eyes of others when throwing this object)

TIPS :
-Do not worry if your dart does not go through the target it will puncture it once it makes contact.
-The secret to make your dart puncture your target is to have as much of an open space as possible behind the target ( make sure target is tightly spread)
- Push pins are just one idea to make space behind target you can come up with your own
- You can make a fun target by printing a picture of someone you dislike and throw darts at them :p
- If your stabilizers are not sticking to your dart you might want to use a stronger glue like a hot glue gun or other strong glue. (for various surfaces)
- HAVE FUN!