diy pencil block

Well, technically you can do it yourself. I actually emailed my handy (and very generous) father and asked him to do it for me but...

There are several varieties of these sold on Etsy. For a boatload of money. I fell in love with the concept but was determined not to pay that sort of money for a block of wood. And basically, that's all you need.

You can simply buy a 4x4 and sand it down or you can plane a piece of wood to your desired size, which is what my dad did. My pencil block is spray lacquered but you could paint of stain it any color you desire. Do this FIRST. If you try to paint it after the holes are drilled the paint will just drip down into the holes.  Not pretty.

My dad put painters tape on one side of the wood and marked where the holes would go. He then drilled through tape. This helps eliminate any burrs or cracks around the holes. As far as drills go, a hand drill will work, but if you have a drill press that would (apparently) be a better option.  I'm not terribly well informed on drills but this is what the pro told me!

Be sure to measure the items you want to place in the holes before drilling.  You could use these blocks for pencils, markers, makeup brushes or even kitchen utensils.  But I personally found the rainbow of pencils the most visually appealing.  Now lets see how long they stay color blocked as photographed.

Happy crafting...

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