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My husband purchased me a nice new knife set for my birthday (yes, he's a keeper).
My old knife set had been reduced to just two usable knives, that I now store in our knife drawer, and left me with a wooden block that I hated to see dumped in the trash. So, I came up with this school supply caddy! Perfect for my little area at the homeschool table.
Repurposing is f-u-n!
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Step 1. Give the block a light sanding all over. Wash well and let the block dry completely.
Setp 2. Pick your color palate (I later decided not to use the orange).
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Step 3. Give your block 2 nice even coats of paint, letting the paint dry before applying the second coat. I used standard acrylic paint. Be sure to use long strokes from top to bottom. Try to avoid a quick up/down motion as this will leave unsightly brush marks on your finished product. The wood grain was just barely visible with two coats; if you'd like more of a wood grain look, try one coat, or if you want no visible grain, try three.
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Optional Step 4. Let paint dry overnight. Add stripes or other embellishments. I chose a few vertical stripes. Be sure to use painters tape to help guide the stripes, other tapes will remove your old paint job when removed. Let dry overnight.
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Now you can add you desired items. The top part held scissors and rulers perfectly, along with a bone folding tool (which I use to make folds and creases on all those lap books). The bottom part is holding some binder clips and I made a little paper clip dangler with the paper clips themselves and stuck it inside one of the slots. Along the side I attached a Post-it Flag Pad with a Command strip. I also found a Post-it dispenser and attached this to the front with the adhesive strips provided.
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Now I have a nice little buddy to keep all my other supplies at the ready. I imagine this would work splendidly with other slender supplies and artists tools. The possibilities are endless!