DIY Sunday: Color Pencil Block

Happy Sunday!

Today's DIY is probably meant for children, but I decided to make it for myself. No regrets.

This summer while on vacation I bought an adult coloring book and color pencils. I spent my vacation relaxing in front of the lake with some wine and coloring. It was pretty much amazing. In an attempt to keep the good vibes up, I've kept coloring. I don't like to sit still especially while watching movies without doing something (knitting, painting, making lists excessively) which drives my husband crazy. I also talk excessively during movies...so I'm pretty much the worse movie companion ever.

I know there's tons of people that jumped on the coloring band wagon and probably have the same issue I have. I guard my color pencils with my life. I don't let the kids within 20 feet of them without very close supervision. The one time they used them without me watching, half of them were eaten by the dog. When I do go to use them, I always pick out 10 or 15 colors for that particular picture, and the pencils roll around everywhere. They get lost between seat cushions or in a blanket.

Goodwill to the rescue! I saw several pins where people took a old knife block and turned it into a coloring station for kids. Psh. I'm going to make this for myself.

DIY Color Pencil Station

Supplies

Old Knife Block (I found a ton at Goodwill. I scored mine for $1.50)
A Piece of Scrap Wood
Wood Glue & Clamps
Drill & a Drill Bit (larger than a pencil diameter)
Paint
Sandpaper

Directions

1. Prep Surface & Cut Wood

You will need to trim down your scrap wood to fit the top of the knife block. Since my knife block had two levels, I used two pieces of scrap wood. For the larger top, I used a 1x4. For the smaller part, I used a strip of lattice I had left over from my closet project (click here for the post).  After you trim down your wood, you will want to sand the knife block and the scrap wood. As you sand, you will probably want to round any harsh corners.

2. Glue Scrap Wood

I used Gorilla Glue brand wood glue. Using various size clamps, I glued the wood to the tops of the knife block. Let the glue dry over night.

3. Drill Holes

This is the trickest part and where I messed up. So learn from my mistakes!

First of all, take a minute and use a ruler to evenly mark out where you want to drill holes. You will not want to drill too close to the edges (or another hole) or you will split your scrap wood top (like I did). You will also want to make your holes in a straight line or at least in some pattern that looks intentional (unlike me).

When you go to start drilling, you will want to make each hole an equal depth down. Otherwise your pencils will sit at crazy heights (like mine).

Finally, due to the size of some of the previous holes in the knife block, some holes make hit a previous hole that is much wider than the hole your drilling. Which means that your pencil will fall through the knife block. That's pretty easy to fix. Simply fill in the old knife block hole from the bottom and tape up the bottom to keep the filling from falling out. I used pieces of balled up scrap paper or pieces of scrap wood as my filling (depending on the size of the hole). Expandable foam would work as well.

4. Finish with Paint or Stain

I decided to try out some blue chalk paint with a dark wax. Not so sure about the dark wax, but I love the blue. I finished off the front with a metal chalkboard tag I got in the 1$ section at Target.