Storing Promarkers--my $4.97 solution!

Up until last Saturday I only had a few basic colors of Promarkers.  Then Okie was kind enough to share her duplicate markers with me.  She and I had purchased quite a few and then she received the entire set of 148 markers as a gift!

Once I got the markers home and added them to my color chart I started trying to find a good solution for storing them.  I have a lot of containers they'd fit into but the colors kept getting mixed up.

Yesterday, Fred tried to make a marker holder for me but didn't have the correct sized bit to drill a hole that the marker would fit into.  Today while I was at Wal Mart I walked up and down every aisle trying to find something suitable.  I know the clerks and store security had to be wondering what in the world I was doing! I kept picking up different containers and racks, turning them over, measuring the openings and then putting them back on the shelf.   LOL!

I checked in sporting goods for a tackle box or bullet case that might work, automotive for some kind of screwdriver rack, housewares for any type of plastic container and finally found a three tiered chrome rack over in the plumbing department that the markers would fit into--if Fred could break a spot-weld off where the racks were attached to the side bars.  So, I picked it up to bring home and experiment with.

Then I had an idea---what about one of those metal racks you use on a barbeque grill to roast peppers!  It's just a metal box with round holes drilled in it.  So, off to the garden center I go in search of the pepper roaster.  Our WM doesn't carry them, of course, so that idea was trashed.

Then I happened to see a suet cake holder beside the bird feeders and VOILA! the rack for my markers was found! LOL!  It even had just the right number of openings in it (48) to hold all my Promarkers!

Since the color name is only written in one spot on the barrel of the marker, I punched little shapes with one of my Bitty Punches from SU and colored them with the marker ink.  Then I stuck them on the end of the marker cap.    Thanks Enfys for sharing that hint!

It fits perfectly right behind the cutting mat I work on to make cards, I can see the colored dots on the ends of the markers and they're in order by color so it's going to be simple to pick out the right one to shade with.

The only downside to my solution is that it's not portable.  That problem may be resolved soon as I plan to ask Fred if he can make a light weight box to slide the wire rack into.  That way the markers won't slide out the back when I pick them up to go to stamp club.

 The rack I bought is made by Pennington and it's named a Premium Feeder Station, specially designed to hold Pennington Cakes and Suet.   And, it only cost $4.97!