Cigar Box Pochade

I bought a used cigar box on ebay to make a tiny field kit.  There are some blogs and photos of this idea out there in internet land and as soon as I saw some of them, I wanted to try it.  Hopefully, this will serve as a useful travel tool.

Inside the box were four strips of a lightweight wood around the perimeter of the box.  These served to keep the cigars tightly packed and gave the lid a friction fit.  Pretty nifty way to keep from having to have a latch to hold it closed.  They weren't glued or fastened in, and lifted out easily.  They gave me pieces of wood to help make my dividers.

I glued one long piece of wood along the front of the inside of the box, keeping it's width.  This gave the lid something to hold it closed.  The other long piece of wood was narrowed in width and glued in place to create a space for pencils and a brush.

Using thumbtacks and ribbon, I made supports to keep paper and a heavy cardboard paper-support behind.  Pretty low tech.  Later, when I find just the right thing for a handle, I will attach it with small screws.  The wood of the box is lightweight and thin.  It won't take anything heavy being screwed into it.  Depending on how it travels, I may look for a clasp of some kind and a hinge that will enable me to keep the lid at the angle I want to work at.  In the meantime, my cheap, low-tech box is ready to stash in my car and use.

The box 

My palette, pretty great idea somebody came up with and I borrowed! Notice the paper clipped to the lid.  It's a tiny easel..   

All of the supplies  I will need: a natural sponge, a synthetic one, paper, a collapsible water cup, pencil sharpener, water soluble graphite pencil, non-water soluble pencil, permanent ink drawing pen, one travel brush, one piece of heavy cardboard to attach paper to with a clip, and a flat, plastic water container. 

How it all fits inside.  I have hunted all over the place for a flat water bottle with a narrow neck and opened my bathroom cupboard and there, shining on the shelf, a nearly empty bottle of nail polish remover!  The perfect size, there all the time.