By 
When I was working on the fingerprint ice cream cones last week, I realized that fingerprints would also make great erasers on the ends of pencils! Originally I thought I would paint the pencils too but washi tape is the perfect width and if you have lots of fun patterns in your craft stash, you instantly have a really fun collection of pencils too. Here I used this technique to decorate a notebook cover, but I love this idea for so many different uses. Decorate blank thank you cards for teachers, label the inside of books with pencils and your child’s name, or even just use this as fun wall art!
what you need:
- Blank notebook
- Washi tape (silver, black, white, and assorted colors)
- Scissors
- Pink paint
- Scrap paper
how-to:
Step 1
Cut lengths of washi tape and start laying them out on your blank notebook cover. Put some horizontal and some vertical – they don’t need to be perfect and you can still adjust them as you go! Keep in mind that we’ll be adding the pencil tip and eraser still to the ends of these pieces of washi tape so leave some space on either side.
Cut lengths of washi tape and start laying them out on your blank notebook cover. Put some horizontal and some vertical – they don’t need to be perfect and you can still adjust them as you go! Keep in mind that we’ll be adding the pencil tip and eraser still to the ends of these pieces of washi tape so leave some space on either side.
Step 2
When you’re happy with the layout, cut triangles out of white washi tape and stick them to one end of each pencil. Next cut even smaller triangles from black washi tape and stick those on top of the white ones to look like the pencil lead.
When you’re happy with the layout, cut triangles out of white washi tape and stick them to one end of each pencil. Next cut even smaller triangles from black washi tape and stick those on top of the white ones to look like the pencil lead.
Step 3
Squeeze out some pink paint onto scrap paper and have your child dip their finger into it. Do a couple of test stamps on the scrap paper until you get the hang of it. If your tape is wide and your child’s finger isn’t big enough, try using a thumb instead! Stamp a pink fingerprint on the end of each pencil to be the eraser. Let dry completely.
Squeeze out some pink paint onto scrap paper and have your child dip their finger into it. Do a couple of test stamps on the scrap paper until you get the hang of it. If your tape is wide and your child’s finger isn’t big enough, try using a thumb instead! Stamp a pink fingerprint on the end of each pencil to be the eraser. Let dry completely.
Step 4
Cut a piece of silver washi tape and stick it on top of the spots where the pink fingerprints meet the rest of the pencil. Voila! Your notebooks are done and ready for use! If you are worried that the washi tape might not hold up from sliding in and out of a backpack or lots of use, seal the whole cover with a coat of Mod Podge.
Cut a piece of silver washi tape and stick it on top of the spots where the pink fingerprints meet the rest of the pencil. Voila! Your notebooks are done and ready for use! If you are worried that the washi tape might not hold up from sliding in and out of a backpack or lots of use, seal the whole cover with a coat of Mod Podge.
Happy crafting!