Colored Pencil Stand

Zach gifted me with an early Christmas present. A set of Prismacolor Colored Pencils. I've been wanting this set for about 2 years now and am so excited to have it, most nights I just stare at all the colors and oogle.

Zach often asks me if I'm going to just look at them or if I'm going to use them. So I broke down and used them...here's what I've done so far.

The anal retentive side of my brain was getting frustrated each night because I didn't have a good way to organize the pencils and keep them in color order after I was done drawing. Also the trays that the pencils come in are flimsy and I had to spread them out all over my work surface leaving me no room for my pad of paper.

I decided I needed some sort of vertical arrangement. And this wooden stand works perfectly!

It's made out of a 2x6 cut to 4-21 inch lengths.

Each tier is an inch lower than the previous. We shaved the lengths down on the table saw and sanded the pieces smooth.

Then we glued the pieces together. We considered screwing them from the back, but at the time I hadn't decided how deep I wanted the pencils to rest in the holders and I was afraid the screws would get in the way of the holes.

We clamped the wood overnight to dry.

Then I measured 1/2 inch from the back of each tier, 1/2 inch increments across the length of the stand on every tier.

These were the drill marks.

Then we drilled the holes...took forever, but it was worth it. The holes are 1 1/2 inch deep

Then I ran a length of masking tape across the front of each tier, and labeled the holes according to the Prismacolor color numbers. This tape can be removed if I need to add additional pencils in the future. I also have enough empty spaces to organize my blender and eraser pencils.

I love it!!! And already have ideas for organizing other art supplies in a similar way. It would even be great for crochet hooks and knitting needles.