Geometric Pencil Cups

We’re currently working on another mat board project (my favorite so far! post should be up next week!!) and I realized that I never shared the one that started my obsession – geometric pencil cups. I originally shared it on Tiny Prints, so if you missed the original post, read on!

Want to know the best part? The total cost was zero!! You’ll probably find most of the supplies needed to make these pencil cups laying around your house.

Here’s how we did it!

Materials needed:

Template (we used this website for the polygon and re sized it in illustrator (3rd PDF on page, top image) you can download our resized version HERE, browse here for more ideas, we just measured and cut for the L pencil holder)
Mat board
Craft glue (we like aleene’s fast grab)
Wood Filler / Sanding Block
Painters tape
Paint

1. We printed the shapes needed on a piece of paper. 

2. Then we taped the pattern to a piece of mat board and cut it out. (tip: cut out a few small holes in the center of each shape and place a piece of tape there as well – this helps keep it from slipping)

3. Next, we glued it together. To get the angles right, we used painters tape and secured a few together and then adjusted so they were even prior to the glue drying. You want to use a thick glue that grabs fast, but is still workable. 

4. Since the shapes weren’t cut on an exact angle, we used wood filler to fill in the gaps.

5. Once dry, we sanded it smooth with a fine grit sanding block.

6. Then we painted the outside coral and the inside gold.

and that’s it! Pretty easy, right!? The possibilities are endless!

I paired them with Tiny Print’s Splendid Splash Notepad

 and Tiny Print’s Bashful Brushes business cards. I like the how the loose watercolor strokes contrasts the sharp geometric edges of the pencil holders.