Faux Bamboo Stick Prop

These are pretty easy props to make. It's a great thing to use if you're doing a kids' camp, or Vacation Bible School, or even at school. They're lightweight and very inexpensive.

For this prop, you'll need a pool noodle, razor blade, heat gun, and paint.

Heat gun, pool noodle, razor blade, and paint.

Take the pool noodle and slice into it, but not all the way through. Just make a slit around the circumference of the noodle. I did about 4 slices per tube, but do as many as you want. Then use the heat gun to melt the top layer. As you do this, it'll form the ridge needed for the seam wherever you sliced it. Then melt it down in between the slices to your liking.

Next is paint. Paint the inside seam a dark brown and then brush a lighter brown over the rest of the noodle. Don't cover over the seam that you already painted darker. Then bring back the darker brown with a different brush after the first layer is dry and make the "seam" a little bigger with brush strokes to add the "wood grain" at the seams.

Next, I used my fingers to smear a medium brown across the middle just for extra texture. Then I covered over the whole thing again with a lighter brown, but not with thick paint. It's just enough to lighten up the layers below it and even it out.

At the end, you'll have a bamboo looking stick that's super inexpensive and easy to put anywhere!

I made a video of the process here: