Arty Pencils

One of the Christmas gifts I made this year, to go alongside a set of Artwork Jotters, were these artwork covered pencils. I was quite pleased with the result, which looked I thought fairly professional, so thought I would share them with you.

If at all possible, these are best created using plain wooden pencils as a base, otherwise when you sharpen them, the original colour may peep through beneath. This may or may  not bother you, depending upon how much of a perfectionist you are. I just used some unused patterned pencils which I had to hand.

You will need:

Glue

Matt acrylic varnish

Brush for Varnish

Pencils

Decorative paper or artwork

Scissors

Ruler or measuring tape

Play dough or Plasticine

• Measure the length and circumference of your pencil and cut a strip from your artwork the same size, but allowing an extra millimetre or two as an overlap.

• Apply glue to the strip.

• Carefully apply the paper to the pencil at one long edge, and then roll the paper around the pencil carefully, maintaining tension on the paper as you roll. This is essential to get a smooth finish without bumps or wrinkles. Make sure that the overlapping edge is lying flat – you may need to press it down well with your fingers to achieve this, but the finished pencil will look so much better if you have a smooth finish. Using glue can be a little messy, so I tried using double sided tape instead, but found that this did not adhere nearly as well.

• Push the eraser ends of the pencil into the play dough or plasticine so that they stand upright, and using a soft brush, give them a coat of varnish. Leave to dry, then give a second coat. The varnish is essential not only to protect the artwork from handling, but also to ensure that the pencil can be sharpened properly without tearing the paper.

I created a co-ordinated set using artwork we already had, but you could use the same technique to create a set of pencils with specially created different handwritten messages or drawings on. They are great as a gift idea, either tied with a ribbon, or presented together in a box.