Author: Cori_Nicholls, Contributing Editor

Chances are, if you are a pastel artist, you have seen the pastel boxes on various artist supply sites and have started to drool...I know I have. When I finally saw one in person, I got to thinking that it was really a fairly simple construction and then I got to wondering if it might be something that I could recreate for minimal expense using materials I had at home and, perhaps, a small investment in some simple materials. This box took me about an hour and a half to put together and I am looking forward to using it as a plein air box in the Spring when I hit the trail to do some painting. Perhaps the best thing about it is that it could be customized to virtually any layout that the user wanted and, depending on the size of the box you use, could be customized to hold as many or as few pastels as you deemed necessary! Be creative and have fun!

Materials needed: 1 pre-made box: The one I used in this article came from one of those little artists kits that you can pick up at any hobby store (it once had plastic trays in it with things like watercolours, markers, oil pastels and pencil crayons). If you’re super-handy, you could try to construct your own box to the size you would like. 1-2, 4 foot lengths of 1 X 2 wood. (The thickness of the wood will vary depending on the depth of the box) Sheets of foam (available in any craft section - usually in the kids crafts area). Make sure you have enough to cover the bottom of the box Plastic board, foamcore or thin plywood (cut to fit the top of each side of the box) - you need to consider weight here, because the heavier the material you use, the heavier the box will end up being. Peel and stick magnets and Thin sheet metal strips ***If you wanted, and have enough depth to work with, you could use self-stick Velcro strips in place of the magnets and metal. This would be slightly thicker than the magnet and metal method, but you would not need to worry about sharp edges and contact cement.*** Assorted foam inserts (these come in every box of pastels you have ever bought...if you saved them, you should have enough) you could also buy 1/4 inch thick foam in sheets.*** Contact cement Household glue Sandpaper

Tools Needed: Craft knife or scissors Ruler Hand saw (or something similar to cut the wood). You could also opt to have the wood cut to length at the lumber store where you bought the wood Tin snips (if you are using the magnets and sheet metal) Foam brush (to spread the contact cement with)

Step One: Open the box up and lay flat. Cut the sheets of foam to fit perfectly in the bottom of the box and glue into place to avoid it moving around and/or buckling

Step Two: Measure along the short sides of the box to determine how long the wood strips need to be. Mark off the increments on the wood and carefully cut using a saw. Sand the ends and sides of the wood pieces to ensure that you won’t be attacked with slivers every time you try to quickly grab a pastel!

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