Covered Pencil Mixed Media Project
Altering Usable Everyday Objects - Craft art Project Reusing Pencils
Mar 13, 2008
There are a number of reasons why mixed-media artists want to alter their everyday objects. These reasons can range from wanting to add interest to their studio spaces, to wanting to see inspirational objects regularly, to wanting to work on something new in order to ward off artist’s block.
Today, we are going to talk about altering pencils. This can be done to spruce up a home office or a homework area. You will find that kids will want to pick up a pencil and work more often when something fun is done with them.
For this project, you will need:
- Pencils with a smooth barrel (the kind that are angular are more difficult to work with).
- Heavy-duty glue sticks (typically found in the scrapbook section of most stores).
- Heavy weight decorative papers (scrapbook papers come in a wide variety of patterns, of course, but don’t forget wall paper scraps as well).
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Straight edge ruler
- Craft knife
- Cutting mat (a sturdy piece of cardboard will also work well for this project)
Follow these simple steps to complete this altered object project:
- Gather all of your supplies and set up your work area. If you are working with children, be sure to keep the cutting knife out of reach and help them with cutting (if they are very young).
- Choose your paper and lay it pattern down on your work surface.
- Line up the pencil on the paper so it lines up with where the eraser holder ends and so it lines up straight along the top of the paper. Make a mark where the pencil point is, and draw a line down the paper using the ruler.
- Cut the paper along the line, and then put the pencil back at the top.
- Roll the pencil down the paper so it overlaps slightly and make another mark. Draw a line across the paper with the ruler and cut along the line.
- Cover the backside of the paper with glue, and then roll it over the pencil. You will notice immediately that the pencil tip is covered.
- Using the craft knife, cut along the paper to expose the pencil tip.
- Roll the pencil on your work surface to ensure the glue is adhered properly and all the air bubbles are worked out
That is all there is to this project. In addition to covering over pencils with decorative paper, consider covering over coffee cans to use as a pencil and paint brush holder. Add embellishments, stamping, painting, or stickers. In addition to that, you could also cover over cardboard magazine holders to keep sketchbooks and art journals in. As you can see, there are a number of altered object projects that can spring from simply covering over a pencil.
