NC Blog Hop - All About Storage!

Welcome to the NC Demos monthly blog hop.  I think you will like the topic this month!!  I am hoping to get some tips from my fellow NC demos!

Storage .... everyone's dilemma I think!  My daughter will tell you that I'm constantly rearranging and figuring out the best way to store all my stuff (and believe me, I have a lot! )  As crafters, we seem to accumulate soooo much!  And if you are like me, you don't want to part with anything!  Who knows when it will come into fashion again!  My craft room is made up of furniture that I have obtained from a variety of places!  My crafting desk is a wire basket system that my daughter had when she was in high school.  When she went away to college, my son inherited it.  When they were both gone, it came into my possession and has served me well over the years.  Along the back of the desk, I have a couple of plastic storage pieces that I recently got when our local craft store went out of business.  It holds my black and versa mark inks, blendabilities (in stamp boxes), and various items I use on a daily basis.

Next to my craft desk is my computer table which is a 5 foot long table that my husband had in his office before he retired.  It is usually pretty covered up with bits of paper, catalogs, cards, etc.  That is where my computer sits.  Underneath this table I have a couple of Iris carts with drawers holding watercolor paper, glimmer paper, catalogs, 12 x 12 paper, etc.  On top of the table, at the back, is my pride and joy - my stamp pad holder.  My husband made this for me about 12 years or more ago and it is great.  There is a place for all my ink pads (current) with the reinkers right next to them.  I have them arranged in color families - In Colors, Brights, Regals, Subtles and Neutrals. There is one section left that I have retired ink pads in - unfortunately, I need more space for them!

But I have a solution!  My husband got a drawer from the hardware store, notched the sides and glued thin wood into the notches so they would hold ink pads.  He also made a cover that would slide thus closing the drawer.  So, if you needed to take your inks with you to a crop, etc. this would make it easy.   I use it now just for my retired inks.

Next is storage for stamps and dies!  I have a shelving unit that I use to store my stamp cases.  Right now, I have more retired stamps than current!!  I usually keep the retired stamps (that I haven't sold) on the right side of the unit and the current stamps on the left.  I have to make more room on the right side now though!  I just stand them up so I can read the titles and put them in alphabetical order. I store matching dies/thinlits inside the matching stamp set.  I put a stickered circle on the outside of the stamp case if they have thinlits or dies that match the stamp and how many thinlits are in the case.

My punches (current and retired) are kept on Ikea rods.  I have run out of room and not sure what I will do next!

I have been using my Paper Pumpkin boxes for organization too and they work great!  I just turn them inside out and I am able to write on the outside of the box the contents in each box.  I was accumulating so many of the boxes I didn't know what to do so I was really excited to do this.  I have boxes of reinkers; the small uninked ink pads; sheets cut for the inside of my cards; pearls, rhinestones; etc.

My newest storage hack has just happened.  I have been a Paper Pumpkin subscriber for several years and found I was not using the stamps that came in the kits because I didn't know what they were.  I had been throwing them in one of the Paper Pumpkin boxes that I showed you above but not labeling them.  Well for the past few weeks, I took care of that.  I researched to find the month, year and name of each Paper Pumpkin stamp set.  (I called Stampin' Up for this info and found that they could only give me the previous year.)  Yes, I know the info is on the little sheet that comes with the kits, but I only started saving those sheets last year and I have kits from 2014!  I cut cardstock 4" x 5 1/4" and put that inside one of the clear envelopes that SU sells.  Then I slid the stamp set in and using my Dymo Labeler, I labeled each of the stamp sets.  I had a basket that I wasn't using and they fit nicely in it!  Now when I get my Paper Pumpkin, if I am not ready to make the projects, I just put it in the basket until I have time to do it.  In organizing these stamps, I realized how far the Paper Pumpkin kits have come.  I had a few sets from 2014 and 2015 and they were pretty basic.  I am so glad SU has stepped up the Paper Pumpkin kits.  I love getting that little surprise each month and sitting down and figuring out what alternative projects I can make with it.  And when I travel to Hawaii to visit my daughter, these are so handy to take along and work on them on the plane or at her house while she is at work.

I just completed one of my favorite Paper Pumpkin sets, Wildflower Wishes from this past February.  If I hadn't organized them, I wouldn't be able to tell you the name of the kit or the month and year!!

I hope I have given you a little help toward organizing your stamp room.  Seems we all can use just a few good ideas for storage!  Thank you for joining me this month.  Now, hop on over to the next blog and get more storage ideas!!

Toni Campana -

 

Jo Anne Hewins -

 

Tracie Evans Langley -

 

Sharon Maranich - You are here!

Frances Wagner