My old set of colored pencils came in a nifty little box that folded into an easel, so you could see all the colors instead of just a bunch of eraser ends. My new box didn't have any such feature, so I modified it to add one. All it takes is a spare bit of cardboard and a little glue.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

You'll need:

- shiny new box of pencils
- card stock or thin cardboard. I reused a cereal box (because reusing is better than recycling)
- glue or tape
- knife or scissors (or the Epilog laser cutter you win for making an Instructable that recycles old cereal boxes)
- straight edge
- pen or pencil to mark the cut and fold lines

Step 2: Cut Diagram

You're going to create a box that fits inside the pencil box and slides in and out. Use the pencil box to mark the width and depth for the four sides of your new box. You'll need to subtract a little bit so your new box will fit inside the old one, so overlap the lines a few millimeters as you mark the lines.

Don't forget to leave an extra tab on the side for gluing it closed!

The pencil box itself will be cut to fold back and form the easel stand. The position of the cut dictates the angle of the easel. A higher cut means the easel will lay back farther.

The last photo shows the final layout. Cut along the solid lines, discarding (responsibly!) the sections marked with Xs.

Step 3: Know When to Fold 'em.

Once the box is cut out, use the back of the knife (or a dead ball-point pen, or other blunt instrument) to score the fold lines.

Fold the box up and glue it shut.

Step 4: Take a Stand

Cut the front and two sides of the pencil box. The back will make a hinge - you might want to reinforce it with a strip of tape.

Open up the bottom of the pencil box, and either cut those flaps off, or tuck them inside. Now we have two five-sided boxes - one missing a bottom, the other missing a top.

Load the pencils into your new box, and slide the whole thing into the bottom of the original box.

To set up the easel, slide the new box down until the slit in the pencil box clears the pencils, fold the stand over backwards, and slide the new box back up.