Prairie Paper & Ink

Lookie What I Got!!!

I had to run downtown this afternoon to get some groceries, and when I was walking by the local hardware store I saw these in the window!:

 

AND - they were only 14.99CA each! I think they're meant for ice/drinks as they each had a little chain attached to the handle with a funky bottle opener, so I took those off and filled the one with my Copics *grin*.

My ENTIRE collection fits into one pail - that's 144 CIAO's plus like 18 or so Sketch Markers (some of my markers aren't in this pic) - I have a little room for a few more markers then it will be full. Hence the second pail. I plan to put the refills and other markers as I slowly get them into that pail.

I'm just giddy about finding these (more like they found me *wink*) - I've been wanting to get theA Muse pails for SO long now, but the cost plus shipping to me (since they're so bulky) was just too much (tho I LOVE their pastel colors!).

These pails are almost exactly the same size as the A Muse ones too - they're 9 3/4" wide by 5 1/4" high and 7 1/4" deep.

I love a good storage purchase *sigh*. Just had to share!

Oh and FYI the store was Home Hardware - I found them online here (not sure if you can order them online - I think you can only get them in-store??).

EDITED TO ADD:

Copics can most definitely be stored upright - since they are alcohol based it doesn't matter whether you store them horizontally or vertically. The ink will still flow evenly through both ends. I've been storing mine upright ever since I first got them 2 years ago and not a problem with them :o)

ETA Again:

Sorry I guess I should have mentioned that Home Hardware is a Canadian store (at least I don't think they're in the States? I might be wrong tho). I guess I just assume that EVERYONE knows I'm Canadian (Canadian made born and raised eh?? LOL) so I don't mention it. And to be more specific I'm in southwestern Saskatchewan - thus the name of the blog - PRAIRIE Paper and Ink *grin*

STAMP STUDIO VIDEO TOUR!

OK I FINALLY can show y'all my stamp studio. I had to re-take the video's I don't know how many times - I kept getting interrupted by the girls, or it was way too shaky (I just use my digi camera to take videos - and it's hard to keep it still and walk and talk at the same time LOL!), or my camera batteries would die in the middle......

Anywho tho I got them done and got all three (yes THREE) videos uploaded and ready to go so here they are:

LINKS:

My desk and the three mini stackable units came from Best Craft Organizer.

My Photo Tent came from here: OBN Photography Equipment

Here are links to some of the things I got at IKEA (the jars I use for my Primas and the $5 wood shelves aren't on the site - that I know of anyway! I couldn't find them):

Melina Window Blind

METALL DUTT Picture Holders (put on walls to display cards)

BYGEL Rails (used to store punches)

EXPEDIT bookcase

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OK I took some pictures this morning and thought I'd add them here as well - the studio is still all nice and clean. I had to clean it for the videaos - but most of the time it's just a mess LOL - although now that I'm in a smaller room it's been much easier to clean up and keep on top of things. The other room I had all my stamp stuff in when we moved here was pretty much a mess 24/7!

ALSO - I did a little draft of how the room is set up - just playing around with Photoshop:

 

(sorry this one isn't very clear - I've been having issues lately with uploading my better pics and have to keep switching them all to JPEG format which is driving me nuts!) 

And here are all the rest of the pictures - you can click on them to get a new window with a larger image:

               

And lastly I just wanted to mention that the only NEW things I bought for this space when I re-did it was the roman blind for the window, those two wire picture thingies and the white wall rack for the ribbon. I made do with what I already had or what we had in the garage (which was a lot. I've been stamping for several years now and I know my collection is huge! Y'all should see the boxes of stuff that I'm selling at the garage sale this summer).

I'm a sucker for storage stuff (my bff has said she could just get me cheapo plastic baskets for me as gifts and I'd be happy - and it's TRUE - especially if they're pink!) - so when I find things on sale or find something cool I get it. When I no longer have a use for it or we move things around I rarely get rid of anything that can be used for storage. I'll store it away in the garage or elsewhere and 9 times out of 10 I end up needing it later on (like the EXPEDIT bookcase and the iris carts!!).

Studio

   

There ya go everyone!! I got several requests to see my stamp area - and this is it LOL!!

