Hello friends! I recently mentioned that I had put all of my pastel pencils, watercolor crayons and colored pencils back in the tins they came in. They were previously in a pen rack I picked up at a scrapbook store for $5 when it was closing and I liked having them all out within reach but I got a really nice bar stool from my sister for Christmas so now I like to sit at my high table and work and I can place the tins on my shelf behind me, I have a heater under the table as I explained in my craftroom winter mode video. Also I wanted them to be portable in case I want work elsewhere, like say upstairs by the fire. All of my pencils had tins except for my Prismacolors, I got my first set of 60 when I was 5 (my art teacher insisted) and replaced used up ones through the years then got a 144 set 15 years ago and as they would get used up I’d replace them as well. I’d say I have about 175 pencils. So I made a plan and asked my hubby to make it:
Want to see it in action, have a look:
Now, I’m not a woodworker but I did measure my box and noted the sizes and materials for you here, I hope it is helpful, if the measurements are odd it could be due to sanding or using up what was on hand. The removable dividers are 1/4″ plywood while the top and bottom are 1/4″ Masonite, I’m pretty sure you could use all plywood or all Masonite. I love the Masonite for the lid because it make a really great surface to color on, talk about portable!
Use this a guide to design your own. I have some room to grow but if I was going to travel with this I’d put some bubble wrap in ant empty spaces so the pencils would not bounce around in there. Tomorrow I will share a tour of my craft room so you can see how I store other stuff! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and til next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 
lucky you to have such a nice and talented husband.
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I am very lucky! He came up with the idea of making it larger in case my collection grew and it is a good thing because I did not account for dividers when I gave him my measurements! He made it so quickly too! I told him we should take orders LOL!
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Beautiful pencil box and what a great hubby! ~Diane
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The box is a really wonderful idea. I have just started picking up different supplies such as the pencils and such. Maybe some day I will also need a box like this.lol
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That is a very nice box. Sure makes me miss my father, he would make what ever I wanted. I have thought a lot over the years ( he has been gone since 1999) about a lot of things I would like to have him make. Your husband is very talented.
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I am sooooo impressed Lindsay with your pencil box….kudos to your hubby!!!
Have to tell you I just bought a set of 72 Derwent Inktense Pencils on-line from Dick Blick (half the price of everywhere else I looked)…so exciting! I have a set of 24 and had to keep going to other brands of pencils for certain colors, so decided I could not pass up this great deal!!! Love the Inktense pencils! Thanks for the great tutorials!!!
Hugs,
Jan Castle
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you’re gonna love them Jan!
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Great method… Are all Prismacolors pencils w@tercolor? I need better colors for fair and flesh. Any ideas? Thanks
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no, these are wax based, regular color pencils so to speak. For watercolor flesh tones I used my regular derwent pencils, they are not as vivid as inktense. Prismacolor also make a s=watercolor pencil, I bought a few to try but preferred Derwentr for watercolor.
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Love it! Extra benefit is that it provides a built in work space!!!
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Oh, wow!!!!!!! What a great team you and your hubby are. I’ve been following your work for about 6 months, and I am blown away by your enthusiasm, honesty and most of all your inspiring creativity.
I’m here in not so sunny Devon U.K. and any free time I get I watch your work which gets me feeling creative. Love it, love it. Thank you for always being there with new ideas. Your talent is endless.
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Yes it sure is a treasure to have such a hubby. I have one the same and love him dearly for all he always do to support me too, and also is always ready to make anything I can dream of, even before I dream it LOL. Just look at my craftroom on my blog, he build me 2 years ago, after I had to be retired with a disabled back, so he thought I should have a nice place to play, and boy did I get that. And more different great things he has made afterwards too, as my needs has shown up.
And now I can see, I´ve got a new need, so better save these measurements for him too he he. Really cool box Lindsey and give that hubby of yours a big hug, I think they deserve that.
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Maryann, what a great craft barn you have, love it! You have a very talented hubby too! I am sharing the link in case anyone else wants to see it, lots of great ideas! http://mycraftbarn.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-craft-heaven.html
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Maryann that is a crafters dream you are a lucky lady. Oh bad back is not good. Hope it is doing better now.
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thanks for the dimensions. I have a neighbor who could make the box for his wife. I have storage rack from a closed store also.
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I sent your Youtube video on this to hubby’s cousin and he showed up the next morning with two of them…one for Prismacolor pencils and one for my Tombow markers…the two mediums I use the most. Love them and thanks so much for sharing your design.
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Very nicely done. Yes, I think Mr. FC may have found himself a second job. He can help fund his hobbies, as you do yours. 😉 I like the built-in flat work space on top for when you’re on the go and can only find your lap to work on.
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I sent your Youtube video to my brother on Saturday, on Monday he brought me my pencil box. I am so glad you posted that video, I was storing my pencils in cups by color. I don’t have the space for cups, I love my box…..thank you.
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awesome, yay for you and your awesome brother:)
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I will have to get my dad to add this to the list of things I need to make my room easier to use 🙂 Thank you for sending me here. Your husband is amazing and so are you 😛
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Is there a reason Prismacolors need to be stored flat or is it just for convenience?
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they can be stored either way:) Unlike markers there is no ink to pool. I like this solution because I can use the box as a lap desk and coloring surface. You can store them in cups if you like:)
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Do you store your inktense pencils and color blocks like this too or do they stay in their original boxes?
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