Who Knew 5 Dollar Store Pool Noodles Could Do This?!

Grab a few pool noodles and a pack of construction paper. For this first project, cut about 15 inches off of the end of your pool noodles so that they're a little bit shorter. Then you're going to trim one end into a point just like this. Now wrap each noodle with three sheets of construction paper, securing everything with tape as you go. One little tip here is to try to choose construction paper that's close in color to your pool noodle for the most realistic look. Now grab some black construction paper and let's make these look like real life crayons. We're going to cut those signature squiggly lines that you see on a crayon wrapper and don't worry about making these perfect. I just eyeballed the curves and then cut straight lines on either side so you end up with two strips with curves that line up. Now let's move on to our next prop. Take a couple more pool noodles outside and give them two coats of yellow spray paint. Make sure to rotate them as you paint so all the sides get good coverage. Once they're dry, wrap a strip of pink construction paper around one end for the eraser and underneath that tape several thin gray strips to create the metal band. Now doesn't that look like a giant pencil eraser? For the tip, fold a piece of brown construction paper into a cone. This part took me a little experimenting to get the sizing just right so don't worry if you need to play around with it a little bit. Then make one tiny black cone for the pencil lead and attach it to the very tip and now you have oversized pencils that are so perfect as photo props. You could even add words like first day of school, your child's grade, or the school year to personalize this even more. Finally let's create a fun backdrop. Grab a roll of wrapping paper that's solid white on the back and cut off a large rectangle then hang it on the wall with painter's tape. Now we're going to turn this into a giant notebook paper by drawing one vertical red line along the side and then several blue horizontal lines going down the page. For your notebook holes, trace three circles down one side. Once your notebook paper is finished, add a few balloons or streamers or other decor. Prop up your giant crayons and pencils and you've created the cutest DIY photo station. You can have these propped up behind your kiddo or you can have them holding them and put wording on them. I love this project because every prop costs just a little over a dollar to make, but together they create such a fun backdrop for those first day of school memories. I just finished setting up the most adorable photo backdrop for my kids' back to school pictures. This would be so great if you're on any committees decorating the school this year too. Crayons and pencils made from just a few basic craft supplies and some pool noodles from the dollar store. These are colorful, budget-friendly, and so much more unique than just snapping a on the front porch on the way to school.