The plan for a while now has been to dedicate the spare room to be my studio - I decided the other day that I need to get the plan in action. So we took everything out and I started painting.

I just took this picture a couple of minutes ago. After I'm done typing I'm going to get Josie down for her nap and I'm going to head back in there to do some touch-ups and paint all the trim.

THEN hopefully this weekend I can really start getting everything moved in and put up the shelving and whatnot and get it all organized!

Once all that is done I can then show you all my studio as I hope it to be (as of right now where I'm stamping is technically more of a dumping ground rather than an actual studio - don't get me wrong it'd be nice if I cleaned it up and organized it but I just haven't bothered. I'm saving all my energy for the NEW room *grin*) - it's a small space but it will be all mine :)

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The roundup for last week's Friday Sketch! will go live around midnight central. The new sketch will go up tomorrow - possibly later in the day.

All That Scraps is releasing new sets on Feb 2nd (Monday) - one set of which is mine - so sneak peeks for that start TOMORROW as well!!

Needless to say I have a lot to get done - and I'll be covered in paint while I do it (I'm pretty sure I managed to get some in my hair too - nice.....)

I might ba back a little later with an actual card to post - depends on how the painting and whatnot goes!!

My Mini Stackables

**FYI this is a LONG post!! I've received a lot of e-mails and comments about these units so I thought I'd try and say everything at once!! Also I'm not affiliated with Best Scrapbook Shelf in any way - just a satisfied customer. This is all my own personal opinion!!**

I had several people ask me HOW I store my stamps as they seemed pretty surprised that I was able to find them right after my move - actually when you see how I store them there won't be any more surprises:

I got these 3 Mini Stackables from Best Scrapbook Shelf over a year ago.

They are definitely NOT cheap (I saved up for some time to get them!!) but are SO worth it. Even now I still have a few empty drawers b/c they hold a TON.

They come unassembled so you have to put them together yourself. You can also choose how many and which type of drawers and whatnot so they're totally customizable. I chose 5 2" drawers and 9 1" drawers per unit. Putting them together isn't difficult per say - the steps are super easy - the actual putting together isn't. At least it wasn't for me. I had a heck of a time with some of the pre-drilled holes. They seemed a little too small so I kept slipping with the screwdriver and banged my fingers a few times (and swore a blue streak here and there - I was just a little impatient the night I put them together - thank goodness the girls were in bed) - but once I got them together they were FABULOUS.

When I moved I moved my entire craft space myself (in a million degree heat - it just happened to be the hottest day of fall and I was MISERABLE LOL) and all three of these units I lifted and hauled to the truck myself (they prolly weighed well over 50lbs each (the one with the punches weighs a good 75 lbs minimum) but I made it!). I didn't tape down any of the drawers - they all stayed shut and everything went smoothly (a lot of the items rolled to the back of the drawers during "transit" (we moved like 4 blocks away) but that's no biggie).

I store all my wood mounted stamps (except SU stamps since they have their own cases) in the 1" drawers - they fit perfectly.

ETA: If you were to store SU stamps in here they would fit in the 1" drawers themselves but if you wanted to keep them in their cases you're going to need the 2" drawers b/c it's too tight for the stamps AND the cases in the 1".

All my Fluffles, A Muse, Elzybells NA, Inky Antics etc etc are stored in here - and they only take up about 7 or 8 drawers - there's a ton of stamps in those drawers!!

EDITED TO ADD: Glad Alana mentioned something about the masks you can see on top of those Inky Antics stamps - I was going to mention that then forgot. Those ones are post-it notes. But seriously the best thing to get is Eclipse masking tape - that stuff is WAY better since the WHOLE thing is like a sticky note - works much better than Post-it's (and a roll will last you forever - I've had mine for over a year and barely made a dent in it). And yeah I just attach the mask to the wood mount (or on top of my unmounted stamps) so I can re-use it over and over and not have to cut one out every time I want to mask a particular image :o)

All my embossing powders and Fun Flocks are in a 2" drawer with all my glitters in the drawer below.

My stickles, Ice Stickles and Paint Dabbers fit in a 1" drawer.

All my SU inks fit in a 1" drawer and the re-inkers in another one (I made sure to tighten all the lids on the re-inkers before putting them in there - at the very least IF one were to leak it would be contained in the drawer).

