Craft Tuesday: DIY Rope Pencil Holder

With only a few materials, you can make a pencil cup, bowl, anything really, following these steps. I was in need of a new pencil holder, but if you need something else, it's pretty easy to switch out your "mold."

You will need:
Rope (I used a thin hemp rope. The thicker, stronger the rope, the sturdier the cup or bowl)
Hot Glue Gun
Tape
A mold (a sturdy glass, like pyrex, cup or bowl)

Start by wrapping a piece of tape around the end of the rope, and cutting that taped piece in half. Set your hot glue gun on LOW. I started with mine on high and ending up getting big globs of glue (this could be because I used a small rope). Fold it over and place a dab of hot glue on and hold until it dries.

Begin looping the rope around, applying strips of hot glue about 1 inch long. Press the glued section down and apply more glue. Repeat until the size of your circle is 1 full rope width larger than your cup.

Now that you have reached this point, continue in the same fashion. Apply the glue in 2 inch strips.

Tap down the rope with something small. I used the wooden handle of one of my foam brushes.

Continue doing this, occassionally removing your glass mold, to prevent it form getting stuck in there permanently.

If you are doing a straight cylinder (like the vase I used) then you might not be able to get your mold back in all the way. That's fine, as long as you can get a portion of it in. If you are working with a bowl or something that gets wider as it goes up, you probably won't have to worry about that.

Once you reach your desired height (mine was 4 1/2" high) then tape and trim this end, and tuck it under, placing hot glue on the inside.

Ta-Dah! After it dries (which will be very quickly with hot glue), load up your pencils and enjoy!

You can use this same technique for many other projects, so use your imagination! Make a fruit bowl (out of heavier rope), or do a whole coordinating desk set (paper tray, paperclip holder, etc). Go nuts!