Use Old Paper Towel Rolls To DIY A Chic, Fluted Vase For Your Table

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If you've a fan of fluted wooden vases, then you probably know that some of the most high-end ones come with a price tag that can do damage to your decorating budget. The cost of these is influenced by the price for the raw materials and the skill required for the artist to make the vase. However, as a smart crafter, you have an alternative — make your own fluted vase. And, here's the best part of that option: You don't need to have expert crafting skills or expensive raw materials when you want to DIY a high-end vase. In fact, the only thing standing between you and a chic, fluted wooden vase on your table are a handful of dowels and that leftover cardboard paper towel tube you were about to throw away.

For this DIY, you need an empty paper towel tube and, to give the vase its wooden appearance, you'll turn to a staple in most crafters' tool box: wooden dowels. Something like HOPELF Wooden Dowel Rods is what you're looking for. A pack of them will set you back less than $6. Last on the raw materials list is the flora you'll put inside the vase. In this case, you're looking for items in either the dried or silk categories of the floral aisle at the store. You'll also need a pair of scissors to cut through the cardboard tube. A glue gun and a handful of paper towels are the last two items to add to your supplies list.

You'll start by working on the cardboard tube since the finished vase will only be as tall as the dowels. If the tube is too long, you can use one of the dowels as a measuring stick. Just place it next to the tube and cut to the right length. Next, you'll glue the dowels onto the paper towel tube one by one until the tube is completely covered. Then, stuff some paper towel into the bottom of the tube before you put your dried flowers in.

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Additionally, you have a number of options to change up the vase, which in turn, will give you more creative ways to decorate your home with vases. One of the simplest would be to paint some of the dowels. You could alternate between the painted and unpainted dowels. For example, glue one dowel you've painted black. Then place two or three unpainted dowels next to it. Repeat. Or just paint all of them.

Using dowels of different lengths offers you another way to add visual contrast into the vase's design. To do this, get something like the Phinus Wooden Dowel Kit. It comes with dowels ranging from .79 to just under 2 inches tall. Here's how you could introduce contrast. You'd have one line of 2-inch dowels standing next to two lines of 1.57-inch dowels. Then, repeat the pattern. You'll have to play around with the design to make all the dowels fit together well and probably cut the tube according to the varied lengths. However, when it comes time to style your vases on your table, the resulting design will be worth the effort.