These giant pencils were a favorite among students and parents alike in my private art class. The basic shape comes from a mailing tube, which I found at my local moving supply company. 1. Provide one (36" x 6" diam.) mailing tube for each student. Prep it by cutting out narrow triangles (about 2" x 8") from one end so that the remaining pointed ends can be pulled and taped together to form one large point. Lots of duct tape is needed to smooth the edges together. Close the other end with a plastic cap.
2. Let the students tear lots of newspaper strips and apply with mache to cover the entire tube with at least one layer of paper mache.
3. When the tube is dry, possibly one or two days later, give the students lots of paper towels to cut in strips. They are to apply one layer of paper towel and mache to the tube. This really smoothes the edges and helps block out the newspaper color. This also means you won't have to prime the pencil before you paint.
4. It's best to paint the pencils in stages (I found out the hard way!) so I recommend the following: paint the yellow middle and pink eraser and tan and black pencil tip. Let dry for about one day. Lastly, use masking tape to mark off the green section, paint and remove tape. These would look great personalized too by writing the child's name with a paint marker
These pencils were made by two girls in the 1st grade.
