How to Build an Art Caddy

Do school and art supplies take up too much space on top of your dining room or kitchen table? An art caddy is an excellent place to store your kids’ loose markers, crayons, pencils, and other supplies.

Steps for Building an Art Supply Organizer

You can build it using scrap wood and is easy enough for kids to get involved in, too.

1. Size the Pieces

Using a miter saw and the cut list provided, cut the 1×6 board and 1×4 boards to length. Mark the center point along the top edge of each 1×6 end. From the center point, clip the top corners of each board at a 45-degree miter to create the “point” of each pencil.

Pro Tip: For projects that require multiple identical pieces, clamp a scrap-wood stop to your miter saw fence. As detailed in This Old House Magazine, this lets you make matching pieces without measuring every time — just slide each board against the stop and cut.

2. Drill an Inset to Hold the Handle

On the inside face of one end board, make a mark centered on the width of the board 3½-inches from its point.

Place a piece of painters tape on the paddle bit to mark a depth of 1/8-inch. On the mark, drill a 1/8-inch-deep inset to hold the dowel.

3. Mark the Inset on the Remaining Board

To mark the location of the inset on the remaining end, stack the board with the newly drilled inset facedown onto the opposing end board.

The point of the paddle bit should have driven though the board to create a small hole on the outside of the board. Drive a nail through the hole until it marks a point on the remaining end.

Remove the nail and top board, and then drill the 1/8-inch-deep inset into the remaining board.

4. (Optional) Paint the Parts before Assembly

While this tutorial covers the building process, this is a good time in the project to paint or stain all the pieces, or at least the parts that will face inward and be difficult to reach once the parts are assembled.

To create a design like ours, use the provided drawings as a guide or stencil.

Pro Tip: Norm Abram advises always testing your stain-and-finish combination before committing to the full project: “It’s a trial-and-error process.” Test on a scrap piece of the same wood species, using the same prep technique you’ll use on the final pieces, so you can try out different options side by side.

As Norm Abram has noted from years of experience, glue residue is one of the biggest enemies of a clean stain job. Whenever a drop of yellow glue lands on an unfinished wood surface, it leaves behind a thin, invisible residue that keeps stain from penetrating evenly—resulting in light-colored splotches that only become visible after the stain goes on. If you plan to stain your art caddy, consider finishing the individual parts now, before assembly, so any glue squeeze-out during the next steps won’t mar your finish.

5. Mount the Dividers on the Base

When positioning the base onto the dividers, pay attention to which face of the wood is smoother. Orient the nicer, smoother face toward the inside of the caddy where your supplies will rest.

Make a mark on the long edges of the Base 3½-inches from each end. Set the two Dividers on edge. Apply glue, and then place the Base onto the Dividers, aligning them inside the marks. Using a nailer, drive 1¼-inch brad nails through the Base and into the Dividers.

Pro Tip: The glue is the main ingredient in the whole assembly — it’s what’s going to hold everything solidly and tightly together. The brad nails are really just there to hold the two pieces stuck together until the glue sets.

6. Attach the Sides

Roll the assembled Base and Dividers onto its side. Apply glue to the top edges of each board. Position the first Side board onto the assembly, flush with the ends and bottom edge of the Base.

Nail through the Side and into the Dividers and Base. Flip the assembly and repeat to attach the remaining Side.

7. Add the First End Board

Flip the assembly on end. Apply glue the edges of the Base and Sides. Position the 1×6 end onto the assembly flush with the bottom edge and centered on the width to overhang each Side by ¼-inch.

8. Insert the Handle

Flip the assembly. Apply wood glue inside the inset. Position the handle into place.

9. Attach the Remaining End

Apply glue to the remaining end of each Side, Base, and to the hole drilled for the handle on the final end. Place the end onto the assembly, positioning the handle into the inset. Give the handle a half spin to spread the glue.

Stand the caddy upright and place a clamp across its width to set the handle in the glue. (Alternatively, you could also pre-drill a hole and drive a 1¼-inch screw through each Side and into the handle for more strength.)

10. Touchup the Paint

Finish by filling the fastener holes, lightly sanding the filler smooth, and then touching up the paint. Lastly, mark the design with pencil and then trace the design with a black permanent marker.

Cut List

• 1 x 6 Ends – 2 @ 5½”W x 14″H
• 1 x 6 Sides – 2 @ 5½”H x 12″W
• 1 x 4 Bottom – 1 @ 3½”W x 12″L
• 1 x Dividers – 2 @ 3½”W x 3½”H
• ¾” Dowel Handle – 1 @ 12½”

Materials

• 1×6 Board
• 1×4 Board
• ¾-inch Dowel (or similar)
• 1¼-inch Brad Nails
• 1¼-inch Wood Screw (optional)
• Wood Glue
• Wood Filler
• Painter’s Tape
• Paint or Wood Stain

Tools