You can use anything for a pendulum. The only thing that I had was a gold chain and a very small object hanging from it. Some people use a small crystal on a chain or purchase pendulums; when I was a child, I think we used an old watch with a chain. You could try a large paperclip from a chain too, if you want to see if that is effective (I haven't tried that one).
I held this between forefinger and thumb about an inch above the page. You don't have to do anything -- the object will move on its own without much effort. The movements are pretty distinct as you SLOWLY move you hand across the page.