Friday, December 31, 2010

diy: frilled pencils

frilled pencils
There have been several crafting sessions this week up in the barn studio, with 3 generations of makers collaborating and having fun. One of our favorite projects was these festive pencils that are sure to add a bit of flare to any list making for the New Year.
happy new year
 Inspired by these pencils my mother had seen at Anthropologie, we decided to make our own. We enhanced them a bit, by making the erasers accessible. Not sure why anyone would want to have a pencil without an eraser! We used bits from my mom's paper collection, but this would be a perfect way to use up scraps of wrapping paper you might have leftover from last weekend. Below my mom "frills" her pencil topper.
 pencil making grandma
 Instead of using one piece of paper and twisting it over the eraser, like the originals, we cut frilled toppers and had fun mixing and matching patterns and colors. Young children can create these with only a little assistance, and the 8+ crowd can make them on their own. Great party favors... or a party activity in itself!

Frilled Pencils
Need:
  • pencils
  • colorful paper scraps (tissue paper is the most successful, but any thin paper will work)
  • glue stick
  • standard scissors
  • hand paper shredding scissors (optional)
  • ribbons (optional)
Make:
  1. Cut a piece of paper to be the length of your pencil (but not over the eraser) and the width of a little bit more than it takes to wrap around once.
  2. Apply glue stick to the length of one end of the paper and adhere it smoothly down the pencil.
  3. Keep adding glue and wrapping around. 
  4. Cut your topper: use a coordinating strip of paper that's approximately 2 inches wide. Cut fringe along one side or use shredding scissors like we did with these paper flowers.
  5. Glue the frill around the top leaving the eraser hidden but available.Let dry before sharpening.
For my daughter's ribbon adorned birthday pencil, I just wrapped and glued... wrapped and glued from the top spiraling down. A twist of a wire pom pom garland was the final touch.  Isn't it fun to transform something so commonly used? Pencils are part of our everyday... but these are anything from ho hum.
frilled pencils
Who knows what this upcoming year will hold? But I intend to greet each new day with a smile and the hope for its potential. Not always an easy task, but a stash of these happy little pencils are sure to keep my spirit bright when I write down my daily "to dos".
Wishing you all a joyful and creative start to 2011! 
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21 comments:

  1. what a great idea! i love it and i will make it with my kids!
    thank you and happy new year!

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  2. absolutely adorable maya!
    happy, happy new year xo

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  3. Hi Maya,

    I love these pencils. Great idea! However, I have a question. I can see covering them in paper, but if you use fabric, how would you sharpen them? Maybe sharpening them with the fabric is not a problem, but I can't "see" it. Thank You and Happy New Year!

    K

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  4. Great question K! The paper covered ones sharpen up easily and well. The ribbon one has been sharpened by hand with a blade. I think I'll peel back little bits of ribbon as needed. Not so practical, but when my daughter saw the rainbowish ribbon, practical wasn't on her mind;)

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  5. love it, so simple so festive...i imagine a lot of frilled pencils around our place soon

    today is the last day of a great give away over at Blazing Star Herbal School...check it out if you'd like

    www.blazingstarherbalschool.typepad.com

    Many New Years Blessings,
    -t

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  6. Happy Pencils, to be sure! They look like they would make fun New Year Favors too. Great idea.

    Jody

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  7. i love that the crafting was a family affair. they certainly are festive!

    blessings in the new year and thanks for all the inspiration here.

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  8. These are so fun!! I've been feeling very crafty lately!!! I may need to try this!



    Mark
    www.Youllseeitmatters.blogspot.com

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  9. Good and nice idea!! Today i´ll post it and link you in my blog Baby-Deco

    Happy new year from Madrid, spain

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  10. Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [01 Jan 01:00am GMT]. Thanks, Maria

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  11. Happy New Year and all the best in 2011!

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  12. Hello,
    I've just discovered your blog today and I think it's fantastic!
    I love the DIY posts, you are really creative.
    Sorry for my english is very bad, but maybe I'll learn more reading your posts!
    I follow your from Spain.
    Happy new year!

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  13. hihi, they remind me a bit of christmas crackers! cool! happy new year!

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  14. I love these pencils. Great idea.Many New Years Blessings,

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  15. Wow, those are so much fun! I want cup full just to decorate my workspace! Thanks for the great idea, I'll be spreading the word.

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  16. I love these! I featured you on my blog today: http://puertabella.blogspot.com/2011/01/frilled-pencils.html

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  17. These are perfect giveaways for a birthday party! So perfect to me! Kids will love these!

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  18. Hi love your ideas, now google following you. Would love if you could drop in on my blog, Karima x
    www.karimascrafts.com

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