"We are all wanderers on this earth...our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams." ~ Gypsy proverb

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Swashbuckling!!

Joining Stephanie today for Saturday's Artist:

Swashbuckling is common in our household.  If you have boys, you know exactly what I mean. There's nothing that can get a boy more excited than sticks, swords or sabers.  I was at a conference last year and saw these handmade swords and I knew we would have to make our own one day.  Well, the time has come.  This is so easy and inexpensive, I thought I would share it with you :)!!

Here's what you'll need: PVC-- 1/2" thick and at least 4 feet long for one large sword or maybe a couple smaller, a pool noodle, PVC pipe saw, and duct tape!  (We had some PVC piping leftover from making marshmallow shooters last year.)  To buy the materials, you can get almost everything very inexpensively at the hardware store (PVC comes in 5ft. increments for about a dollar).  The pool noodles can be found at the dollar store, or drugstore.  Regular duct tape works awesome, especially with its silver color, but for a more colorful variety, we found designer "duck" tape at the craft store.

First decide how long you want the sword.  Cut the PVC, then the pool noodle for desired length.  The PVC should be longer than the noodle for a traditional sword design.  The PVC will go inside the pool noodle and sit flush at the top end, with the extended PVC at the opposite end being the sword handle (so make sure there is enough room for one or two hands to hold on that end).


Then, duct tape away!!  One tip for duct taping: Start with criss-crossing the top end first for a nice clean look.  Then, tape around the body of the sword from there.




There are no rules for this!  E. has made a double ended sword with the handle in the middle, he has made a "dagger" sword that is very small, and he has made swords that have a bit of the noodle styrofoam on the bottom end of the handle to create a hilt.

Happy Swashbuckling!!!

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ONE MORE THING, there is an amazing giveaway happening for $200 worth in art supplies at Jeanne Oliver's Musings of a Creative Life.  Please check out her wonderfully generous giveaway!!
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9 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this idea! My boys will love creating these for all their imaginative play. And we'll do the marshmallow shooter too!

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  2. Very cool MJ. I have two girls and they are always playing pirates and sword games. They are not at all what you would expect.I love this idea, and it looks quite safe, and good fun.

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  3. I love how very different all of your art projects are from anything I would dream up. I never would have thought to make my own hula hoops or swords. This definitely looks it would make like an easy, and safe sword ... filing it away for the future!

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  4. Guess what I have to search for now... Pool noodle in Seattle are not as prevalent as FL ;-)

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  5. These are fabulous! Love your header too.

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  6. Ah! My husband has been making these things for years! He's a professional fencing and sword instructor. Every summer he teaches at a Jedi and a pirate summer camp for boys. He also teaches lessons at a dance studio. We call them boffer swords!

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  7. This made me chuckle! Hard core crafting with a jigsaw! They look very robust though!

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“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
~ George Bernard Shaw