Channeling My Inner Katniss Everdeen | DIY ARROW PENCILS

Let me cut straight to the chase.

Jennifer Lawrence looks pretty damn good with a bow and arrow. Mind you, she looks good with just about anything, no doubt, but she knows how to use it too which is something most people probably can’t say for themselves.

I for one probably wouldn’t know which end goes where if it weren’t for the skilled archers at the Renaissance fair. Thanks for passing on all of your wisdom and knowledge! (Cute costumes by the way.)

(Boy, I love a good Renaissance fair.)

With the newest Hunger Games having just been released it is clear that the hunger for action heroes has not yet been quenched. In fact, I believe the thirst for life-threatening situations, struggles against incredible odds, physical feats and special effects is ever-growing. I can’t even keep track of all of the action movies and thrillers in theatres today…

Oh, remember the times when Disney was all we needed?

(I know you the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam)...

Oh wait, then there’s Mulan who just happens to save an entire empire with a few shots from her bow. Of course.

(To be a man

We must be swift as the coursing river

To be a man

With all the force of the great typhoon

To be a man

With all the strength of a raging fire

Mysterious as the dark side of the moon)

It seems, nowadays even every fairytale princess can swing a sword.

Now don’t get me wrong. Generally speaking I am all for empowerment (and to be perfectly honest, I believe most Disney princesses could really use some), but here is what I just don’t get. It is the 21^st century, why are all of these figures resorting to such an old-school tool? A bow and arrow? Really?

Well, I can tell you why I am.

Because they look so darn cute!

I decided to empower myself a little (figuratively speaking) by channeling my inner Katniss Everdeen (still speaking figuratively) and turn some of my colored pencils into little arrows.

Now I don’t recommend using them as actual arrows, but rather as decorative pencils. I find they look so cool set up in a jar by the desk. And the best part: Although decorative, they are still fully functional! I love that!

Originally, I wanted to get some pencils for this project, but since I couldn’t find any wooden ones, I opted for colored pencils instead. This worked out fine cause I then created the color scheme based on the colored pencils I had chosen.

For the paint, I chose the following colors and used them in different combinations:

- white

- medallion gold

- chrimson red

- light stone blue

- dark denim blue

- fern green

- rosewood pink

I tried to stick to a maximum of four colors per arrow and chose to use white and gold in all of them to create some sort of binding element.

I started by painting broader stripes around the bottom 2/3 of the pencils, then added smaller ones.

If you want to create crisp lines tape with painter’s tape before painting. When drying I propped the pencils onto the paint tubes to keep them from sticking to my working surface.

(If you are not a fan of painting, you could try covering the pencils in strips of washi tape, which is probably less time-consuming also.)

I then wrapped some gold string around the pencils here and there and glued it in place making sure to tuck the ends underneath the wrapped bit.

Lastly, I cut off one side of my feathers as closely to the spine as I could. It is easiest to cut against the grain. I then cut the remaining half of the feathers into a parabolic shape and glued them to the top edge of the pencils. (This process of gluing feathers to an arrow shaft is termed fletch, or so I’ve been told…)