Pencil holders are not only functional, but they can also be a cute or fun addition to any office or

desk. Pencil holders can be made from almost anything, and you can usually find the supplies
for a pencil holder lying around your home. You can make a cute, glitzy, rustic, vintage, simple,
or modern pencil holder. The options are endless so have fun with it and do something creative.

Part 1 Using Different Items for a Pencil Holder

Recycle aluminum cans. These items are perfect for pencil holders because they are a good
shape and can usually be found around the house. Next time you make a cup of soup, cook
vegetables, or make beans, save your can. Simply rinse it out and set it aside so that you can
later reuse it.
Part 2 Designing Your Pencil Holder

1 Clean it. Before you begin to decorate your pencil holder, you'll want to make sure it
is thoroughly clean. If you are using a glass, can, or plastic item, rinse it out with water
and soap and clean the outside as well. This will ensure that you don't have dirt on the
outside of the holder while you decorate. Make sure your holder is completely dry
before decorating it by wiping it down with a paper towel.
 If you wipe down your item with a regular towel you risk leaving lint on your holder,
which will make it more difficult to decorate. You can use an old rag that has been
washed many times, though, as these won't have too much lint on them.
 If you are using wood or the toilet paper roll, just make sure it is free of dirt or dust. You
can wipe off the toilet paper roll with a slightly damp towel (but you don't want it too
damp as this can damage the roll). If you are using a piece of wood, take a sweeping
brush, and sweep off any dirt or dust that was leftover after sanding it.

2 Paint your holder. There are so many different ways you can decorate your pencil
holder, but one of which is painting it a solid color or with a design. If you have an item
 that is originally not a pretty color (like an aluminum can) first spray paint it. Allow the
paint to dry and then decorate it with your other paints. Covering your containers with
chalkboard paint can also be a cool idea.

 Spray paint is a good base coat for paint as it will stick much easier to different surfaces
than regular acrylic paint. Spray paint your holder in a well ventilated area. You also
want to make sure it has the option to dry in an area that dirt and other bugs won't get to
it, as they can easily stick to the paint as it is drying.
 If you plan to paint a lot of color over your base coat, choose a neutral color like white or
light grey. That way your designs will pop.
 If you are going for a modern designed holder, spray paint or paint it a bright gold,
silver, or white.

Cover it with fabric or scrapbook paper. Instead of painting your holder, you may
want to cover it in a fun fabric or scrapbook paper. Take your material and cut a size to
fit your holder. Then, glue it onto your holder with hot glue or by covering your container
with mod lodge and then spreading the fabric onto the mod-podged container.
 Mod podge will likely help the material stay better, but it will create a wetter look on your
material. If you don't want this, place hot glue on the top, bottom, and two edges of your
holder and glue your material down that way, making sure you don't have any bubbles
or gaps in the material.[7]
 To cut the right amount of material, take your holder and place it on top of your material.
Place one edge of your holder on the fabric, marking the fabric where the edge starts (it
can be helpful to make a little mark on your holder as well). Then, roll the holder, tracing
on the fabric where the top of the holder hits and where the bottom hits, until you've
reached the first edge on your holder. Then, mark on your material where your holder
ended, and cut out the area you traced, cutting out an extra inch around it in case you
need extra material.
 To wrap your material around your holder you should be able to take the piece you just
cut and start at one edge of your holder. Wrap the piece around until you reach that
same edge again. Cut off any excess material.
 You can also cover your can with a plain piece of white paper and then draw or color on
it with markers, paint, or colored pencils. This can be a fun idea for little kids so that they
can decorate their own pencil holders without creating too much of a mess.

Decorate with rope or yarn. Maybe you are looking for a more rustic look for your
 pencil holder. If so, use twine, rope, or yarn to decorate your container. Simply take the
color and texture of material you want and start at the bottom of your holder. Glue the
beginning of your rope with hot glue and as you wind up your container continue to add
hot glue. Then, cut off the rest of your material once you have reached the top. [8]
 Make sure as you wind up your container that you don't leave any empty holes. Once
you have created one loop around your container, place a string of hot glue right above
it. This will hopefully prevent you from leaving gaps on your holder.

Add embellishments. Now that you've covered your container with paint, fabric, or
rope, you can add any extra embellishments. Maybe you want a glittery can, vintage
can, or floral can. For a glitzy can, shake glitter onto your paint as it is drying, or mod
podge it onto your fabric. For a vintage can, add a trim of lace around the top or bottom
of your can or old fashioned buttons. For a floral can, create felt flowers.
 You can also hide your holder completely by lining it with small twigs or wine corks.
Another fun idea for a pencil holder is lining it with an old map, or a map of a location
you hope to visit some day. You can also add a ribbon to the top or bottom of your can
to cover up any ugly fabric or paper edges. The options are really endless!