She Turned an Empty Toilet Paper Roll Into a Back-to-School Pencil Holder
Updated on September 10, 2026
Back-to-school desk supplies do not have to come from the store. An empty toilet paper roll already has the shape needed for a pencil holder, making it a useful starting point for a simple recycled craft.
Yellow paper covers the cardboard, while pink glitter foam forms the top trim, dots, and base. Filled with colored pencils, pens, or markers, the finished holder adds storage to a homework desk without buying another organizer.
Yellow Paper Hides the Cardboard
Yellow paper wraps around the toilet paper roll from top to bottom. Glue secures the overlap, hiding the brown cardboard while keeping the tube shape intact.
Pink Glitter Foam Shapes the Top
Pink glitter foam is cut into a strip with curved points along one edge. Wrapped around the opening, the foam covers the cardboard rim and creates a crown-like border.
Glitter Dots Cover the Yellow Surface
Small circles cut from pink glitter foam go across the yellow paper. The dots repeat the material used around the top while leaving much of the yellow surface exposed.
Circular Base Closes the Bottom
A circle cut from pink glitter foam forms the base. The cardboard tube sits in the center, leaving enough foam around the edge to create a visible border.
Bottom Trim Hides the Join
White trim wraps around the lower section where the tube meets the base. Pink edging connects the strip with the glitter details used across the holder.
Glue Connects the Tube and Base
Glue secures the covered tube to the foam circle. The wider base supports the narrow cardboard roll once pencils add weight inside.
Final Details Cover the Cardboard
Pink dots, top trim, and the bottom border cover each exposed section of the original roll. The cardboard remains inside as the structure for the holder.
Pencils Fill the Open Tube
Colored pencils fit through the open top and rest against the closed base. The tall tube keeps them upright while leaving each pencil within reach.
Toilet Paper Roll Disappears Inside the Finished Piece
Yellow paper and pink glitter foam hide the material that formed the holder. From the outside, few clues remain that the desk organizer started as an empty toilet paper roll.
Would you have guessed this pencil holder started with a toilet paper roll, and what other projects would you make with one?