



I have always wanted to make my own pencils, but the thought of shaping two pieces of wood to allow a piece of lead to sit perfectly inside made me think it wasn’t worth the effort. For some reason I was looking at some pieces of lead I have (for a drafting pencil) and “pop” there it was.. a solution to my DIY longing. Here is a tutorial to make pencils that is so ridiculously easy I’ve made 10 pencils since the idea came to me yesterday! Enjoy.

TUTORIAL

Paper: I recommend using 6″ origami paper. The paper I used was beautiful washi origami paper made in Japan (see exact product here). I did attempt using other paper I had for card making and scrapbooking, but the paper was too thick and didn’t act like a skin when rolling the pencil.Lead: The lead I used I originally bought from a craft store in South Africa. I had a bit a of struggle finding it online, but turns out you can get the exact lead I used on Amazon for a steal at $3.90. You can also get a bit creative and use coloured leads! (If you are going to purchase leads to do this craft, make sure you used a HB lead. If you use 2B leads or above, I fear the lead will be too soft to roll without snapping the lead.)Mod Podge: I used Mod Podge with a gloss finish. Mod Podge with a matt finish is also available.

Here’s a video I made so you can watch me make it from start to finish!



I have to admit I really enjoyed doing this craft. It’s so simple and practical! There are also so many possibilities with this craft! Why not place twine between the layers to make a hook to hook it on something? Or use the ink stick from a pen to wrap! You can also go over board with the size and different layers for the pencil. Check out the picture below where I layered different paper to fade from red to light pink. Need matching pencils for your wedding? Stationary Set? A little something something?

Hope you’re just as excited about this as I am!







leads {here}

paper {here}

mod podge {here}

{If you like pencils, you may also like my toadstool pencil craft!}