Schools have started, and I know there’s a lot of excitement with the new academic year just beginning. Along with this new academic year, we’re also enjoying the monsoon season. So, I thought, why not create something that complements both the rainy season and your new school year? Voilà! A rainbow penholder idea popped into my mind! Roll up your sleeves and start this project this weekend!

Things you need:

1. Seven A-4 sized different coloured pap­ers (Rainbow colours)

2. One white foam sheet

3. Stationary compass

4. Scissors

5. Two empty cans

6. Two empty paper rolls

7. Ruler

8. Hot glue gun

9. White or clear glue

10. Empty cardboard box

Directions:

1. Take the A4-sized coloured paper and use a compass to draw a full circle. The diametre of the first circle should be equal to the entire width of the A4-sized paper, picture 2.

2. Now take all A4-sized sheets of different colours and draw a circle on each, making each circle one centimetre smaller in diametre than the previous one, then cut them out, picture 3.

3. Two-fold all the circles and cut them from the middle, now you have all circles in halves, pictures 4 and 5.

4. Take the larger half of the paper and paste the half circle that is one centimetre smaller on it. Continue pasting the smaller halves on top of each other until you reach the smallest one, forming a rainbow effect, see pictures 6 and 7.

5. Create similar set of rainbow using the remaining halves of the colourful papers, (this is going to be the back side of the penholder.

6. Take two pieces of cardboard cut to the height of the empty can. Place the cans and an empty paper roll in a line to get an idea of the overall size of the penholder, picture 8.

7. Paste a 2.5-inch wide cardboard strip to serve as the base for the two sides of the cardboard, picture 9.

8. Paste the rainbows onto each side of the cardboard, picture 10.

9. Trim the excess cardboard that extends above the rainbow to get a clean and finished look. Ensure that you cut carefully to avoid damaging the rainbow design. This step is crucial for a polished final appearance, pictures 11, 12.

10. Carefully paste the cans and empty paper roll in the centre of the rainbows using hot glue, pictures 13 and 14.

11. Finally, give your rainbow a finishing touch by drawing and cutting out two or three clouds from the white foam sheet. Paste them on both sides of the rainbow, the side that is going to be front, pictures 15 and 16. n

The writer can be contacted at ithecraftman@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 31st, 2024