ColorBox Cat's Eye inks in a 1" drawer and VersaMagic Inks in another one.

All my SU punches fit in the 2" drawers - I can fit 9 big punches in one drawer (and they hold the weight no problem!!) - THAT is one of the coolest parts.

All my smaller SU (and EK Success) punches along with my SU Scallop punch are in a 2" drawer above the ones shown.

The only thing that sucks is that the Martha Stewart punches don't fit in the 2" drawers b/c of their wonky handles. When I got my units I don't think they had the 3.5" drawers available b/c I would have got one for the bottom of each unit (which would have been perfect for those punches!)

So that's it in a nutshell!! I just showed a smidgen of what I have stored in them - there's a ton of other stuff - sponge daubers, ribbon, adhesives, all my watercoloring stuff, chipboard, etc etc etc.

The FAQ page on their site is REALLY informative if you want more info - that's what convinced me to get mine!!

I did order some of the 1" inserts that should be here on Friday - I've tried so many ways to store all my small embellishments (brads, baubles, eyelets etc) as I have a LOT of those too - I think these will help out with that no problem.

Oh and LOL my pink filing cabinet is from Staples - I got that months ago as soon as I saw it (it's PINK!! How could I not get it *wink*) - I just wish it were a 3 or 4 drawer size (I use it to store all my cardstock scraps and whatnot - SU has it's own drawer and everything else in the 2nd drawer).

I really do love my stackables - I wish I could get one or two taller ones with the paper shelves to store all my patterned papers and whatnot - maybe someday. They're pricey but worth it. The amount they store and the fact that they can hold a TON of weight (they're super sturdy and heavy on their own - not flimsy at all) makes them worth every penny.

Shipping is something you have to look out for too if you want to order directly from the site (they're located in BC Canada) as they're heavy and they ship via Fed Ex. You can find out if local scrapbook stores carry them or can get them in for you too - there's a bunch listed here. I was able to get a deal on these units b/c I got them through a retailer who gave me a bit of a discount on the shipping - still ended up paying approx retail prices but like I said it was worth it in the end.

If you're still reading this far I hope this helped!! ;o)

You said these moved well and were not a problem, but would you reccomend this for someone who does a lot of her crafting at stamp camps or moves from location to location quite freqently?

Ummm well that would be up to you!! They are HEAVY - when there's nothing in them they're still pretty heavy (gotta be a good 25lbs - I don't know for sure) then filled up they can weight up to 200lbs (that's the max the casters can handle per their FAQ page). I know that the one I have punches AND stamps stored in weighs close to 100 lbs if not more (I don't have a scale so I can't find out - some day I'll have to get one and I'll post here what they really weigh b/c now I'm just curious).

When I moved mine I had to roll them outside (at the old place the main floor was about 4-5 feet above ground level) lift them to get them down the steps then lift them into the back of the truck. It WASN'T easy. Only sheer determination and the fear that anyone else might wreck my stuff (LOL) enabled me to move them. When I got them to the new house I rolled them in then had to get them DOWNstairs (thankfully only about 6 steps down) which wasn't too bad.

IF you were wanting to move them (to crops or whatever) frequently and stairs weren't a concern then it wouldn't be too bad. I'm going on a retreat at the end of this month and I might be tempted to load up one of my stackables and take that if it means it will save me several trips back and forth to the vehicle (since I know where I'm going I just have to roll it inside and down the hall - super easy - and I'd make Tim haul it up the stairs and into the vehicle for me *wink*). Plus they are a lot more sturdy than any plastic storage drawer units - it's just the weight that's an issue.....

Hmmmmm you know I never thought about even attempting to take one (or more) of the stackables to a crop or anything - but my retreat is (almost) 3 days and 2 nights long and last year I took a TON of stuff (it was ridiculous really) so I may try to take one of the stackables just to see how it goes!

Store More Stamps

I get a TON of questions from people regarding unmounted rubber stamps.

First off some poeple don't know what they are (this was me a couple of years ago! I just didn't understand how you could have stamps NOT attached to wood blocks??) - an unmounted stamp is either just a plain rubber stamp - or a rubber stamp that has a cling foam backing (similar to the foam on a wood mounted stamp - but instead of baing attached to a wood block the foam has a "cling" side to it that clings to acrylic blocks).

