Rainbow Organizer for Art Supplies

Since I don’t have kids, I don’t typically create projects that are geared towards the kiddie lifestyle. But, I decided to celebrate the new school year underway by creating some arts and crafts storage with something I found at the thrift store. Since the 64-count box of crayons was always my favorite school supply, I’m honoring that colorful memory by creating a rainbow organizer for art supplies!

Here’s how my idea started…

I’d spotted this metal utensil holder (or, at least that’s what I decided it was) at Habitat ReStore one day.

And while I didn’t need it to hold forks and spoons, it still seemed destined to remain a “holder” of some sort.

Using my pantry as a laboratory, I realized that several of my canned goods fit perfectly inside each section!

So, I devised a plan to create an abstract rainbow so that my organizer was colorful and happy. And I planned my cooking menu accordingly for a couple of weeks so that I’d use plenty of canned goods in time for the project!

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Crafting with Tin Cans

First, I made enough homemade hummus and red beans and rice so that I’d be left with four clean cans that fit into the wire holder- LOL.

My husband was perfectly happy with this plan, by the way! He’s always on board with tasty sacrifices in the name of the blog.

Then, I wiped out and cleaned the black metal holder and brought it outside to spray paint white.

Why white? Because it would serve as the “fluffy white clouds” in my vision of a rainbow organizer! Just remember that this will become an abstract rainbow…

Next, I moved onto the tin cans and spray painted them in different colors.

The four cans would act as a four-color rainbow, specifically: red, yellow, green, and blue.

Lastly, once all four cans had been painted, I sprayed them (and the now-white utensil holder) with a clear topcoat.

Handle for a Rainbow Organizer

The finishing touch for my rainbow organizer was adding a handle. And in the spirit of an abstract rainbow, I wanted the handle to be sky blue.

So, I thrifted a very inexpensive handbag that had a long blue strap that I could easily repurpose!

My plan was to cut off the strap and turn it into an arched handle over the colorful cans. But I’d need to do a little something extra to make that happen.

First, I cut the strap from the bag and measured out how long I wanted my handle to be. I attached it to the utensil holder with safety pins to determine the final length.

Next, I snipped off a length of picture hanging wire that was just a tad shorter than my final handle length.

Stiffer jewelry wire would work, too- I just have plenty of frame wire on hand these days.

Then, I folded in the ends of the wire (to tuck the sharp ends inwards) and hot-glued the wire along the center of my blue strap handle!

Basically, I’d squeeze a line of hot glue along the center of the handle (a few inches at a time) and gently press the wire into the line of glue.

The wire allows it to hold its shape as a handle. And because it’s lightweight wire, it basically sunk into the line of hot glue so it doesn’t feel uncomfortable when someone picks up the rainbow organizer.

Last but not least, I folded over the ends of the handle on either side of the utensil holder and stitched it together securely.

Rainbow Organizer for Art Supplies

And just like that, my rainbow organizer was done and ready to be filled with supplies!

White clouds + rainbow colors + blue sky = a happy, colorful, abstract rainbow! And the “sky” colored handle is even in the shape of a rainbow.

Adding some arts and crafts supplies (markers, brushes, colored pencils and pens) just adds function to cuteness, if you ask me.

I don’t know about you, but it just makes me happy! And now I want to buy one of those fancy grown-up coloring books (oh, gosh- this one would be perfect!) and simply wile away the hours…

Honestly, I made this with kids in mind but it’s perfect for anyone who likes to craft and create! And you could certainly go with any color palette you wanted; traditional rainbow colors just happened to call out to me.

If you enjoyed this project for an organizer that recycled a few tin cans, then you may also enjoy these industrial-inspired tool totes, too!

Craft on!

S

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