{"title":"How to Make a Concrete Pen Holder for Your Desk","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/crafts/how-to-make-a-concrete-pen-holder","category":{"slug":"crafts","name":"Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Sam Bucciferro","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKvXqSb8-Ot8Wq9qOn74fdw","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X9SlR4pc8I"},"tldr":"Make a concrete pen holder in a foam board mold. How to cast the pen hole so it slides free, which mix to buy and fixes for a stuck pen.","quickAnswer":"Make a concrete pen holder in a foam board mold. An easy project: about 1 hour, plus 24 hours to dry or set. Materials cost about $3 to $8. You need 16 things, including foam board, printed mold template and spray adhesive. The 9 steps start with attach the Pen Holder Template to Foam Board, cut the Foam Board Mold Pieces Along a Ruler and seal the Foam Board Mold Pieces With Packing Tape.","totalDurationSeconds":595,"videoDurationSeconds":595,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":60,"waitMinutes":1440,"totalMinutes":1500,"estimatedCost":{"currency":"USD","min":3,"max":8},"yield":"1 pen holder"},"tools":["craft knife","steel ruler","mini hot glue gun","small mixing cup and spoon","screen or hole-punched cardboard for sifting","gloves","dust mask"],"materials":["foam board","printed mold template","spray adhesive","clear packing tape","concrete mix or sand mix","water","petroleum jelly","a spare pen","cork sheet (optional)"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Attach the Pen Holder Template to Foam Board","text":"Print a template with the outlines of the base and four walls. Sam shares his on the Fizzy Brick website, or you can draw one with a ruler. Mist the back of the paper with spray adhesive and smooth it flat onto a sheet of foam board. The printed lines save you from measuring every piece, and they keep all four walls the same height."},{"number":2,"title":"Cut the Foam Board Mold Pieces Along a Ruler","text":"Hold a steel ruler firmly on each line and draw a sharp craft knife along it. Take two or three light passes instead of forcing one deep cut. Clean edges matter here. If the walls are not square, the mold leans and the finished cube comes out crooked. Cut the base square and the four wall pieces, then poke a small hole in the center of the base for the pen."},{"number":3,"title":"Seal the Foam Board Mold Pieces With Packing Tape","text":"Cover every face that will touch concrete with clear packing tape. Smooth it down so there are no wrinkles or bubbles, since every crease shows up on the cast. The tape keeps the paper skin of the foam board from soaking up water. Without it, Sam's first mold went soft and the walls pulled apart."},{"number":4,"title":"Hot Glue the Foam Board Walls to the Mold Base","text":"Stand the first wall on its line on the base and tack it with small dots of hot glue. Dots set faster than a long bead, so you can build the box quickly. Add the other three walls the same way. Then run glue along every inside seam so the box is watertight. Use a flat base rather than legs. It is steadier and easier to glue."},{"number":5,"title":"Push the Pen Through the Hole in the Mold Base","text":"Feed the pen up through the hole in the base so it stands straight in the middle of the box. The pen is the mold for the hole, so it will fit that pen exactly. Seal around it with a little hot glue underneath. Turn the mold over and stand it on a can or cup, so the pen hangs down inside the can and the box sits level."},{"number":6,"title":"Tape and Grease the Pen So It Slides Out of the Concrete","text":"Wrap a few layers of packing tape around the end of the pen that sits in the concrete. Then wipe a thin coat of petroleum jelly over the tape with a paper towel. On the first try the pen set solid in the concrete. With tape and jelly it slid right out, and the hole was a hair bigger than the pen, so it fit well."},{"number":7,"title":"Sift the Gravel Out of the Concrete Mix","text":"Most bagged concrete has large gravel mixed in. That is fine for steps or a patio, but the stones jam in the tight gap around the pen. Rub the dry mix across a screen or a piece of cardboard punched full of holes over a tray. Keep the fine powder that falls through and toss the stones. Wear gloves and a dust mask for this part."},{"number":8,"title":"Fill the Foam Board Mold With Wet Concrete","text":"Stir water into the sifted mix a little at a time until it is like thick oatmeal. Spoon it into the mold and push it down around the pen. Tap the sides of the mold to bring air bubbles up, then fill right to the rim and smooth the top. Leave it on the can, out of direct sun, for at least 24 hours."},{"number":9,"title":"Peel the Foam Board Mold Off the Concrete Pen Holder","text":"Once the concrete is hard, twist the pen and pull it out. Then tear the foam board walls away from the cube. The tape side lets go cleanly and leaves a smooth face. Brush off any loose bits and let the cube dry for a few more days. Glue a square of cork underneath, drop in a good pen and put it on your desk."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-11-02T13:40:42.357Z","published":"2026-11-02T13:40:41.999Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}