Have you ever met someone and just “clicked”? I love it when that happens. A few weeks ago, we met a couple and their gorgeous, little curly-haired daughter, Aurora. It honestly felt like we’d known them forever. The mom is an extremely talented photographer and an old soul with a naughty twinkle in her eye. I had originally contacted her to take some photos of our little house down by the sea. I’ll share some of those photos soon, but this post is about their little cherub of a daughter and how we made her this blackboard table with giant pencil legs.
When they popped around to discuss the photoshoot, little Aurora just stole my heart. Rory is curious about everything and has the most beautiful manners. When she laughs, it gurgles up from the bottom of her tummy and she loves drawing. A girl after my own heart ;-) She’s just moved into her own bedroom so I really wanted to make her something special.
And I’m hoping her new easy-to-make, upcycled craft table qualifies.
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How to make a table with giant pencil legs
We have some old PVC pipes leftover from when we built our metallic bathroom and they were just the right size to turn into a giant pencil. Using a little bit of masking tape as a guide the PVC pipe was cut into four equal bits.
After giving the pipes a good clean, and prepping them for painting we sprayed them a bright, happy blue.
Once the blue coat was completely dry, we masked off the bottom bit with newspaper and masking tape and the eraser portion got a coat of dusky pink.
Crazy how a little paint can instantly change the look of something The PVC pipe is starting to look like giant pencils already.
Finishing off the giant pencil legs
I originally wanted to use a tin can for the metal bit that joins the eraser to the pencil. But I was worried that I might leave a sharp edge somewhere and little Rory would cut herself. So we used aluminum tape instead. Man, I love this stuff. It sticks like crazy and we’ve used it to make our chain of hearts garden mobile so I know it will survive anything a little girl might throw at it ;-) To make the grooves in the metal I carefully placed bits of string on the sticky side of the tape.
The aluminum tape was taped around the PVC pipe to create a faux metal strip.
So now I had four giant pencils and no idea how to attach them to the blackboard table.
Fortunately, I have a secret weapon………… the hubby :D
The Hubby’s Brilliant Idea to Attach the Giant Pencils
He suggested we use a hole saw to drill some holes into thick pieces of wood to hold the pencils. Ahhh I love a clever man.
It worked beautifully. We painted the top of the table in blackboard paint and the bottom with the same happy blue that we used on the legs. Finally, when everything was dry, the legs were glued and screwed in place and Rory’s blackboard table with giant pencil legs was ready.
A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere. Joyce Meyer
Not bad for a few hours’ work.
I painted a small metal bucket in the same eraser pink to hold her chalk.
And those PVC pipes sure do look like pencils now.
Oh, and just for fun, we made Rory this “No Drama Llama” chair too. I hope she enjoys her new bedroom and always dreams happy dreams.
I’d love to know what you think? Is it something you’d make for that special little one in your life?
If you like the ifdea of giving a table giant pencil legs don’t forget to pin it for later.
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BTW, if you don’t want to go to the trouble of finding some of the materials we used, we’ve got you covered. Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more crafty ideas to share with you ;-)
Or if you prefer to buy rather than DIY, then maybe these will appeal.
And as always, here’s wishing you a beautiful week filled with many happy surprises and new friends.
Last update on 2026-04-15 / Source Amazon Affiliates
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