Just Paint It Blog

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
    • My Stuff
      • My House
      • My Hubs
      • My Paintings
        • Illustrations
        • Murals
  • Projects
    • How To/PIY
      • PIY – Paint It Yourself
      • Quick Stuff
      • Tutorials
      • Videos
    • Techniques
      • Antiquing & Distressing
      • Blending Colors
      • Color Wash
      • Decoupage
      • Drawing
      • Dry Brushing
      • Faux Finishes
      • Glazing
      • Highlighting
      • Shading
      • Stenciling
      • Transfers
    • Home Decor
      • Accessories
      • Furniture
      • Holiday Decorating
      • Seasonal Decorating
    • Crafts
      • Dollar Store Crafts
      • Holiday Crafts
        • Christmas Crafts
        • Halloween Crafts
      • Kids Crafts
      • Seasonal Crafts
    • Paint Types
      • Chalk Paint
      • Chalkboard Paint
      • Glitter Paint
      • Metallic Paint
      • Pearl Paint
      • Specialty Paints
      • Spray Paint
      • Watercolor Paint
    • Paint Surfaces
      • Paint Canvas
      • Paint Fabric
      • Paint Glass
      • Paint Metal
      • Paint Paper
      • Paint Plastic
      • Paint Walls
      • Paint Wood
    • Submit Yours
  • Shop
    • A.R.T. – Art Related Things
    • Original Art
    • Pet Portraits
    • ClipArt & Printables
  • Portfolio
    • Pet Portraits
  • Contact

Decorate Craft Tubs

May 5, 2014 By Colleen 1 Comment

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

There are only a few more days left to enter the Modern Masters Paint Giveaway! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to win this fabulous paint!

How do you store all your art and craft tools – the ones you use the most often? For a long time I’ve made do with old jars with some cute paper mod podged on which held my paint brushes, pencils and Micron pens. That was fine when I had a small worktable, but when the Crafting Fairy delivered my new art studio with the oversized worktable, I was constantly walking from one end of the table to the other to grab one or those jars.

It’s not that I mind walking those extra steps of, like, eighty inches or so . . . it’s just such a waste of valuable creative time. ;)

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

I found these cardboard tubs at Target in their Dollar Spot. Man, that place is dangerous! I snagged two, resisting the temptation to buy them all. I thought they’d be the perfect size to corral my paintbrushes, pencils and pens that are always everywhere but where I need them to be.

And save me a few extra steps minutes.

But plain cardboard? I think not. Not when it only takes a few minutes to decorate the craft tubs.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

I had these pretty aqua and turquoise spray paints on hand and gave the tubs a couple of quick coats. The Krylon is Ocean Breeze and the Rust-oleum is Satin Lagoon, if you’re a turquoise-lover like I am.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

I picked these houndstooth sticky letters up at TJ Maxx a while back, without any idea what I’d use them for. TJ Maxx, another Danger Zone. But their tiny little craft section usually has some can’t-miss deals.

Like Houndstooth stick-on letters that are perfect for labeling some craft tubs.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs-5

To get them to line them up straight, place the bottoms of the letters on one edge of a ruler, or any straight edge.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

Gently press the tops of the letters onto the tub, give the ruler a little twist, and the letters will pop right off, staying in perfect alignment.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

Only one problem though . . . with the letters too close together, the houndstooth pattern made it hard to read the word (explaining why they were dirt cheap at TJ Maxx).

So I just popped them off, lined them up on the ruler again, farther apart this time, and pressed them back down. Much better.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

Some other goodies I found in my craft stash were these rolls of washi tape.

Have you used washi tape yet? Oh wow, is it fun! It dresses nearly anything up in a snap!

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

My first attempt was a little too . . . busy, what with the houndstooth already. But you can play around with the letters and washi tape for quite a while without losing too much adhesive and eventually you’ll find a design that works just for you.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

I wound up layering two tapes, first a plain turquoise and then the polka dots on top of that. So there’s color and just a little extra pattern, without making your eyes go too buggy.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

Then I loaded them up. The turquoise tub says “Draw” on one side and “Create” on the other and holds my pencils, gel pens, and pigma markers.

The aqua tub says “Paint” and “Inspire” and holds some of my paintbrushes. The brushes I use the most often. The rest are in one of the cabinets back there.

Yes, I have quite a collection having painted for nearly 20 years.

I actually have more markers too but I don’t use them as often so they’re tucked away on a shelf.

Of course, if Target still has some of these tubs, the markers might just wind up on my worktable with the rest of the group.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

Don’t they look cute on my worktable? My worktable that’s actually a door, set on top of two bookshelves, that measures 30″ wide by 80″ long.

Heaven.

Which is why I need these craft tubs . . . because, really . . . my worktable never really looks like this pic above.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

No, this is more like it, with four or five projects going at once.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

So if I’m doing some sketching, I grab my tub of pencils and pens and have everything I need. I usually have two to three paint projects in progress so it’s really helpful to grab all of my brushes at once, wherever I’m working in the studio.

Decorate-Craft-Tubs

I also love the subliminal reminders. I love to draw and paint and I create to inspire others to do the same.

Of course, if you don’t have little tubs like these, you could decorate a shoebox or any other box with a little spray paint, some stick-on letters and washi tape in a matter of minutes. And choose some words that have a special meaning just for you! 

It’s a great project when you need to get those creative juices flowing but you don’t have a ton of time . . . because your supplies are strewn about all over the table. 

Don’t you just love crafts that have dual purposes?

Colleen

about Colleen

Filed Under: crafts, More Stuff, Organizing, Paint Types, Spray Paint

Comments

  1. SheilaG @ Plum Doodles says

    May 7, 2014 at 6:25 am

    I need a dozen or so of these little tubs. I love the way you pretty-fied yours.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    About Me

    Hi there! I'm Colleen, a self-taught artist, writer and blogger, among other things. You don't get to be old enough to order off the Denny's senior menu without accomplishing a few things in life. Read More…

    Recent Posts…
    • Patriotic Fourth of July Printables June 25, 2019
    • Camping Coloring Pages June 15, 2019
    • How to Paint Purple Iris January 28, 2019
    • How to Paint a Teddy Bear January 24, 2019
    • How to Paint Tulips January 21, 2019
    Comments…
    • Colleen on How to Paint Easy Leaves & Vines
    • Sunny on How to Paint Easy Leaves & Vines
    • Tape and Float on Painting Red Gingham
    • Abir on My Dream Art & Craft Studio
    • Colleen on Frosted Branches – The Right Way This Time

    Subscribe via Email

    Get updated delivered directly to your inbox!

    Art Digital Downloads

    Archives

    Pretty Handy Girl Fun DIY Gifts!

    PHG_zazzle-banner

    Videos

    Error type: "Forbidden". Error message: "Method doesn't allow unregistered callers (callers without established identity). Please use API Key or other form of API consumer identity to call this API." Domain: "global". Reason: "forbidden".

    Did you added your own Google API key? Look at the help.

    Check in YouTube if the id muralmaker1 belongs to a . Check the FAQ of the plugin or send error messages to support.

    Instagram

    Google+

    Facebook

    Pinterest

    Etsy

    Copyright © 2025 Just Paint It!/Colleen Jorgensen · website by Houndstooth Media Group