I know everyone starts school at different times, but it is back to school here in 2 weeks in the Dallas metroplex! If you know me, you know I love a good seasonal decor for my front door. The real reason I love decorating for the seasons is because, believer it or not, my kids LOVE when I decorate with fun stuff. Yes, my 12 and 16 year old boys. {swoon}
So, about 3 years ago I decided to make some giant school supplies for our front porch. My kids thought they were the greatest things ever! So cute! And over the years I have had requests for a tutorial and I even started selling the pencil and crayon on my etsy shop, but have since retired from that because I sold over 15 of them in 3 weeks and it was way too much work for me to go mail them all! I also sell just the crayon label for those who want to make their own and cut it out on a Cricut or Silhouette.
*This post contains affiliate links. That means, while it’s the same price for you, I get a very small commission out of it that helps me and my family. But most importantly, helps fund my estate sale and coffee addiction.
Supplies needed (here is a link with all of them in one place):
- Mailing tube(2 pack)
- Craft paint in yellow, pink, dark gray and the color of your crayon-one shade darker than the paper that wraps the crayon body
- Washi or silver tape
- Xacto® knife
- Cricut (or a friend who has one)
- This file for your Crayon label and squiggly lines
- Bulletin board paper in the color you want your crayon label
- 20 x 30 Foam core board for your “notebook paper”
- A scrap piece of wood (mine is a 1 x 3) You can determine how tall you want it. This one is 48″. I just used what we had lying around in the garage!
- 7″ x 3″ Paper mache cone
- Sharpie for the ruler
- Gorilla super glue
- Double-stick tape
Pencil
Grab one of the mail tubes and your pink and yellow craft paint. Paint the tube except the bottom 5 inches yellow. You will probably need 1-3 coats. After the yellow dries, paint the bottom 4-5″ pink for your eraser. Wrap in between the yellow and pink with the washi tape about 3-4″ tall. (To your preference really) Now grab one of your paper cones and paint the bottom little bit with a scallop to create that “sharpened” pencil look. (see pic below) Leave the rest of the cone the paper mâché color. Paint the tip dark gray for the lead. Glue your cone to the lid of the mail tube. If the lid isn’t super secure, glue that to the tube too. Some fit better than others. Super simple to make!
Crayon
The crayon is a bit more involved than the pencil, but still super beginner friendly! Take your mail tube and paint the ends about 2-3″ on one end and 4-5″ on the other. The top of the crayon is smaller than the bottom. You’ll need a few coats. Roll your bulletin paper out and measure 35″ x 10.5″. Cut with an Xacto knife or sharp blade. Now anchor the ends of the paper (it rolls up since it has been on a roll) and place your crayola label in the center horizontally. Place the paper around your tube with one end closer to the top than the other for the tip of the crayon (see pic below for reference). Using double-sided tape, tape the top down and then down the seam once you have it on straight. Now lay your crayon down with the label facing out and the crayon vertical. Place your crayon squiggles on the top and then the bottom about 1″ from the edge of the paper. Take your paper cone and cut about 1/8″-1/4″ off all around the bottom. This ensures that it fits inside the lid of the mailing tube for the more realistic crayon tip look. Paint it the same color as your crayon. Once it is dry, put the gorilla glue on the inside of the top of the lid of the tube. You’ll need to fenagle it into the lid and press down and it should fit perfectly. If you have to fenagle too much, cut a little more off the bottom of the cone until it is a perfect fit. Now, to add the final detail to make it look like a real crayon, I snip off the tip of the cone with scissors and then keep the snipped off piece and turn it upside down and place it into the hole in the cone you just cut. Makes the top flat like a crayon tip! Paint it up to finalize and you have yourself an adorable crayon!!
The Notebook Paper & Ruler
For the paper and ruler, they are pretty self-explanatory but I took a piece of white foam board and cut 3 holes and drew in a red line down the side and blue lines for the “rules” in colored pencils for a light look. I used a red marker to write in the Back to School. The ruler is a scrap piece of wood leftover from a project and I literally just eyeballed lines and made them up and drew numbers on with a Sharpie. Obviously the measurements are not exact or real. 😉
You can display these on your front porch like we did or if you are involved at your kid’s school it would really be a fun way to add props to a photo booth for parents to snap on the Meet the Teacher, first day(s) of school, a classroom–so many ways to have fun with them! I just love them and my kids think they’re great.
As always, drop a comment or email me with any questions! This is a super fun and beginner friendly DIY project for back to school time!
