Watercolor Travel Kits I

I travel a lot and I always take my paints and a journal with me. For years I have been on a quest to find the perfect travel kit for easy and comfortable painting. Recently I began to make my own out of cigar boxes, vintage cigarette cases, and the odd wooden box or tin. This is one of my favorites, overall it measures 7 X 8 X 1.25 inches. It holds a 5 X 7 watercolor block, 16 colors, a water dish, brushes, a pencil, sharpener and eraser, a sponge, and a cloth.
The divisions for the pans are made from basswood, purchased at a local craft store, the little water dish is from a kitchen store and the folding brushes are from a mail order art supply company. The box itself is from a local cigar shop and cost $2.00. I used "Liquid Fusion" glue instead of wood glue, it sets faster and is totally waterproof when dry. The interior is painted with gloss white acrylic paint.
Cigar boxes are light weight and often have dovetailed corners. Watch out for the hinges, sometimes they are just driven into the soft wood. The metal fatigues with use and they tend to break. I replaced these with tiny, brass hinges, that are held in place with very small screws. The hinges can be purchased at most hardware stores.