DIY Pencil Pot

If your like me then buying decorative stationary holders or room decor can be expensive,  so when i found out how to make my own from thing around my home I was glad that i didn't spend loads on pre-made things.  I always seem to be in need of pencil holders or little pots to put things in, so I'm going to show you how to make one out of an old tin and patterned paper of you choice.

What You Need

• An old pot (Big enough to hold what want in it)
• Paper with a pattern of your choice
• Scissors
• Glue/Double Sided Tape
• Paint
• PVA glue/Nail Varnish

1.Find an old can or tub that is big enough to hold you pens and pencils and make sure its completely cleaned out. ( If you are using an old tin can make sure that the rim of the can is not sharp)

2.Find the pattern you want to cover your pot with and make sure it fits all the way round you pot.   If you don't have any patterned paper you can google any image to put in the pot and print it so it fits, i used scrapbook paper, but you can personalize it as much as you want.

3.Place you pot against the back of the paper and mark the paper about 2 cm away from the pot, across the paper, so you have extra to stick to the inside of the pot. Then cut across the line you just made.

4.Now that you have your paper ready for covering your pot, you can paint the inside of you pot, so it matches either the theme of you room or one of the colours on the paper, or you could just leave it the colour it is.  Apply two coats of the paint so that it is definitely covered.  Once the paint is dry apply a thin layer of PVA glue or if you don't have any PVA glue you could use an old clear nail varnish so it seals the paint.

5.After the inside of your tin is dry you can start to attach the paper to the outside.  If you can has a rim at the bottom, a line the paper up with that and glue the first bit down.  follow the paper round the tin making sure the paper sits on the rim the glue the end of the paper onto tin so it is completely covered.

6.If you used glue to stick the paper on make sure its dry before you do this step.  With the excess paper make vertical slits in it every inch so that the slit goes down to the top of the can.

7.With the flaps of paper, add a small amount of glue or double sided tape to each bit and fold it inside of the tin and make sure it is stuck down.  Do this with all the flaps of paper so there is no excess.

Let me know on twitter (@LBoxofTreasures) if you tried this, and if you have any DIY Projects you think I should try let me know about them in the comments.