DIY A Functional Yet Stylish Umbrella Stand Out Of Dollar Tree Finds

If you've ever struggled to find your umbrella just as it's started to rain, then you know it's good to have a set place to keep them. People have likely been misplacing umbrella's since they were first being developed more than 4,000 years ago in the Mesopotamian region. Whether you use your umbrella to keep the rain off your head or shade yourself, like the Ancient Egyptians or more recently the Victorians, it's best to have an umbrella holder. Given the shape of umbrellas, people generally store them in long, narrow containers. When you bring in a wet umbrella, you can just place it in the holder and not have to worry about dripping water everywhere. These holders are relatively inexpensive, while vintage umbrella holders are pretty valuable. You can also store umbrellas in a pair of old rain boots for free, but if you enjoy craft projects, we suggest making your own using Dollar Tree finds.

Aside from its affordability, this project requires very little time to complete. You just need the right materials, which you can purchase from an arts and crafts or hardware store. First, you'll need a cylindrical glass vase, which sells at Dollar Tree for $3. Then you'll need a cardboard tube that's wide enough to hold your umbrella and roughly matches the diameter of the vase. And lastly, you'll need a hot glue gun and a 9 ½-foot length of nautical rope from Dollar Tree. 

This project is one of many great ways to upgrade your entryway for spring on a Dollar Tree budget. The glass vase will serve as the bottom of the umbrella holder, and a rope-bound tube will extend from its opening, where you can stick your umbrellas. The first step of the process is to heat up your glue gun and line the vase's edge with glue. Then place your cardboard tube on top. You may need to reinforce the tube with some additional glue once it dries. At this point, you can paint your vase if you'd like, although this is not an essential step. An acrylic or enamel paint should work well, or you could use chalk paint. You can also mix Mod Podge with food coloring and paint it onto your vase to give it a faux stained glass look. If you don't have any food coloring, you can apply glitter to the Mod Podge to get the vase to sparkle.

The next step is to wrap your cardboard tube with your rope. You need to use a lot of hot glue, otherwise the rope will fall off. Once you reach the top of the cardboard cylinder, cut the rope and trim the edge of the cylinder so it is not visible. When you're finished, set it somewhere where you'll always remember to look on rainy days.