Off the Rails Scrapbooking: How To Make a Pen Holder

Hi Guys! I'm Mabel and it's my turn again to create a tutorial for Off the Rails Scrapbooking!

My project today was inspired by OTRS November Mood board which you can find more details HERE!

As you can see, the theme is about recycling. So I decided to make a pen holder out of toilet roll.

The toilet roll I got measures 3 inches wide and 3.5 inches tall.

I'm using natural jute hemp cord and twirled it around the toilet roll.

Next, I cut of the circumference of the toilet roll after I traced it on a piece of cupboard. I glued it to one side of the toilet roll to create a base. I then tidied up the rough edges by continuing to glue the hemp cord such that it'll cover the edges.

Now that the surface and the base were done, it's time for colours and embellishments!

I randomly painted white gesso on random areas to create some contrast with the burlap colours.

I also cut up a piece of chipboard from dusty attic (which I can't remember the name anymore I'm sorry!) and painted it with an even coat of white gesso.

This is how it looked like after embellishments. I'm using some flowers from Prima Marketing and from local craft stores (which were brandless). The floral vellum was made using Martha Stewart Adhesive Silkscreen with an even coat of white gesso.

And here's the final look!

I used Colourarte's Silks in Guatemalan Green, African Jade, Mango Tango and Pink Anthurium to achieve this result.

To achieve this soft-washed effect for the flower in the picture below, I simply dilute my colours and applied the colour with a wet brush at the bottom of the flower. The colour will spread and create this effect.