DIY Copic Organizer

I finally invested in some Copic Sketch Markers when Micheals had an awesome sale. Daily deal was buy one get one 50% off and I also had a 25% off total purchase. So after all was said and done the markers were 50% off...OMG I bought one of each. But now where to put them... Recycle cans, foam board, plastic containers? I wasn't really happy with any of those choices. And then it hit me, I still had 3 plastic gutters sections that were left over from my ribbon storage project. Thank goodness for my hoarding tendencies. Here is what I came up with.

White plastic gutter (4in x 10ft) from Home Depot $6.98 It also comes in brown, $1 more I believe.
White end caps $5.78 (comes in a pair) Also in brown with added cost.
 
Here is how I did it...

After you buy your gutter the nice people at Home Depot will cut it for free. I asked them to cut my gutter into 2ft sections. I ended up with five sections.

I used two sections to make my Copic Organizer. Work the end caps onto the end of your sections. There is already foam attached to the end cap which creates a tight seal so no glue needed.

After the end caps are attached add a small piece of foam tape where the sections will meet. This helps to keep them from sliding.

Here is the side view

I added old wine corks to the end of each section to help prop up the top gutter.
***NOTE the corks are too close to the junction of the two gutters. See next picture for proper placement.

I didn't have another cork to put between the other corks. No problem though, it gives me a perfect excuse to drink another bottle of wine. I need another cork right?! I attached the corks using hot glue. I didn't sand the gutter before I did this. Believe me you don't need to sand.

How do I know this? Because I put the corks too high up on the gutter and the angle wasn't great. It took me a little bit, but I was able to remove the corks and re-glue them farther down the gutter.

As you can see in the picture above the angle in much better. You can pretty much stop at this step. Add your ribbon spools and markers and you are done.

However, if you have cats like me and you need your organizer to be stand up against constant rubbing. Add something to bottom lip of the gutter to weigh it down. I used metal BB's I bought from Walmart. Small river rocks or glass pebbles will probably work as well.

I filled four small containers I had. I even toyed with the idea of sewing a tube and adding the BB's. However the cylinders fit perfectly.

I then added my Copics and coordinating ribbon spools.

You don't even have to take the ribbon out to use it. Just pull on the ribbon and it will rotate around. The bottom lip of the gutter keeps the spool from being pulled out.

That's pretty much it. Happy Crafting!