Paint Brushes

To make larger craft paint brushes, you need the end of a round toothpick, a pair of pliers and a silver pen.

Cut your toothpick to length (about ¾”) and moisten the cut end about 1/8”. With your pliers, squeeze the moistened end several times, rotating the toothpick between squeezes. This will separate the wood fibres and form your ‘bristles’. When that’s done, use your silver pen to mark the ferrule and your paintbrush is finished.

To make foam paint brushes, you need a piece of round toothpick about ½” long, a piece of thin black craft foam about ¼” x ½” and some white glue (Weldbond or Aleene’s Tacky).

Coat one side of the craft foam with glue, place the toothpick about half way up the length of the foam, fold the foam over and clamp until dry. (Once it’s dry, you can even trim it a bit to make slightly narrower.)