Make a Pencil Vase for a Back to School Floral Arrangement

When I was in high school, I was a straight A student. My only B all four years was in Driver’s Education. (And that was a miracle, seeing how I got into a car accident the first day of driver’s training.) Well, here’s a floral arrangement that deserves an A+ for creativity. The vase is made of pencils around a cylindrical container, wrapped up with a tape measure. Fill it with any flowers you’d like, and you’ve got a whimsical arrangement that will cheer up the classroom or make a perfect teacher appreciation gift. 

What You’ll need:

No. 2 pencils
Small glass/vase
Double-sided tape
Rubber band
Plastic tape measure
Fresh or artificial flowers

Start with a small glass or vase no more than 3 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall. You can also use a clean, empty can, like a soup can.  It’s important that the sides of the container are straight up and down without any flares. Otherwise, the pencils will not line up straight around it. Wrap double-sided tape all around the sides of the glass so it is sticky to the touch.

Place a rubber band around the center of the glass, and insert the pencils between the rubber band and the glass. Position all the pencils so they are going in the same direction, and have the printing on them face out. Press the pencils against the glass so that they stick to the double-sided tape. The combination of the rubber band and tape keep the pencils securely in place. (You can also use a glue gun if you prefer.) Go all the way around the vase until you have covered it with pencils. It took about 30 pencils to make the vase in this example.

Hide the rubber band by cutting a piece of plastic tape measure and wrapping it around the pencil vase. Secure it with double-sided tape. The tape measure makes a whimsical ribbon for the vase while adding extra reinforcement around the pencils. You can buy a plastic tape measure in the sewing department of your local crafts store. Since the pencils are yellow, select a tape measure that is a different color. Now that your vase is finished, fill it with flowers. If you would like this arrangement to last forever, use artificial flowers instead of fresh ones.