Corrugated Cardboard and Jute Twine Vase

Lets begin by cutting off the flaps and peeling away the top paper layer of a small cardboard box to uncover corrugated paper with open ended grooves or ridges.

After cleaning off all of the leftover paper slivers using sand paper, the corrugated box was left relatively smooth. To make the inside of the box look neater and stronger, glue a piece of cardboard on the bottom. Next, insert wood skewers gently into every other groove, pushing down to the bottom of the box, around the entire form.

Once all of the skewers are inserted, starting at the bottom, hot glue the jute twine onto the box, wrapping around at least five times.

The next step is where I got decorative and started twirling and curling the twine on top of the grooves, gluing in place.

Once I went around the entire box, adding and gluing on twine designs, I started weaving the twine over and under the wooden sticks, first covering the top edge of the corrugated paper.

I continued weaving the twine over and under around the box to complete five rows. After that, I separated the weaving into five or more rows until nearing the top. Then I wrapped the twine around each wood skewer, all the way around, gluing the end piece twine down inside and cutting off the excess. I coated the entire vase with mod podge, and let dry for a few hours - you can skip this step and use craft varnish instead.

After drying, I cut off the ends of the skewer sticks and filed down any sharp edges.

And finally, I coated the inside and outside with a clear paint-on craft varnish. If you want to display real flowers, there's enough room to insert a glass container. But for now, I'll stick with a faux fall arrangement.