Friday, February 3, 2012

Get Creative with The Lorax: Truffula Tree Pencils

Today I'm participating in the Get Creative with The Lorax blog tour. The tour is in support of the movie Dr. Seuss' The Lorax by Universal Pictures. I've always enjoyed the book & cartoon for its green message so I was eager to see it reintroduced as a movie. My kids are excited about it too. My daughter saw the preview and her exact words were "it looks so beautiful".

Below I'll be sharing a little about the movie and a craft tutorial I created for the tour.

I think one of the unique things about the movie is that they reveal the face of the once-ler. Did you ever wonder what he looked like? I know I did. Well now we get to learn a little more about the man behind those green hands. Or are they even green at all?

Truffula Tree Pencil Craft

Supplies:
Pencil
White Acrylic Paint
Black Acrylic Paint - I used a paint marker
Felting Wool in assorted colors - you could also use boa trim which you can find at craft stores
White Glue
Paint Brush
Acrylic Varnish (optional)

1. Coat pencil with white paint (two or three coats for good coverage). Let dry. Don't worry if the paint isn't smooth or comes out with drips, trees aren't perfectly smooth either. Also, it doesn't matter if the silver part of the pencil gets paint on it because it will be covered up later.

2. Using the black paint, make squiggly lines around the entire pencil (refer to picture). My six year old daughter made one of the pencils using a paint pen. For little hands, the paint pens make it easy for kids to make details.

*If you want the pencil to be more smooth and shiny, add one coat of varnish. Make sure the black paint is completely dry before you do this or the black paint will bleed into the varnish.

3. Cut off a small piece of wool, about two inches in length. Pictured left.

4. Lightly pull it apart to give it the appearance of the truffula trees.

5. Place glue all over the eraser and metal part of the pencil. Adhere the wool to it. Once the glue dries, that wool will not fall off. It may move a little when you write but it should be secure.

Timber!

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax hits theaters March 2nd. Visit the official site for the movie preview, pictures, downloads and more.

Want to see more The Lorax craft projects? Here's a full list of the blog tour.



Post is brought to you by Universal Pictures.

19 comments:

  1. Awesome craft, Jessica! Can't wait to see the movie too!

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  2. What a GREAT idea. I know a couple of kids who will love these and a couple of adults too!!! :o)

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  3. These are adorable!! My kids would love them. We are super excited for the movie to come out!!

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  4. Fun! I love the Lorax! :) Actually, I love anything Dr. Seuss related!

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  5. I didn't hear about this cartoon for the moment. Anyway I LOVE these pencils ! They're so funny ! Thank you for this idea !

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  6. These are absolutely fabulous. What a great idea.

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  7. These are just too cute. I love how simple they are!

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  8. The pencils are so cute. However, I wouldn't be able to write a thing with them, because I would be gazing at the top all the time, as it moves!

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  9. These are great! Just posted on Craft Gossip...

    http://lessonplans.craftgossip.com/?p=5575

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  10. Ahhh! This is the cutest idea. I'll bet the kids will just love them. They're so colorful and fun looking!

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  11. perfect timing seeing this, as my son is studying Dr Suess at school :)

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  12. Love them!!!!! Where did you get wool and does it come in several colors?

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  13. teacherking55,

    I purchased my wool at my local yarn shop. It comes in all kinds of colors. Usually you can find it at yarn shops and craft stores. You can also find it on Amazon if you're interested. Here's a direct link:

    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Darts-crafts&field-keywords=felting+wool

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  14. We use large pom poms with the twisted pipe cleaners. I hot glue the pop pom on the pipe cleaner and add a small jewel. The children love having their own clover like horton. Add a christian twist we talk about how we are, the tiny speck and how God takes care of us.

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  15. Fantastic! Will be making a set of 28 for the whole class to kick of Reading Month. Thanks for such a fabulous idea!

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  16. The pencils are great. I can't wait to see the new movie.

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  17. Danielle,

    Felting wool is basically unspun wool. It usually comes packaged in a clear bag. You can find it at craft stores and yarn shops. There are lots of stores online that carry it as well.

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  18. These are super cute! I made them and couldn't get the felt to work exactly right so I used craft feathers (looks like a small boa) and it turned out great! Thanks for sharing!!

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