Career Arrows are Graduation Gifts. Some packs give it as an Arrow of Light gift, but my plug is to wait until graduation for these reasons:
1) It hold the history of the boy's personal Cub Scouting career - a symbol for each badge, arrowpoint, and rank achieved. It is possible to earn more Webelos badges after earning the Arrow of Light. Many boys go on to earn All 20 Webelos Badges.
2) Arrow of Light ceremonies don't always happen at the same time as Graduation; sometimes the Arrow of Light is earned several months before Graduation. A Webelos should be awarded his Arrow of Light soon after he earns it, rather than waiting until graduation.
3) It's a little more convenient to plan around graduation, because graduation month is predictable and is less likely to sneak up without warning.
I have heard of three different ways to make a Career Arrow.
The one above is made wrapping colored embroidery floss around an arrow. Here are
INSTRUCTIONS for the colors you could use to symbolize certain awards earned. There are no official rules for the colors, though. These are just ideas.
Some people are handy with a paintbrush and paint the stripes on the arrow shaft.
If you have an affinity with your printer, a pair of scissors, and glue, you could print tiny images of all the awards the Webelos had earned in his career, cut each out, and glue them in order on the arrow. You can find every Webelos badge, even, on the internet. This makes a visual that's immediately understandable to the observer, and has its own decorative look.
