Pencil Pals

Total Time Needed:: 1 Hour

These kneadable eraser pencil toppers make a mistake-chasing task force.

Materials

Ruler
Scissors
Kneadable eraser
Pencil or pen
Butter knife

Acrylic paint
Felt
Paper
Tape
Paper clips, beads, pipe cleaners or pom-poms

Instructions

To form a head, use scissors (parents only) to cut a kneadable eraser in half lengthwise. Wrap one half around the end of a pencil, and pinch together the sides and top. Use fingertips to mold and smooth the eraser into an oblong blob.
Next, pull off a small piece of eraser from the unused half. Shape it into a nose and press it on to form a face. Use the same method to add ears, bulging eyes, bushy eyebrows or a large duck's bill. With a pencil point or a pen cap, sculpt cheekbones and a chin. Carve a broad, open-mouthed smile using the tip of a butter knife.
To style hair, roll a piece of eraser into a thin rope and cut it into short spikes or long locks. Press the hair ends onto the top of the head (or the chin for a beard) and tint with a coat of acrylic paint.
Accessorize with paper clip spectacles, seed-bead earrings, or pipe cleaner and pom-pom antennae.
To make the body, first draw a headless stick figure on paper, including its arms and legs extended in a jumping-jack position. The figure should measure approximately 4 inches from the neck to the heels and 3/4 inch wide at the waist. Make the limbs about 1 3/4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.
Cut out the paper pattern and use a pencil or chalk to trace around it onto a piece of felt. Then, cut out the felt figure. Snip two 1/4-inch X's through the felt figure's midsection. Push the tip of the pencil through both holes, as shown, and slide the figure up the pencil. Secure the felt in place below the head with a small piece of tape applied to the back of the pencil.