You heard me. It was a mail tube. Now it’s a pencil case.

Don’t blink though, cause you might miss it. This thing is so easy to make and your pencils are going to love you for giving them an awesome new home.

A few weeks ago I got an email from the folks at BuzzFeed asking me to create for their new DIY sister-site. They wanted a  pencil case. “Something easy.” “Something modern & fresh.” I accepted the challenge confidently …never letting on that I had exactly ZERO ideas for how on earth one creates a modern, fresh & easy to assemble pencil case.

So I started brainstorming: “Things that are shaped like a pencil case, but don’t require sewing because sewing is not terribly easy…and let’s be honest, I sort of suck at sewing.”

Then I came up with this list:

Yeah. That space is intentional. Because my list included precisely nothing. Not a clue what I was going to make…until I went to the post office…where they sell mail tubes…which, coincidently are shaped like pencil cases, and don’t require sewing…because, as I mentioned, I suck at sewing.

Here’s how you do it…

(not pictured: hole punch)

{1} Use a saw or serrated knife to cut the tube into two segments, with one longer than the other. Tip: If your cut is not completely straight, don’t worry! Use sandpaper to smooth the cut edge and even things out.

{2} Use double-sided tape and/or craft glue to adhere the patterned paper around the mail tube.

{3} Roll the cardstock as shown…

{4} then slide it into the bottom portion of the tube, allowing 1/2″- 1″ to extend above the edge of the tube. Adhere this piece of cardstock into place using craft glue.

{5} Use a hole punch to place holes on either side of the top portion of the tube as shown

{6} Place the elastic into the holes as shown and secure the elastic into place with knots or by using eyelets.

{7} Use the hold punch again to place two notches in the bottom edge of the tube (see below)

 

How’s that for easy, modern & fresh!?  With the kiddos going back to school, this is a great craft to make with them. But in all honesty, I’m a grown woman with no kids and I fully plan on keeping these for myself!

Thanks to BuzzFeed for featuring this project along with several others in their DIY post! Because of those guys, I’ll never look at mail tubes in the same way again!