I recently have gotten into painting and have acquired a large bag of paintbrushes that I store in a drawer. It really wasn't working out to have the brushes all disorganized, all different sizes thrust into a plastic bag. Then the idea dawned on me. I was going to make an easily portable roll-up paintbrush kit to store all of my disjumbled mess! I soon got busy on creating this invention, knowing it would be the end to all disorganization for the rest of my paintbrushes' young lives. The travel kit ended up only taking an hour to make, and the result was better than I had ever imagined. I take it everywhere with me and the paintbrushes are always snug in their cute little sleeves. Better yet, the travel kit is decorated with the grooviest duct tape to brighten anyone's cloudy day.

Materials:

An assortment of paintbrushes
Patterened duct tape
Self-stick Velcro square
Scissors (depends on how neat of a duct taper you are)
Cotton swab (optional)

Step 1: Organize

First off, you will need to organize all of your paintbrushes. You can place them in any order you want, but I chose to position them from shortest and smallest to tallest and largest. Push the row of paint brushes off to the side for the moment.

Step 2: Duct Tape Sheet

Now, create a sheet of duct tape. I made mine about 20 inches long and 9 inches wide. It all depends on your paint brush sizes, however. Take your tallest paintbrush and make the sheet just a few centimeters taller than it. Your length should be long enough to have about a half an inch between each brush. If you aren't that neat of a duct taper, you may need to cut off the jaggedy sides for a smooth edge.

Step 3: Paintbrush Sleeves

Now you need to take each individual brush and wrap it tightly with sticky-side-out duct tape near the middle of the brush. Stick each brush to the duct tape sheet, leaving a half of an inch between each. Carefully tape over the sleeves, ripping each strip and starting a new strip once the sleeves move up or down from the others, so the paintbrushes won't get stuck to the tape. Continue taping over all of the sleeves until all of the sticky parts are covered. You may want to use a cotton swab or some other small, stick-like object to push the tape down in between brushes.

Step 4: Velcro Flap

Lastly, rip a short piece of duct tape and fold it over hotdog style (look at the picture if you do not know this term). Stick one side of the Velcro to the tip of the flap, and duct tape it on the front and back to the right side of the duct tape sheet. Next, place the other side of the Velcro on the already stuck side, as if it were already stuck to something and is now velcroed to the other side. When you roll up the sheet from the other side, you will stick the flap down where the other side should be. Un-Velcro the system, and rub the velcro to make sure both sides are stuck well.

Step 5: Roll It Up!

Here's where the magic happens! Roll up the travel kit all the way, and velcro the flap to the side of the kit. Voila! You now have an organized place to store your endless supply of paintbrushes! And, best of all, it is portable so you can take it anywhere! You can paint in your backyard, in the park, or even at the beach!

Answers to the Make-to-Learn Youth Contest Questions:

What did you make?
I made a portable storage solution to a disorganized mess of paintbrushes. Using a roll of patterned duct tape, some paintbrushes, self stick Velcro, a cotton swab, and scissors, I made a paintbrush kit that can easily roll up and velcro together. I needed a new place for my paintbrushes to substitute for my old, plastic bag I was using. Now I just roll it up and go!

How did you make it?
I got the idea for my project when I was standing around with a new roll of duct tape, not knowing what to do with it. I pulled open a drawer to find that the bag I used to store my paintbrushes was ripped with the paintbrushes seaping out of the sides. I had to come up with a solution right away before I started my next painting project. I thought it would be really cool to have a duct tape sheet that rolled up with paintbrushes inside, but I wasn't completely sure how to approach the sleeves. I brainstormed the idea of a whole tube with a bottom and an opening on top for each brush, but then decided it would be more practical to use a tight sleeve that did not have a bottom for easier access. I didn't work with anyone else. I came up with the ideas from my very own brain! :)

Where did you make it?
I worked on this project at home on my cutting board. My project connected to activities in my life, such as painting and constructing practical items out of duct tape, because I was making a storage solution to my well-loved paintbrushes by using duct tape at the same time!

What did you learn?
My biggest challenges were coming up with a storage solution to my paintbrushes in the first place, along with deciding just what size of a duct tape sheet to make. I actually just guessed on the measurements of the duct tape sheet by using my knowledge of how many inches tall my largest paint brush is, and guessing how much room I'd need for the length to fit all the brushes on. I was surprised that it rolled up so neatly and was really well made. I am proudest of how beautiful the outcome was. I got better at laying duct tape during this project--there weren't any bumps or wrinkles on the sheet! I am so happy to have a cute travel kit and storage solution for my brushes. If I had to do it again, I would experiment with different lengths and sizes for the sheet so that I could space them more apart. I would also try and make a bunch of storage cases like this one, only for crayons, markers, and pencils too! Stay tuned, because you may be seeing these storage kits on instructables very soon!