Marker Storage

There are so many colors that are retiring, "what do I do with all of my old markers," you ask?  I have the perfect solution.  I got this idea from reading some post somewhere and have been storing all of my single markers this way for a long time.  

This is great solution because you get to recycle and still have all your markers at your finger tips.  I decided to use some colors that will be leaving soon that I hate to see go.

To all of you who wonder how this is made please continue down the page.

The first thing you will need is an empty drink container.  This is the container that has 5 small tubs that you mix up in a pitcher.  There are many different flavors that you can get in these tubes.  Instead of just throwing them away when you have finished your drink, recycle them into a perfect marker storage.  Make sure that you take the wrapper off so that you can cover it with your own favorite color.

Cut card stock to 6" x 9".  I used Lovely Lilac on this tube.  I then took the Circle Circus stamp set and stamped with Basic Black, Lovely Lilac, and Whisper White (craft) ink for the design.

We are now going to attach it to the drink tube.

Using the Tombo Multi Liquid glue place about a 1/2" of glue all along the length (I put this where the label was attached, sometimes there is a little adhesive left that helps hold it in place and covers up anything left over.)

 

Take your card stock and place it over the glue and hold a few seconds until it doesn't move. 

Next place about a 1/2" of glue on the other end of your card stock. 

Roll the tube as tight as you can without the glue letting go.  Line up the edges as you place the open end on top of the glued down edge.  

 

Make sure that you hold this together for a few minutes until you know the glue will hold.

Set this aside, we will come back to it in a few minutes.  We need to cover up this paper seam to finish it off.

You will need to cut about 6 1/4" of satin ribbon and get your heat gun.  We are going to melt the edges so they don't fray.

The best way I have found to do this is to turn on the heat gun and run it for a minute or two to make sure that it is very hot.  Make sure that you are careful with this next step because it goes very fast.  

Place your ribbon down on a piece of paper on your work surface.  Hold the ribbon in place as you slowly move your heat gun toward the ribbon. As soon as the heat hits the ribbon you will see the ends begin to melt.  This only takes a few seconds when it is hot (be very careful that you don't melt to much or you won't have enough ribbon to cover your project).

Once you have melted both sides then turn your ribbon over and run a strip of snail on the back to adhere to your project.

Take the ribbon and line it up at the top of the seam and run it all along the paper seam to cover it up.

Hurray!  Now doesn't that look great.  Now you are ready to fill it up and get started with organizing.  I usually take the lid for the tube and place several glue dots on the inside of the lid and attach it to the bottom as a base.  The glue dots are just to hold it together to make that I don't loose the lid so I can use it later if I want for other projects.

When using these tubes for markers I lay them down since it is best to store markers laying down so that the ink does not run to one end of the marker and dry out the other end.  Even when they are laying down they don't have to take up tones of space because they stack nicely in a small area.

I needed three different tubes since there are so many markers that will be gone, I just can't say good-bye to any of them right now.  I have several single markers, glue pens, blenders, and a versa marker and this makes a perfect place to store these items as well.  I decided to a few colors that I hate to see leave.

If you have any questions about these marker tubes feel free to send me an email or post a comment below.


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Recipe:

• Stamp: Circle Circus
• Card stock:  Lovely Lilac, Sage Shadow, Cameo Coral  - cut 6" x 9 1/2"
• Ink:  Basic Black, Whisper White (craft), Lovely Lilac, Sage Shadow, Cameo Coral
• Accessories:  black satin ribbon, empty drink tube