2 ways to make a DIY lazy Susan pencil holder

This DIY lazy Susan pencil holder is seriously one of my favorite projects. It's so easy to make, it's practically for free and it's so functional. It's just a perfect DIY gift from wood for anyone who has pencils or pens (hint: everyone). My daughter loves the functionality of it and I'm planning to make another one for her brushes and crayons. 

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DIY lazy Susan pencil holder from a log

Materials

• Wood log
• Lazy Susan turntable 2"
• Drill
• 5/16" drill bit

Instructions

1. Gather your tools and materials, which are a log that could be found in nature, lazy Susan turntable (you can find an old lazy Susan in a thrift store, or buy it from Amazon for $2), drill, and drill bits. Simple as that.

2. Cut your log to size. Sand it lightly to remove all the dirt. (I made it last minute and had to use an old log found in the garage, but the fresher the wood the better)

3. Measure how deep you want your pencils "to sit" inside and mark your drill bit with tape.

4. Drill holes randomly as your soul desires.

5. To attach a lazy Suzan you'll need a base. I used another smaller log for this purpose. You position lazy Suzan on your base and screw it to it. Then you rotate the lazy Susan 90 degrees and drill a bigger hole in the base. Add our pencil holder to it and put screws to it through that big hole in the base.

6. That's it. As simple as that. You just made a great DIY present for the artist in your life.

PIN IT TO MAKE IT LATER>>>>>>>

UPDATE (12/08/20): 

I made another version of this lazy Susan pencil holder and you can watch the video on how to make it on my YouTube channel here.

How to make a DIY lazy Susan pencil holder from a 4x4" cube

Cost: $3

Time: 1 hour

Level: Beginner 

Materials

• 4x4x4"
• 1x3x3"
• lazy Susan turntable 2"
• Drill
• 5/16" drill bit
• Dremel VersaTip
• Minwax natural stain (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut 4x4" at the desired length. Mine is about 4" and makes almost a perfect cube. Cut a base from 1x3". Mine is 3" wide and makes a square.
2. Make holes on the top of the 4x4" cube. Pinch small holes first for the center of a drill bit. Use tape on a drill bit to make sure the holes are the same depth.

How to assemble lazy Susan turntable the easy way

1. Use small head screws and attach one side of lazy Suzan to the bottom of the pencil holder. 
2. When one side is attached, move the second half at 90-degree and position it so you could drill a hole through the base of the pencil holder.
3. Drill the hole all the way through. It should be big enough to fit the drill bit and a screw.
4. When you have that hole, turn it around and place it on top of a 4x4" cube. 
5. Take a drill bit and screws and drill them through that hole, attaching the second part of lazy Suzan. It can be a bit tricky but definitely can be done. To make your life easier and the lazy Susan placed correctly, you can pre-drill pilot holes.

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So now that the lazy Susan is in place, it's time to decorate this DIY lazy Susan pencil holder

To decorate this one, I chose to try my new Dremel VersaTip and make a city landscape scene. It was so much fun to try myself in pyrography. I'm sure it's not the last project I'm doing it with. It's only a beginning haha

Tips on how to use Dremel VersaTip for pyrography.

1. Fill the tank with butane gas. The tank should be filed within 10 seconds. When the gas starts spilling out, the tank is full. Very important! Let it sit for 3-5 minutes for gas to settle inside the tank.
2. Put a special tip on it. I first tried it with a soldering tip but had better results when I switched to a shaping knife.
3. Light on Dremel VersaTip, slide the Lock-on button to the lock position, and wait for it to get hot!
4. When it's hot, it's time to work! I drew a landscape with a pencil prior to the process, so I just traced it with a hot tip and it looked amazing! Not perfect, but great for the first try! To make your arm more comfortable, put support under your elbow of the same height as your project. This will help your hand to be more stable and the result to be more precise. 

In the end, I finished my DIY lazy Susan pencil holder with a Minwax natural stain and it was ready!

Which version of the DIY lazy Susan pencil holder do you like better? Comment below! And let me know if you'll be making one! If you do, tag me on Instagram. I'd love to see it!

If you like the DIY lazy susan pencil holder project we think you might like to see how we made a recipe box that takes even less time to make but is also a wonderfully thoughtful present.

Would you like to know how to make a citronella candle to repel mosquitos? You can download this cute printable there as well! It could be a great gift for someone! You can watch me make it here. 

Or how to make this adorable jewelry holder from clay, you can watch me make it here

If you like this DIY, check out my Instagram, where I try to post behind the scenes in my stories. And subscribe to my YouTube channel to get your weekly dose of DIY of all the kind 🙂

Will see you soon!

xoxo,

April