Keep On Rolling

So I'm heading off to Sedona in May, and I'm really looking forward to it. My mom suggested that I bring my pencils and a sketchbook, and I've been trying to find something clever and small to keep my gear in, since my art box won't exactly fit into a suitcase. Space is limited when you travel by plane.

I saw this tutorial, and thought it was super clever. While mine is far (far) lazier than theirs, it's the same basic idea. And it works fantastically!

The really clever bit, though, is that you could absolutely use this for anything. Pencils, makeup brushes, knitting needles, etc., etc., etc.

Here's what you'll need:

• A long piece of cloth. You'll want at least an extra foot or so, so keep that in mind. And seriously, any cloth will work.
• Scissors.
• Something to mark with (if you're doing this for pencils, and you've got your 8B handy, that's absolutely perfect).
• Things to put into it.

Gather your stuff and prepare thyselves. It's actually really easy. And no sewing!

First things first, lay out your cloth and make sure you can put in all of your things. You'll need roughly an inch or so between things so it can roll properly.

Next, put one of your items near the edge of the cloth and put little marks around it. This shows how wide your slits will have to be in order to fit your stuff. And you're making four marks (well, eight).

Once you've marked everything (or one bunch at a time, either way), you'll cut along those marks. I've found that, as long as the cut runs from the end of one pencil mark to the other, it's perfect.

See?

You'll do this for each item, on and on till you have everything good to go. I told you it was easy, didn't I?

And then roll it up and tie it off!

You can also put little things, like pencil sharpeners and erasers, between the items as you roll it up. Seriously, best thing ever. You can be fancy and create a real closure, or pockets between the items, or a pocket along one edge if you think things may fall, so on and so forth.

This took me maybe fifteen minutes, if that.

So there you go!

Also, here's Charlie.