I used this DIY drying rack for many years. It's made with a styrofoam block and toothpicks. It's simple to make and works great for drying your rocks. Each styrofoam rack will hold about 15-20 small/medium sized rocks.
However, I recently discovered Egg Painting Drying racks or also called Cat Scat mats for drying rocks. I switched to these because I was getting toothpick indents in some of my rocks and the toothpicks would occasionally come out as well. I really love the Egg Drying racks. If you are interested in purchasing them you can find them on Amazon here.
Otherwise, if you wish to make the toothpick drying rack, the instructions are below! Happy rocking!
• An 18 inch by 12 inch Styrofoam Block. You will want the block to be at least 1 inch in thickness or more to securely hold the toothpicks. Available at Joanns, Hobby Lobby & Walmart. Also a 20" x 12" block will work too.
• A 800 pack of Toothpicks. Available At Walmart in the kitchen section.
• A Thimble or a Large Rod/Dowel to help insert the toothpicks (easier on your fingers)
• 1/2 inch grid sheets to help you space your toothpicks. PDF provided
Let's get started!
Download and print the 1/2 inch Grid PDF. Or you can print it from online. It will give you 2 separate sheets to cover the 18 x 12 inch styrofoam block
1/2 inch Grid PDF
VERY IMPORTANT: Do not remove the plastic wrap from your styrofoam board. If you do, you and your rocks will be covered with white flakes forever! We will leave the plastic wrap on to protect the styrofoam and to protect your rocks.
• Place your styrofoam block face down with the product sticker on the bottom facing the table. This way you have a clear top to place your toothpicks on.
• Place your printed grid sheets over the top of the styrofoam block. Line them up in the middle so they are touching. I trimmed the edges on the sides so they would match up.
• Place a few toothpicks at the corners and edges of each grid sheet to hold the sheets in place so the sheets won't slide around. Simply press a toothpick all the down till it won't go anymore.
Place a toothpick at every corner of the little boxes on the grid sheets till they are all have a toothpick. You can use a thimble and just press the toothpick down. Or you can use a wooden or acrylic rod/dowel to press the toothpick down. I used one of my acrylic dotting tool rods. It worked great and saved my fingers.
To be honest when I first started putting in all the toothpicks I got overwhelmed. I thought this will take forever! But after I got in a good groove, it soon became relaxing. I fixed a nice cup of hot tea and put on an audio book. Somehow driving toothpicks into styrofoam with an acrylic rod became a stress reliever. lol It took me a little over an hour to put all the toothpicks on the grid sheets.
If it seems to much to do all at once, you can do it little by little. Perhaps you can enlist the help of a family member or friend to help it go by quicker.
After all your toothpicks have been placed, you can gently remove the grid sheets. Just start a corner and gently and slowly lift up on it. It may tear, it's ok. You can also use scissors or a long object to gently lift up all the grid sheets from the styrofoam block.
HAPPY ROCKING!!!
What you will need to make this:
• An 18 inch by 12 inch Styrofoam Block. You will want the block to be at least 1 inch in thickness or more to securely hold the toothpicks. Available at Joanns, Hobby Lobby & Walmart. Also a 20" x 12" block will work too.
• A 800 pack of Toothpicks. Available At Walmart in the kitchen section.
• A Thimble or a Large Rod/Dowel to help insert the toothpicks (easier on your fingers)
Let's get started!
STEP 1
Download and print the 1/2 inch Grid PDF. Or you can print it from online. It will give you 2 separate sheets to cover the 18 x 12 inch styrofoam block
1/2 inch Grid PDF
STEP 2
VERY IMPORTANT: Do not remove the plastic wrap from your styrofoam board. If you do, you and your rocks will be covered with white flakes forever! We will leave the plastic wrap on to protect the styrofoam and to protect your rocks.
• Place your styrofoam block face down with the product sticker on the bottom facing the table. This way you have a clear top to place your toothpicks on.
• Place your printed grid sheets over the top of the styrofoam block. Line them up in the middle so they are touching. I trimmed the edges on the sides so they would match up.
• Place a few toothpicks at the corners and edges of each grid sheet to hold the sheets in place so the sheets won't slide around. Simply press a toothpick all the down till it won't go anymore.
STEP 3
Place a toothpick at every corner of the little boxes on the grid sheets till they are all have a toothpick. You can use a thimble and just press the toothpick down. Or you can use a wooden or acrylic rod/dowel to press the toothpick down. I used one of my acrylic dotting tool rods. It worked great and saved my fingers.
To be honest when I first started putting in all the toothpicks I got overwhelmed. I thought this will take forever! But after I got in a good groove, it soon became relaxing. I fixed a nice cup of hot tea and put on an audio book. Somehow driving toothpicks into styrofoam with an acrylic rod became a stress reliever. lol It took me a little over an hour to put all the toothpicks on the grid sheets.
If it seems to much to do all at once, you can do it little by little. Perhaps you can enlist the help of a family member or friend to help it go by quicker.
STEP 4
After all your toothpicks have been placed, you can gently remove the grid sheets. Just start a corner and gently and slowly lift up on it. It may tear, it's ok. You can also use scissors or a long object to gently lift up all the grid sheets from the styrofoam block.
STEP 5
Enjoy your rack!
HAPPY ROCKING!!!
