Orla Kiely Make-Up Cases as Pen Cases

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I picked up two cases at Target this week after seeing someone post on YouTube about using these for keeping their planner supplies. Ding! What a great idea! So on my next trip to Target, I went snooping through the cosmetics department and, lo and behold, there were several to choose from.

The small, black-and-green pencil-style case was $9.99 and the larger green case was $14.99. I’d heard these cases were so popular that people were buying them up and reselling on Ebay for twice the retail price so I was thrilled to find them still available at the “going price.” Both pouches are a waxed canvas material on the exterior with gold metal zippers and coordinating zipper pulls of stitched vinyl.

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The small pencil pouch zips all the way across and down the sides about halfway. The whole pouch is lined inside with coordinating nylon. It has a slit pocket inside which is not super handy but would be a good place to slide a pencil sharpener or a packet of leads. The main compartment is a large square shape  that holds a lot of tools.

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I think I stuffed it with over 20 pens, including several multi-pens, and there was still room to dig around in it. Unfortunately, the case is a bit short for a new woodcase pencil but machanical pencils fit fine.

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The larger case opens with double zippers and contains an attached, mesh zip pouch in the center. On either side, there are additional pockets. On one side there are three slash pockets and a zip pocket with mesh front on the other side. The inside is lined in navy nylon.

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All the interior seams are covered in nylon so there’s nothing unsightly inside or out. For the price, these are really lovely cases.

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I took the same 20+ pens and filled the center zip pouch. In the zip pocket, I put small items like erasers, washi tape and binder clips.

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In the slash pockets I was able to put a Kaweco AL-Sport, some washi sticker packs and a packet of pencil leads.

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This is what the large case looked like all zipped up. It closed easily and everything feels solid and secure. I suspect I’ll use this as a traveling case, maybe not for everyday use since its about the size of an A5 book when filled but for trips or a specific outing.

The smaller pencil case is overall more diminutive but with plenty of carryin capacity so it may become this year’s everyday pencil case. I’m a bit surprised with myself because I really thought the larger case would be an everyday case. They are both so lovely I’ll find a way to use them regularly. So, the lesson I learned from all this is that good office supplies can be found where you least expect it.

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7 comments / Add your comment below

  1. They are both quite cute in person too! I bought the pencil case. It is too big to be my pencil/pen case for daily use, but it was such a deal and I’m sure I will find some excellent use for it, either for storage or for travel. Thanks!

  2. I love this product so much & I have currently switched over to this item from what I had in the past. As a dedicated “scrapbooker”, “smashbooker”, and planner obsessed woman on the go… I like to have all of the things I use most put into a take-on-the-go product so when I have a idea pop into my head, I can do it. But, the main reason I like having products like this is to take with me on my trips!! There are just something’s that you can’t remember to do when you get back home & I like to do it on the spot that way I can also write in my son’s scrapbook so when he gets older, he can read it and hopefully remember the smell I had wrote about. I also collect a lot of things with my son and one of those are postcards! So, this also helps me to remember to get a post card and with my favorite Frixon pens… I ask a local to write on the post card for us. Long story short… I was in Hobby Lobby one day. Now, don’t get me wrong!!! I LOVE that store!!! They are amazing!!! With that said, I was walking into the store one morning and in the front there was a rack of different styles and colors of the product called… the “Hanging Travel Bag – 3 Compartments” & it was the “Macbeth Collection” – Very pretty chevron bag! The colors were white, black, grey & pink. I thought to myself, this is perfect!! It even has a gold hanging hook so I can pin it up beside my desk when I’m home. The price was a great deal as well!! It was originally $13.99 (plus tax) minus the 40% off 1 item coupon I had. SCORE!!! I also saw in the $5 & under bin a nice plastic pencil zipper bag that matched. It was a clear bag with a chevron grey & pink pattern for $2.99. Couldn’t say no to that! I rushed home & put all of my favorite pens, stickers, washi tape… anything I know I would use on a daily basis into the Velcro hanging travel bag. Well, I organized everything perfectly but I also kept in mind not to put too much into the bag! I went to close the bag after putting a few of my most important items in it & it wouldn’t close without force. I was so upset! So, I thought, maybe I put too much into the bag & took out some of the bulky items (for example: washi tape rolls – I could always just put those on my bobbins & that should solve the problem) still had problems with shutting the bag! I fell in love with this bag & it just didn’t want to do what I wanted it to do so I ended up returning the item. After I returned the item, I rushed over to target & found the best one to date & I use it every single day!!! Yeah, so it doesn’t have a hanger so I can hang it up. But, the nice jewelry organization hanging bag that I purchased off of amazon.com did the trick! It’s even double sided so I have more room to organize all of the miscellaneous items I get from my friends. I can say, I would recommend this product to anyone!! I went through the trial & error part for everyone so please take my word for it! 🙂

  3. I suppose my most important tip would be to go with the zipper items as a pose to the Velcro because of the fit. If the chevron bag was a zipper and not a Velcro, I would probably have kept the product! Orla Keily offers a ton of amazing products in different colors, patterns and styles. The green wasn’t that appealing to me so I went with something different. But, I would definitely recommend this product to everyone!

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