I wanted to share a bit more

about the art case  I up-cycled [trying to use all the new words in the thrifting world – ha] from the little case I bought on the 127 Yard Sale . I’d first seen these on Donna Downey’s blog but couldn’t find a photo to share so I gave you an idea of what I might do here and here.

This is the case I bought and used: 

I saw this one at Hobby Lobby 

and while it’s a bit bigger, I do think it would make an excellent art case.

Here’s a photo of mine now – LOVE. IT.

 What I did – [sorry, I didn’t take photos along the way to the finished product --] 

I cut chip board [really, I used the backs of old note pads from work; yes, I save them,] into dividers for the bottom to make compartments for my water color crayons, pens, and water color pencils. 

 I taped these together and covered it in an old map 

[or a new one, I can’t remember since we get new ones every time we get a new governor.] 

 I also cut a piece of chip board to make a ‘shelf’ that goes over the divided area 

and gives a spot for my notebook[s] to set. 

This piece was also covered in the map [front and back] – 

I’ve since cut a half circle on one edge so 

I can easily lift it up to get to the supplies underneath.

 And lastly, I cut a piece of chip board to fit the lid 

[I wanted to preserve the original lining if I could.] 

I also covered the front of this piece in the map 

and then marked on the back where I wanted to put the elastic through. 

- I put the supplies down opposite of how I wanted them to be and marked with a pencil –

then pushed a hole through with the teeny tips of my scissors – 

it needed to be big enough for the elastic to be pushed through.

I pulled the elastic through and tied it off in the back. 

 Then I just placed it in the lid – 

but I soon found that my brushes and ink pad were heavy enough 

to pull this piece out each time I opened it 

so I ended up securing the corners with BIG glue dots 

[that might comprise the integrity of the original lining – 

but hey, I want this to be user- friendly.] 

 Can I just say again how much I love having all my art journal supplies 

in one easy to travel case? 

I. LOVE. IT. - lol