Secondly people ask how do you store them?? Well there are lots of options out there - but for me it's been an issue of finding the right one - and I think that I finally have!

**FYI this is in no way a paid advertisement - I personally use this system and love it and want you all to know about it!**

I saw an add for the "Store More Stamps" system by Little Monkeys on SCS a few months ago.

The name caught my attention so I had to check it out!

I ended up contacting the owner (Susan) to ask a few questions and ordered a Starter Set - which is this box-like thing and 6 inserts with sleeves.

Susan was awesome to deal with and my set shipped out ASAP.

When it got here I got to work filling it and needless to say it didn't take me long!

The inserts are 8x8" and have a cling side to them (best way to describe them is like heavyweight cardstock with a cling side and a plain side) that stamps mounted on EZmount cling to easily.

**You can also store all your clear stamps on these sheets**

I was able to fit ALL the Bella stamps I own (close to 70 *cough* not including all the sentiments) onto the 8 sheets!

All my Bella stamps are on BLACK EZmount - it's thinner than the gray foam and I am liking it way more (the gray EZmount works with this system too - I am just really preferring the black) - and clings like a dream - I can hold an entire sheet vertically and none of the stamps come off :o)

I still have plenty of room in the box for more sheets too so I plan on getting another set of 6 (in the new Spring Colors no less!!) for the rest of my unmounted stamps and they will all be stored in one box! LOVE IT!

For now I have a bunch of my clear stamp sets stored in the box where I can see them and grab them easily.

So all in all I give this product a big thumbs up *grin* - I HIGHLY recommend it and Little Monkeys as they have fabulous customer service too!

If you end up ordering one (or more!) for yourself tell them AmyR over at Prairie Paper and Ink sent you! 

Stamp Storage!

<------------ Lookie what I got my hands on!!

I had my brother-in-law pick this up for me at IKEA before they came here for Christmas - it's called a BOALT CD rack.

Best part about it is that it was only $16.99 CAN!

AND it will hold 35 cases!

GinaK's tin stamp cases fit perfectly in here, as will Papertrey's plastic CD cases, and anything else stored in CD cases.

It has 2 small holes in the back of it so it can be wall mounted - or it can just sit on a shelf (or floor as mine is now till I can find a spot to put it! *wink*). It's unfinished wood so it can be painted too (too much work in my opinion - I'm going to leave mine as-is).

There is also a DVD one that holds 29 DVD's (same price) - I had wanted that too but IKEA was sold out (Edmonton, Alberta location).

Ink Pad Storage

I get asked a lot about how my ink pads are stored in the picture in THIS post (the second picture you get a glimpse of the pads). They were mounted to the wall using Stackebo DVD holders from IKEA. They're wood and are meant to hold 17 DVD's each and I paid around $7 - 8 Canadian each for them?? The SU ink pads fit perfectly in them. HOWEVER last I heard the Stackebo's were being discontinued - they were never available to order online - you had to go to the actual store to get them. I'm not 100% positive on that but that is what I was told.

I actually don't use those anymore b/c they took up a LOT of wall space so I now have 2 SU! Color Caddy's to store all my ink pads in. That's just me tho - I'm forever changing things up!!

EDITED TO ADD: Oops my bad!! I got several requests from ppl asking if I would sell the Stackebos I have - and I won't be ---- sorry!! Some I royally screwed up when I took them off the wall (looooonnnggg story) and I need to fix what I did and then I plan on actually using some for DVD storage and the other ones I have plans for. Total bummer eh????? I know what it's like to be searching for the perfect storage - especially ink pad storage as that seems to be the hardest to come by.............

Punch Storage

Nichole just did a post on her blog listing (and linking!!) to a variety of punch storage ideas - check it out here.

I definitely need to re-do my punch storage - right now I have them all stored in drawers and they are FULL - and I still have some on their way here!! I really like the curtain rod solution - that's the one I'm leaning towards right now.

