How To Make A Gorgeous Leather Pen Pot
There's something about tin cans. I can't help finding new ways to upcycle and reuse them. This leather pen pot has to be one of my classiest tin can upcycles.
In the past, I've made gold crushed can DIY planters, a recycled jeans planter, Marimekko decorative tin can planters and even upcycled tin with a faux marble effect. You can see many more of my upcycled tin cans here.
DIY Upcycled Rainbow Leather Pen Pot
I was about to throw out an outdated white leather handbag when I thought of using it for my latest tin can upcycle. Having painted leather before, I thought it would be fun to add a rainbow of colour to the white leather and use this to make a leather pen pot.
I say leather, but the handbag turned out to be faux leather (so vegan-friendly!). Don't worry if you don't have an old bag; you can easily pick a faux leather one up cheaply at a thrift/charity store. Or even buy faux leather online.
Also, I say leather pen pots, but they can easily be plant holders. Because the leather pen pot is so colourful, it looks great with all my colour pens.
This is a simple and affordable craft that uses mainly upcycled materials. It took about 30 minutes to complete.
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What you need to make an Upcycled leather pen pot
- Tin cans - I used tin cans in a variety of sizes.
- White faux leather - from an old handbag or bought online. I think the pots look better if you can get faux leather with a bevelled texture.
- Watercolour paints - the paint in the tubes works best.
- Paintbrush
- Brightly coloured embroidery thread and needle.
How to make a colourful Upcycled leather pen pot
Step 1: The first thing to do is cut the faux leather to size. As I was using an old handbag, this involved cutting it open with a pair of scissors first and removing all the lining.
The piece of leather to go around the pot needs to be the same height as the tin can and about 2cm longer than the diameter of the tin can you are going to cover.
Step 2: Next, paint the cut piece of leather with watercolour paints. As you first brush the watercolour paint on the leather, you will notice that the faux leather appears to repel it initially, but if you leave it for a few seconds, it will stick to the leather.
It's hard to paint detail with watercolour paint, but I liked its washed-out effect on the leather. I used many bright colours from my paint pallet to create a random rainbow pattern on the leather.
If you have never painted with watercolours, there are lots of fabulous tutorials available. You may also want to practice on paper before painting the faux leather.
Step 3: The paint shouldn't take long to dry. I left it as it was, but if you want, you can seal it with an acrylic spray sealer, which will probably give the leather pen pot a shinier finish.
Once dry, the sleeve is ready to sew. Stitch the two ends with a brightly coloured embroidery thread using a blanket stitch.
Step 4: Slip the leather cover over the tin can to create your lovely pen pot.
There are many more DIY pencil holder ideas here.
Or, if you prefer, you can use your upcycled leather pot as a unique plant pot for some succulents. Either way, a leather desk tidy or trendy planter will look great on my DIY world map desk!
This isn't the first time I've painted leather. In the past, I have made an upcycled leather bag with paint and iron-on transfers. You'll find more leather craft ideas and handmade gift ideas here.
You can make matching DIY bookmarks with any leftover leather scraps.
I think this would make a great present to give a teacher. I know from my teacher friends that they prefer something handmade and not just anything grabbed from the shelf without much forethought - or yet another "Best Teacher" mug! How easy was the faux leather to sew? #GoingGreen
Thank you. The faux leather was so easy to sew the darning needle went through it like butter.
What a great way to use an old leather bag. Fake or not. Love the addition of the paint. I know it would make me smile when I sat down to work, if they were on my desk. #GoingGreen
Thank you, it does brighten up my desk.
Love this idea. You were my favorite pick for this week on Waste Not Wednesday!
Thank you, Deborah that’s awesome.
Such a cute idea! It wouldn't matter if the old bag had a mark or two on it either would it?
Thank you, yes you could easily paint over the marks.
This was a great idea. I cannot believe how these turned out.
Thanks, I did like making them
This is such a fun upcycle. I love the vibrant colors. It's great when a craft is also practical. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle. This is my Snickerdoodle Special Feature at this week's party. Hope to see you at today's party.
Thank you, Beverly. And thanks for the feature.
Forgot to mention that I pinned this to my Pinterest Board under Crafts. Thanks again, Linda - Crafts a la mode
Thank you and thanks for the share.
Very, very clever use of an old purse! I'm always looking for ways to keep all my coloring pens together. Thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things. Best wishes, Linda @Crafts a la mode
Thank you so much ?
Such an awesome way to repurpose an old leather handbag and they look so pretty with all those colors Claire. Really love this idea and I know I have a whole bunch of leather handbags in the back of my closet that will never get used again
Thank you, Michelle. I did like painting the leather.
Great idea to reuse a purse and cans! Love the creativity and the pretty colors. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday.
Thank you, I do like colourful things.
So cute, Claire! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
Thank you for hosting.
If this isn't one of the cutest ideas to upcycle tin cans - I don't know what is! I love your creativity, Claire! They are really pretty!
Thank you, I love finding new ways to upcycle tin cans and this one was fun. I think it’s the colourfulness that makes them seem cheery.
Great idea! I love this DIY! It will be so fun for kids to transform things!
Thank you so much. It is fun to and simple to do.