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Upcycled or recycled can - Pencil pot for my desk!

I went to the Lifeline Book Fest last month in Brisbane - Ahhhh book heaven! A very dangerous place for me. The library always demands their books back sooner or later but the ones in the unpriced section I can keep forever and at $1each, I may have come home with more than I needed!

 One of my little gems was this book on paper craft. When I spotted the pencil pot - I knew I had to make me one. I had the perfect paper. Gift wrapping paper from a birthday present that I love - from a great friend to boot and since it was a rainy day (they are all rainy days in Brisbane at the moment) and the husband was tucked up in bed with a coffee and a book still, it was the perfect opportunity to turn the dining room table into a craft zone for minute or two!



Here's what I did...



First I cleaned the can thoroughly and dried it well. Check that it doesn't have any sharp bits on it and cut them off or push them down if it does. (Sorry the photo's aren't so great - its so dark with the rain all the time and the flash photos looked worse...)

Then cut a piece for the inside that will overlap and stick out the top.


Glue the back of the paper and then stick into the can. Then cut the top into tabs (like in the picture) and  glue them down on the outside. If you like, cut a circle and glue it to the inside bottom of the can. I didn't.


Then cut a second strip to go on the outside of the can - making sure that its too big again so that we can cover the bottom of the can.

Glue the can and then roll the paper slowly onto it taking out the wrinkles as you go.


Upend the can and cut tabs in the paper again and glue each one down so that you cover the bottom of the can.


Voila! A cute wee pencil pot!


I cut strips of paper and used them to cover some pencils as well - More cuteness!



This would make a nice present for someone to put by their phone or for kids for their desk I think. Hmmmm.... I see fun, personalised Birthday presents coming up!

Score card:Green-ness:  5/5 Using 100% used items rather than sending them to landfill - much green-ness!
Frugal-ness: 5/5 Using 100% items I got for free - much frugal-ness!
Time cost: 15 minutes from woah to go including clean up time!
Skill level: Super easy - might be a good holiday craft with the kids.
Fun -ness: Good clean fun! Yum!

Comments

Anonymous said…
What kind of glue do you use? I'm mostly interested in the pencil, wondering what glue will sharpen along with the pencil over time.
Practical Frog said…
I used white PVA type craft glue. Ive sharpened these a couple of times with no issues with the glue so far. Some times the paper catches where it hasnt been glued on cause its free. The stuck stuff just sharpens off with the pencil - Try experimenting with an old pencil. Good luck and thanks for dropping by! - Kara
I thank for your time of this wonderful blog read about cleaning!!! I definitely enjoy every little bit of it and subscribed to check out new stuff of your blog a must read blog!
BBQ cleaning
End of lease cleaning Sydney
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