And speaking of punches - did anyone notice that AllThatScraps still has quite a few of the Giga Scalloped Ovals and Circles in stock?? You can see all their Marvy Punches here - I just finished ordering the ones I wanted from them *evil grin* and noticed how many of the uber-popular ones were in stock and was shocked LOL!! If you're in the US you get free shipping on orders over $10 - SO worth it when you're getting punches!

And don't forget you can pre-order the new scalloped shape punches from Papertrey (a couple of the shapes ARE sold out already tho!). With them you get free shipping (in the US) on orders over $40!

OK I'm done my enabling for the night *grin* - happy shopping! :o)

EDITED TO ADD (more enabling!! ROFL!!):

I just saw on GinaK's blog that she has BOXES full all the NEW punches in their warehouse to be sold from StampingFreak.com - see her post here for all the ordering info and whatnot.

ALSO don't forget to check out all the matching stamp sets she's made to go with the punches!! I'm a little behind the times on mentioning them - mine aren't here yet (drawback to being up here in Canada and waiting on shipping!!) but trust me y'all will be hearing about them loads once I have them in my hands!!

My Loose Ribbon Solution

Well I came up w/ a solution to hot to store all the loose ribbon I got from Jody's ribbon share (you can read about my oh-so-awful dilemma here - ROFL!!).

Thanks to all of you who offered suggestions!! Since I needed something NOW and don't have the extra budget right now to order anything - I made my own cards to wrap all the ribbon on. I cut up a piece of medium weight chipboard (I got a few sheets of it from AllThatScraps.com - the 12x12 size) into 2x3" squares and wrapped all the ribbon around them - I was able to do ALL 30 colors using 1 full sheet and a strip off another sheet of chipboard - so for less than 50 cents I got an easy storage solution!

I cut little notches on one end of each piece to hold the ribbon in place. And for now they are all sitting on the racks between all my rolls of ribbon (you can see how I store my ribbon here - new pics will be taken and posted one of these days!).

So that worked perfectly for me - but I'm gonna have to come up w/ something soon b/c I went in on Jody's striped ribbon share and I couldn't resist getting a couple more spools of patterned ribbon when I was at Michaels the other day!! It's a sickness I tell ya!! ROFL!!!

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button???

ME!!!!!

My Mom got me this uber-cool clear glass vase for Christmas and as soon as I unwrapped it I *knew* what I was gonna use it for:

Isn't this the coolest??? And this isn't a little vase either - it's around 18" high - and I even took a pic of it w/ an inkpad inside so you can get an idea of just how big it really is:

She told me she got it at Winners (for those that don't know it's a big discount-type store where you can get brand-name clothing/shoes/housewares etc etc etc for less than retail price) and it was only $20 (she left the price tag on it LOL - she's always so proud of the deals she gets *grin*).

Anyway I LOVE it and all my buttons are now displayed so nicely:

  (FYI most of these are from Autumn Leaves - their Foof-a-la collections - you can get bags of them in different color assortments. I got mine from my local scrapbook store. I also have some Making Memories buttons and I even threw in all my Stampin' Up! buttons in there too - the more the merrier eh??)

ETA - you know I *did* have some trouble throwing the SU buttons into the mix - I debated it for a while and it was reeeeaaalllllyyyy hard to open all the containers and just dump them in w/ everything else - but once I did it and mixed them all up there was no going back!! 'Sides - I justified it in that I can EASILY tell which button is a SU button - they are completely different than any other button that's in there! The painted finish on them sets them apart. PLUS I now have room in my stack and store for MORE embellishments *insert wicked laugh* (so you see I DO have a method to the madness).

Now if someone were to say that I should mix up all my *other* SU embellies (brads, eyelets etc etc etc) w/ all the non-SU stuff they'd have a fight on their hands! *wink* All of those are in the containers they came in - properly labelled and stored in the order that they are in the catalog (see there's the OCD kicking in! ROFL!!).

Card Stock and Scrap Storage

It's taken me over 2 years to finally get all my CS and CS scraps stored in a way I like and can actually get to and use and be convenient at the same time!!

I use Stampin' Up! CS almost exclusively, it's not very often that I use anything else - it's the best quality of CS I've come across and I LOVE the fact that I have the coordinating inks/accessories/etc etc for all of it - takes away most of the guesswork.

