Welcome To My Thoughts On Pens And Pencils

I will respect your right to disagree with what I have to say about Pens and Pencils as long as you respect the fact that I am an Old Geezer.




Featured in Alltop

My Obsession

My Obsession
A Beauty Every One... And There's More At Home!

All Jammed Up?

If you need detailed instructions on how to clear a lead jam from a mechanical pencil then click this link, "All Jammed Up?" or the link in the pages header.



NOW THE BLOGGING BEGINS...

Please enjoy your stay at my humble blog. Please feel free to leave a comment about any article that you read
. Also please notice that there are four reactions at the bottom of each article. If you find any article funny, interesting, cool or helpful please so indicate. Thank you for visiting my blog.

The Old Geezer
Please Excuse My Absence

I have not blogged since July of 2015 due to the fact that my Lovely Wife was diagnosed with 2 types of cancer. A new case of breast cancer which has metastasized and gone to her bones, mainly her back. She had a mastectomy of her left breast which showed the type of cancer that was in her bones. She has been taking an oral med. every day and she has a port under her skin to receive a liquid med. She has gone through one round of radiation treatments to stop some pain in her back. That gave her GERD and the med for that was nasty tasting. The bone cancer has caused the vertebra in her lower back to pinch her left sciatic nerve causing her pain, numbness and foot drag. She also has skin cancer that has only been partly addressed.

I have been busy taking care of her as the treatments have left her weak and sickly. She can not drive so I have to drive her to her appointments and treatments. I also have to do all the cooking and most of what cleaning we do. So I do not have a lot of time for blogging. However the installment of the review of the Schaeffer Ultrafine 0.3mm pencil marks what I hope will be a new review every month. However some of my future reviews may seem familiar as they may be a review of a pencil or pen that I have reviewed before just in another size due to my limited collection of writing instruments and the economic state of our nation.

I am grateful to George Fox for wanting me to do a review of another one of his pencils. I think that as a reader of my humble blog, may fine of interest as the Schaeffer Ultra Fine is a very unusual pencil.

So please excuse my absence and as a reader of my humble blog I hope that you enjoy the review of this unique pencil.

Coming Soon...

Thank you,

The Old Geezer.




Sunday, August 9, 2009

Cow Print Pencil Display Box



I have a fondness for old wooden boxes, cigar boxes especially. My favorite thing to do with them is to convert them to pencil boxes. Not just an empty box in which to toss pencils into, but a box with pull out trays that hold the pencils in elastic, separating them and thus keeping them safe. I like to do something similar with nylon covered CD wallets and similar type cases. It's fun to create something, rewarding too, especially when I can do it for a lot less that I can buying similar items from eBay.

Some time ago I was gifted a broken down wooden cigar box. The top was split and the sides had come loose and the bottom was split. Both the hinges and clasp were in bad shape as well. So I glued the box back together intending to make a pencil box out of it. I replaced the clasp, but really wasn't happy with it. But I decided to go ahead and make the inserts that hold the pencils. The first incarnation were 2 panels that fit inside the bottom of the box that held 13 pencils each. They were made of corrugated cardboard, 1 ply thick, black cloth and some black elastic. This is how the box stayed for months. But I was never very happy with it.

The second incarnation came about when I bought some cow print fabric that I intended to use to cover some panels for another project. I used some translucent plastic sticky back shelf lining material as a template and traced out the cow print pattern onto it then cut it out with an X-acto knife. I then painted the box flat white. Once it had dried I placed the template onto the box and spray painted the black patches using flat black paint. Once it had dried I sprayed it with a gloss clear finish. The gloss finish soon was covered by a clear flat finish. I replaced the brass hinges and clasp with stainless steel ones. upgrading both as I did. The inserts remained the same until recently.



The third incarnation of the box occurred a few days go. I decided to remake the panels and cover them with the cow print fabric and to use thin round elastic instead of 3/4" elastic. But for some reason I cut the cardboard just a tad to little leaving the panels a bit loose inside the box. This is on no real consequence because the panels both fit into the bottom of the box. The box holds 24 pencils.

To make removing the panels easier I attached a strip of double folded black satin 1/2" ribbon to act as a pull. The bottom of the top panel is backed by a sheet of craft foam sheeting. This protects the pencils beneath the top tray! The bottom tray is backed by a thin sheet of card stock. Since there is nothing to protect beneath it, this is all that is necessary.

However. I was dissatisfied with the loss of 2 pencil spaces so on the last incarnation I redid the existing panels so now each panel holds 13 pencils for a total of 26. (Not shown).

It was easy converting the cigar box to a pencil display box and a lot of fun to boot! All you need is a wooden box, a few materials, a few tools, time, and enough skill to carry out the project!

If you are interested in making your own pencil display box send me an email asking for the instructions.

20 comments:

Sam said...

What a great idea! And green too, well black and white, but you know what I mean. ;)

Andrew said...

This really is a great idea! This could be a cool promotional idea for something like National Dairy Month or a "Got Milk?"-type campaign. Keep up the great work!

The Old Geezer said...

Thanks, guys! I'll be bloging my other wooden box soonish. It's a BIG one!

My Supply Room said...

Looks like someone is getting a large collection. Thats what I like to see. Great box.

The Old Geezer said...

Thanks, George. But i think "My Supply Room" has a bit more things in it than my entire house! :)

Mike said...

Great way to reuse an old cigar box, I seem to find those everywhere myself. Now I know what to do with all the pens and pencils I've collected.

The Old Geezer said...

Mike, I'm glad that i could give you a good idea! I can't seem to find any more the size of this one, 8 x 10 inside. That's perfect to a pencil box! Maybe you can post back with a link to some picks when you get one made!? I'd like to see it!

Kiwi-d said...

This is a mighty fine box. Looks great.

subgirl said...

I'd love to see how you made the inserts! How did you attach the elastic?

I'm going to have to go find cigar boxes, now. They seem to be high demand, though, as they're being made into purses.

Anonymous said...

Very creative!

Anonymous said...

It is certainly interesting for me to read this blog. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to this matter. I definitely want to read a bit more on that blog soon.

Avril Smith

Unknown said...

I think so. I think your article will give those people a good reminding. And they will express thanks to you later. Specialize in helping you create successful retail marketing initiatives with most eye-catching promotional display that boost your product sales.

Cardboard POS Display Stand and cardboard displays

John Smith said...

Amazing Box, Glad to see this wonderful post.
Display Boxes

custom printed corrugated boxes said...

Your blog is very great thanks for sharing with us keep up the good work.
Gift Card packaging usa
Hair Extension packaging usa
Hairspray packaging supplies
Handle packaging usa

Sleek boxes said...

Such a great post thanks for sharing with us keep up the good work.
buy Business Gift boxes
buy Candle boxes
buy Cell Phone boxes
buy Collapsible Rigid boxes
buy Food Gift boxes

Chris Michael said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lily Victoria said...

It is certainly interesting for me to read this blog. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to this matter. I definitely want to read a bit more on that blog soon.Custom CBD Boxes

thomasjack said...

Amazing product thanks for sharing with us It is very informative. If you need any type of boxes, you can visit the link.
custom pen boxes
pencil boxes bulk

Best Custom Boxes said...

Interesting Post.Best Custom Boxes provides custom and cost-efficient Display Boxes  for all kinds of personal and professional requirements

Best Custom Boxes said...

Thanks for sahring such a azaming post. Best custom boxes co provides display boxes in different sizes and shapes for all your requirements