A bit before Christmas, my sister and I stopped in at Hobby Lobby.  While we were browsing around, I mentioned that I needed a bigger vessel for holding my colored pencils.  So I wanted to look at their galvanized containers.

I found just what I wanted, but unfortunately the storage & organizing pieces weren’t 50% off that day.  I think we all know by now that you should only buy things at Hobby Lobby when they are half off (or with a 40% off coupon).  Otherwise, they are simply 100% overpriced.

As luck would have it, neither of us had thought to bring a 40% off coupon with us either.

I was about to put the item back on the shelf when my sister took from me and said “I need one more thing to get you for Christmas.”  I tried to talk her out of it.  It just made me cringe to see her spend twice as much as she had to for it.  But she brushed me off, pointing out that she wasn’t too worried about the extra $12.50 (the container’s full price was $25).

Here it is …

Yep, definitely overpriced at $25.  But from the start I planned to add a little something to make it my own.

I started by painted the wooden parts of the handle black using Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.  Prior to being painted, the upper part of the handle was a cheap looking wood tone, and the lower part was a bronze color.  I knew black would be more my style.

I distressed the black and then added a clear wax finish.

Next I added a Classic Vintage Label from re.design with prima to the front.

It has so much more personality now, right?

This container is divided into 4 sections, so it’s perfect for organizing my pencils by color.

I was always searching for the different shades of a color with my last storage system, which was basically everything thrown together in a mish mash.

Coloring is entirely a winter hobby for me.  In the summer I’m usually busy out in my workshop in the evening, but this time of year I can’t be out there.  Plus, it’s dark and cold and I really just want to put on some fleecy pajama pants and watch TV on the sofa after working all day.  Unfortunately, that kind of behavior also leads to excessive snacking.  But I find that if I keep my hands busy with something, I’m not as tempted to snack.

The one downside to this plan is that it’s difficult to watch anything in a foreign language (and we do tend to watch a fair amount of foreign stuff).  You can’t really read subtitles and color at the same time.

My favorite coloring books are those by Johanna Basford.  Her World of Flowers book is probably my most favorite.

My niece gave me her Christmas book for my birthday this year, so it’s been fun working on some seasonal designs lately as well.

Now that I have my colored pencils organized properly, I’m sure I’ll be able to crank out a few more pages before spring.

And speaking of making things over in my style, this amazing antique bed is the next project I’ll be tackling.

So be sure to stay tuned to see how it turns out!