In the corner of my desk (it's a big U shaped laminate one I got from Office Depot (on sale of course)) there's a shallow drawer and a deep file drawer. In the shallow one I store some of my "tools" and I use the file drawer for all my CS scraps:

It's as full as it can get!!

I bought a couple of packages of hanging file folders from Costco (they're an ugly green color but one can barely see them so why bother spending more for prettier ones?) and then put 2 letter-sized file folders in each one (for the colors).

I then stamped 2 colors each onto mailing labels, labeled the colors that were stamped on top (using a Sharpie Marker and my own wonderful handwriting LOL!) and stuck those to each tab on the folders.

So basically each hanging folder holds 4 colors, 2 colors per file folder. I have them all arranged in the order they appear in the SU catalog (Bold Brights, Earth Elements, Rich Regals then Soft Subtles).

All my neutral CS's are in the beginning of the drawer and I have most of them as 1 per hanging folder as I use so much of those.

After the neutrals (and before the color families) I now have all the new In Colors, I did the same as the colors and put 2 per file folder and then put all 3 folders in one hanging folder.

All scraps smaller then a half sheet of CS go into the folders - and that's where I look first when selecting a particular color - it's now very often anymore that I need to cut a full sheet of CS just to get a small piece - I almost always have a scrap that works.

All my half sheets(ie "standard card size") of CS go in the front of each hanging folder - and that's where I look first when I go to make a card. So then every time I cut a sheet of CS in half I put the piece I'm not using in the front of the hanging file that holds the scraps for that color. Clear as mud?? :o)

Now, as for storing the actual sheets of CS, I use this:

It's metal and I got it at Costco some time ago. I put it all together and set it up so that it fits under my desk right beside the file drawer - so all my CS is in one spot - right beside where I sit!

I have all the colors again arranged by color family and in the order they appear in the catalog. Each hanging file contains 2 colors.

It's taken me a long time but I finally have a full pack of each color of CS along w/ roughly a half pack - once I have to open a new package I put a new pack on my next order - that way I should hopefully never run out!

This file holder is pretty sturdy and can hold at *least* all 54 SU colors (full packs) w/ some room to spare - and it's not wobbly or anything. I don't store any of my Neutral CS in here anymore b/c I've run out of room - so I put all those on a shelf behind me and keep a few full sheets in each scrap folder to grab when I need to.

Man typing all this out makes it sound like it was a ton of work - it really wasn't! Setting up my scrap storage didn't take very long and it's SO convenient as I don't have to dig to look for a particular color - I just go to that color's file, open it up, and grab what I need. If I find that a certain color's file is really filling up w/ scraps (and that also doesn't happen very often as I use them so much) I make a point to use more of them on the next few cards I make.

