Inexpensive Art Paint Tube Organizer

For a while now I've had my paint tubes in a box on my new workstation. I thought that would work fine since they're all right there within easy reach. But I soon realized it wasn't working well. Somehow, Murphy's Law I guess, the color I wanted always seemed to be hidden somewhere at the bottom of the heap, even though I'd just had it on top a short time ago. I realized I needed a paint tube organizer so I could see all my paint tube colors easily and find the one I want more quickly. Digging through the pile every time was getting frustrating. I needed a better solution.

I didn't have the table top space to just lay them all out side by side. I needed some sort of display stand. I looked around online and couldn't find anything that was really what I had in mind. I'd heard of artists using jewelry door hangers for their art tube but I had nothing to hang it on near my workspace, so that wouldn't really work. I wanted some sort of desk-top rack sort of thing where tubes could stand on end with their colors and labels clearly displayed but couldn't find anything like that on art supply websites.

One day making breakfast, when I was about to toss the empty egg carton into the recycle bin, the idea of it serving as a tube rack came to me. I flipped it over, looked at it, and wondered if cutting holes in the bottoms of the cups would work. Interestingly, it's the perfect size for your standard 40ml paint tube. Here's what I came up with:



It's just a simple cardboard egg cartoon, the top removed and the bottom half flipped upside down, with holes cut out of the egg cups. Now I can easily see the colors on the tube to find them quickly and keep them organized.

And, the best part is, it's free and easy to make!