Make your own adorable and easy DIY Pencil Costume AND a cute pencil sharpener candy holder for Halloween!
Well, friends, after much deliberation, Baby V decided to be a pencil this year. And I was delighted because HOW CUTE IS THIS DIY PENCIL COSTUME???
The pink eraser boots, the adorable yellow pencil pjs that say No. 2 on them. The pencil hat. I mean, adorbs, right? I think the teachers will get a big kick out of it at school too.
And I also have discovered the best parenting trick for DIY Halloween costumes. Let me preface this by saying, you should only make DIY Halloween costumes if you LIKE to make Halloween costumes. You will not win an award for doing it, nor will you be shamed if you don’t. You do you around here!
However, if you are like me and sometimes enjoy it (it varies by year and costume) and you want to try to ensure that your child remains enthusiastic about the costume you worked so hard on, come up with a clever part of the costume that actually HOLDS THE CANDY. That’s right, the cardboard box pencil sharpener she’s holding, is actually the candy bag! I cannot even tell you how cool she thinks that is.
It worked like a charm when O wore an architect costume. We turned the tube of blueprints into a candy holder and he was so stoked. Having a part of the costume to hold candy is apparently way more fun that using a pillowcase or a grocery bag (though those are totally fine too) but it keeps them enthusiastic.
So I’m going to show you how I made this cute DIY Pencil Costume with adorable Pencil Sharpener candy holder. Don’t worry, if you don’t knit, I have another suggest for the pencil hat! Are you ready? Let’s write!
DIY Pencil Costume Supply List
- Pencil Hat Knitting Pattern and supplies ( if you don’t knit, make a pencil top hat out of cone shaped party hat in pencil top colors either painted or covered in colored paper)
- Yellow pajamas or pants and top
- Black heat transfer vinyl (if you don’t have a cutting machine, you can cut a simple No. 2 design with a craft knife or paint it with fabric paint)
- Iron and ironing board or heat press
- Pink rainboots (pink shoes would also work)
- Silver duct tape
- Medium sized cardboard box (mine is 8″ x 6″ x 11″)
- Hot glue gun
- Red acrylic craft paint
- Yellow acrylic craft paint
- Pink acrylic craft paint
- Approx. 2.5 inch diameter x 18″ plastic or cardboard tube, preferably with a cap on the end
DIY Pencil Costume Instructions
- First you will need to create a pencil top hat. Either knit one using my pencil hat knitting pattern (if you need extend sizes, send me an email) OR if you don’t knit, you can make a pencil hat from a cone shaped birthday hat. Either paint it like the point of a pencil or cover it in colored paper.
- To make the pencil costume itself, grab some yellow pjs and using either a cutting machine like a Silhouette or Cricut or a craft knife, cut “No. 2” from some black heat transfer vinyl. I used my Silhouette. (If you don’t want to use heat transfer vinyl, consider fabric paint or iron on number patches.)
- After you weed your design, follow the instructions on the vinyl to place the design on the pajama top and iron it in place.
- When the design is ironed in place remove the clear vinyl backing according to its directions.
- Get a pair of pink rainboots use strips of silver duct tape to create the ferule (did you know that’s what the metal part of a pencil is called?). Be aware that this could leave residue on the boots if you’re hoping to take it off and wear the rain boots later!
- Finally, let’s make the candy holder pencil box! Trace a circle slightly larger than your tube on the top small side of the box and cut it out. The reinforce all of the inside seams of the box with packing tape or hot glue before you close it up (you want to make sure that candy stays inside!
- Next, close the front flaps of the box leaving about a half inch gap between the flaps. Secure with hot glue or tape.
- Cover one edge with strips of silver duct tape to create the pencil sharpener blade.
- Using some scrap cardboard from another box, cut a front plate with a slot for the “blade” to show through and secure it to the front.
- To make the phillips screw head (essential for a real looking pencil sharpener) cut about 5 inches of duct tape and use a craft knife to cut a plus shape out of the center.
- Then lift that piece of tape carefully and layer it on top of another piece of duct tape the same size.
- Cut the layered tape into a circle and attach to the center of the pencil sharpener “blade”
- Paint all of the box except for the duct tape part red (or any color) with acrylic craft paint. This will take a few coats to cover any markings on your box.
- Next, let’s make the big pencil! First, paint your tube yellow. If you have a clear plastic tube, it looks great if you paint it on the inside. It took 3 coats of paint for me. If your tube is cardboard, paint the outside.
- If your tube has a cap, paint that pink. If it doesn’t, tape off the top 2 inches or so and paint that pink. Then add a thin strip of silver duct tape between the pink and yellow to make the ferule of the pencil.
- How does the candy get in? There are a couple options, if your little one doesn’t mind, they can remove the pencil and drop the candy into the pencil sharpener hole at each house, easy peasy! Baby V wanted to leaved the pencil in place so after I took these photos I cut a hole in the top end of the pink cap so she can put the candy in there. She will probably have to shake the candy into the box a few times as the pencil fills.
- Finally, if you would like, add a strap made from ribbon or webbing to make the pencil sharpener candy holder easier to carry!
And that’s it! Your DIY Pencil Costume and adorable Pencil Sharpener candy box are ready to go!
If you liked this, you may also like some of my other posts…
- Scalloped Garland Knitting Pattern - February 11, 2025
- 30+ Best Valentine’s Day Knitting Patterns - February 6, 2025
- Valentine Heart Wreath Knitting Pattern - February 5, 2025
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