So ya, like I said it's taken me a long time to get into a "system" that works for me and that I like - but I love this and should *hopefully* be sticking w/ it for the long run (I say *hopefully* b/c I LOVE to reorganize and am constantly moving things and whatnot but this is something that so far I haven't been able to improve upon for what space (and$$) I have!). :o)

~~~ETA~~~

Several people have e-mailed me w/ questions about this post - so I'm going to try to answer all of them here as I have NO time right now to answer all e-mails individually - sorry!! I hope this helps everyone!!

#1 - Where can you get the metal file folder if you don't have a Costco near you??

Here's a direct link to the item at Costco .com --->Metal File Folder

**This is only for ppl in the US and you MUST have a Costco card to be able to order - I haven't been able to find it on the Canadian site (sadly we have nowhere near all the cool stuff on Costco.ca that the Americans can get!!) and I got mine in the store itself several months ago.

If you *can't* find this metal file folder a great substitute is just a 2 or 3 drawer metal file cabinet. That's what I was going to get until I found this. They're usually more pricey tho - and I know that you can get plastic ones but I would be careful w/ those b/c once you get a sizeable collection of CS it weighs a LOT and can warp a plastic drawer.

#2 - Where did you get the hanging file folders?

The ones I use were bought at Costco as well, but you can find them at WalMart, Staples, really any office supply store will have them.

#3 - What size paper are you storing in all those pictures?

All of it is 8 1/2 x 11. I store my 12x12 in the Vertical Paper holders that you can buy through Stampin' Up! (and they're actually directly above the drawer that holds my scraps on my desk - all w/in easy reach)

#4 - Doesn't your CS warp (bend in the middle) from being stored vertically in the file folders (as opposed to being stored flat on a shelf)?

It did a *little* bit when I first started using this method as I didn't have as much CS as I do now (so there was more room for the packs of CS to bend while they hung in hte files). Now the file folders are all basically full and there isn't any room for them to bend!! Any warping that I experienced in the beginning tho was very minimal and didn't affect the cards themselves as I was cutting the CS and using it.

#5 - Why do you store your scraps and your CS sheets in 2 different places?

I do this b/c #1 - I have a LOT of scraps and half sheets of CS and #2 - I *used* to store all the scraps in front of the full sheets (inside the hanging files in the metal file folder) but it wasn't working for me and now that I keep the metal file folder *under* my desk (and beside the drawer that holds the scraps) it would be WAY too much of a pain to try and reach to the back files to pull out any scraps. By having them in a separate drawer that pulls out all the way I can reach all my scraps easily and can get what I want in a matter of seconds.

And really to me it's all in one place - they're right beside each other and this little system is SO convenient *for me* - I know other ppl have some great systems set up for themselves regarding storage and if it works great for them!!...

The trick is *to find a system that works for YOU* and then stick w/ it!!

I hope this helps EVERYONE and answers any/all questions!! :o)

Clear Stamp Storage Cases

I have a lot of SU's stamp cases sitting around. I prolly have around 30 sitting in the closet right now!! I keep them all tho b/c I find them SO handy.

When I get new sets that are in cases that are *way* too big for it and the stamps are sliding around - I grab a smaller case and switch them. I've also started putting 2 sets together in a larger case (such as Sweet Spot which is retired and Seeing Spots since they go together oh so well LOL!) which saves me room on my shelves (a MUST!!).

I also use the cases to store other items:

I use the Extra Large (5-3/16 x 7-5/16 x 1-1/8) Cases to store my Stampin' Spots® and my Stampin' Write® Markers.

2 color families fit in each case and it is SO much easier now to grab what I need. I never had the big marker case and I wish I did but I like this way better than the  little cases the families of markers come in - they were a pain to pull out and open and store - now that I have them in these I actually USE them!!

I store the marker cases on their side between a "wall" of my desk and my wall mounted ink pads - they fit perfectly there (and I have my color coach and In Color combo chart there too).

I store the spots upside down to the right of the markers under my WW Crayons and Ink Pads.

I have a bunch of cases that have the dividers in them (the alpha's come in these cases) and those are SO handy to store my re-inkers and sponge daubers:

Each case holds a whole family of re-inkers - SO convenient!!

I just started storing my sponge daubers in these cases and I really like it. I also started labeling them so I no longer have to search for a certain color (and don't wash them anymore either!) and it's so so so much nicer this way! I found I wasn't using the daubers as much b/c it was a pain to find one that either was clean or that was a similar color. I just use these little white labels I picked up at the Dollarama and write the name on them and put clear tape over that - works like a charm.

The re-inkers I keep in a drawer beside my desk:

They're upright and on a slight angle b/c the cases are too tall for the drawer to shut.

I'm really glad SU put the cases in the catty - they used to only be available to demos on a supply order. I have only needed to order them like once tho - I took all my BG's out of their cases and that gave me about 30 extra and w/ all the shuffling around I do w/ them I have a few of almost every size - now I just need to order some small ones b/c those are the ones I always end up looking for and needing and I never have any on hand!! :o)

