Upcycled Montessori-Style Crayon Holder {Tutorial}

One of my favorite things in the Montessori classroom is the way they set out their art materials as though they are something to be treasured and displayed. The colored pencils are organized into matching colored holders (like these), and I've always wanted a set of my own (but not for $75!). Truth be told, my boys will use colored pencils and markers any day of the week, but crayons seem to always get passed over in favor of practically any other medium. Those poor, poor crayons needed some love and respect around here. I thought that maybe if I set out the crayons in a pretty display that the boys would be more apt to use them on a regular basis - and I was right!


While packing school lunches one evening, I realized that these fruit cups would be the perfect size for crayon holders. So, instead of being patient and waiting for a bunch of empty cups at the end of the week, I started opening and dumping seven containers of fruit into a big Tupperware for storage - hey, they can always be reportioned into little Tupperware containers for lunches - I've got to get moving on this inspiration!


If you're lucky enough to have a rainbow of spray paint, it would really come in handy right about now. I only had about half the rainbow, so after removing the labels, I used acrylic paint to give each can three coats of paint followed by two coats of glossy varnish to seal it. Mitch rummaged up a piece of scrap 1x3 for me, and I made use of my white spray paint to give it a quick coat.


Mitch screwed each can to the piece of wood for me (thank you!), because I'm not quite as handy with the drill as he is.

Now it's time to add the crayons!

The boys are loving crayons these days - yippee! I've been able to leave them sitting out on their art table for over two weeks now without a single spill or crayon mess mishap...though you might find yourself getting into serious in-depth discussions with your three-year-old over whether aquamarine belongs in the green or the blue container :)

Note: If you're having a hard time finding the 50-calorie fruit cups locally, they are carried at Amazon.com here: 

Linking up (two years later, haha!):

Posted in: Crayons, Montessori, Organization, Recycling, Tutorial