Ribbon, Prima, Paint and Prismacolor Storage

OK I finally did it! I got pics of how I store my ribbon and am blogging about it right now!

I bought these 4-Tier ClosetMaid racks at Home Depot and LOVE them. They're about 18" wide x 4.5" deep x 25" high. They fit all my ribbon spools wonderfully - I cut pieces of "chipboard" (I used the backing from paper pads and the ones that come w/ order forms and whatnot - I knew saving those would come in handy someday!!) and placed them on each shelf to prevent some of the thinner spools from falling through.

I have all my ribbon arranged in a spectrum of sorts: brown, black, silver, white, cream, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green. That way when I want a certain color of ribbon for a project I only need to look in one spot.

All my loose ribbon is stored in small bags. I punched a tiny hole in the side and used a paper clip (slightly bent apart) to hang the bags of ribbon on the shelf in front of the coordinating colors. This has worked well but I'm starting to accumulate a LOT of ribbon (ya think?? lol) and I am thinking of changing to something else - I'm just not sure yet as to what.

I bought 3 of these racks altogether b/c I loved how all my smaller items fit on them and they take up a lot less space than regular shelves.

All my MM Paint is on the bottom shelf making it easily accessible. I store all my Prismacolor pencils and stumps in the next rack (also on the bottom shelf) using formula cans that I spray-painted white. They are now right in front of me and I can just grab the colors I need.

On the last rack is where I keep all my Primas (I said I had a lot!!). I am addicted to these things - every time I go to the LSS it's nearly impossible to leave w/out a bottle.

I had bought a TON of them (including the daisy rack (top) and the crate (bottom)) on line from a site that had had a big sale a few months ago which makes up most of the collection.

I keep telling myself I'll cut back on buying them since I have so many but then I saw all the pre-order ones that will be coming out this fall and I'm screwed!! They are SO pretty!!

Anywho here's the pic of the whole set-up:

 

My stamp space might be in an unfinished basement but sitting at my desk in front of all this is certainly a stampers heaven!!

Clear Stamp Storage

Lisa Johnson (Lisa Lisa on Splitcoast) was asking how others store their clear stamps. I recently acquired 6 new clear stamp sets and I too wondered what on earth to do to store them.

Most clear stamps come on a clear acetate sheet in a clear envelope w/ another acetate sheet that has all the images in black on it. This is all well and good but once you start accumulating several sets it gets to be a total pain in the @$$ to have to constantly peel open the envelope, pull out the acetate sheets, peel off the image sheet, then peel off the stamps you want to use. And then you have to do it all over again to put it all back. This whole process was driving me bonkers.

I really enjoy my clear stamps (tho I highly doubt I'll ever give up rubber and wood mounted - but the clear stamps *are* fun to play with!!) but the whole process in using them was getting really tiresome. So... I came up with this (and this isn't a new idea - I got the idea for using CD cases from SCS) and it is SOOOOO much better!!

All my clear sets except one are from Inky Antics (the other one is from Autumn Leaves) and all but the AL one fit 2 sets to a case.

This is the Autumn Leaves set. I cut the acetate sheet that had all the images on it and used double sided tape to stick it to the *inside* of the case. (I had originally thought to stamp all the images on Stazon on the outside of the case - however solvent ink is *not* recommended for clear stamps - and it does really stain them and it's a *very* time consuming thing to do!!) The stamps are then pressed over their own acetate image - making it easy to know where they belong.

With clear stamps you can stick them to both sides of the cases as they're thin enough that they won't touch. You can also do this w/ unmounted rubber - however if the rubber also has cling foam you can only use one side of the CD case as they are too thick and the case won't shut.

 

With the Inky Antics clear sets I can fit one set on each side of the CD case.

I cut a piece of (cheap) white CS the same size as the inside of the CD case (it was about 5.5" x 4.75") - which makes it a lot easier to see the stamps inside as it separates the two layers.

 

I cut the labels off that came with each set and used Tombow Metal Glue to adhere each label to the end of the CD case (the top set's label is on the left and the bottom set is on the right).

I bought 4 Stackebo CD holders from IKEA and screwed them into the wall beside the shelves where I store my SU sets. They fit *perfectly* there right beside the closet and each one holds 20 CD cases - so I can store up to 160 stamp sets (if I fit 2 sets per case) in a very small amount of space.

I paid I think $6 Canadian each for them.

You can't order the Stackebo items off IKEA's website - you have to go to the store to buy them. It's definitely a cheap and simple storage solution as it takes up very little wall space! :D

BTW I got all my cases by emptying out all our CD's from the ones we already had lol - we keep all our CD's in the big zipper cases so they were wasting space anyway. I did find this website BlankDVDMedia - where you can order CD (and DVD) cases in bulk. I'm sure there are a lot of other sites out there too (including e*bay).