PaperFections

Copic Storage

After seeing the photo in my blog post about the new lighter Copic colors below, several of you asked what my Copic storage unit is, so here's a full photo (click for a larger view):

 

These are Quickutz Magpie Nesting Storage System (I'm using three of them) that I've been using for about 18 months now.  They are wooden and originally meant to store Quickutz dies in the metal tins you see in the last two columns to the far right (I use the tins to store my Memento Dew Drops and color coded the fronts of the tins with colored buttons). 

They come in either white or black and Overstock.com usually has them in stock at a good price ($21-23).  These are lined up along the back edge of my crafting desk, so they are right in front of me within easy reach (I took the photo from where I sit to stamp).  I use a different cubby for each Copic color group.

As you can see to the far left, the cubbies are also a good size to store Ranger Distress Ink pads, Memento full-sized ink pads & Palette ink pads.  I took the drawer out of the bottom of the left unit and it sits on top of the unit, to hold odds & ends.  I also have a friend who turned her units upside down, so the drawer is on the top (just take the drawer out and flip it over).

I love these because clean up is quick & easy -- just throw the markers back into their respective cubbies!  I use my COLOR CHART to select which colors I want to use, then I can easily find them in their cubbies. 

Store More Stamps-30% Off, No Foolin'!

Yes, you read that correctly -- a 30% off sale at Store More Stamps, just for those of you who read my blog (see details below)! 

I've been meaning for quite some time to share the stamp storage system I found and am very happy with . . . Store More Stamps (aka Little Monkeys).  This system is made specifically for your acrylic or cling-mounted rubber stamps.

 

The concept is simple -- an 8" x 8" insert of heavy cardstock is coated on one side and your stamps cling to this surface that is totally safe for either of these types of stamps.  The 8" x 8" insert slips into a clear sleeve, to protect your stamps and prevent them from accidentally becoming detached from the insert.  (Oops, looks like I chose a set I haven't cut all out yet!).

On the other side of the insert, you can slip the manufacturer's packaging sheet into the sleeve (or an index sheet that you've stamped with the images), so you can easily see what stamps are stored in the sleeve.  You can store more than one set per insert.  And for thinner acrylic stamps, you can store more than one insert in each clear sleeve!

  

As you see above, I have my collection of Kim Hughes stamps stored in this large photo storage box (I use these throughout my studio for storage), but Store More Stamps offers their own storage boxes that I have on the way to me, to divide out my smaller stamp collections.

While shopping at their newly redesigned store site this week, I discovered a 20%-off sale they have going on for first time visitors to the new site!  You can find all the details about that sale, along with the discount code you must use, at the Store More Stamps blog HERE.

But wait, it gets even better!  While chatting with the owner today about my order, she graciously offered any of my blog readers a 30% discount that is only good until April 8!  You'll need to use the discount code JOKE30 (but seriously, this is NO joke!).  If you are not able to place an order by April 8 though, you can still take advantage of the 20% sale offered on their blog.

I think you'll enjoy this storage system as much as I have!

Ribbon Organization

It seems I'm constantly organizing things in my studio, trying to find the best/better storage solutions.  I recently reorganized all my ribbon and promised friends some photos, so here you go . . . I love these Embellishment Centers by Making Memories (I've never ordered from the site linked above, it's just the first site I found when I Googled these.  For some reason, Making Memories doesn't have them listed on their site).

 

This is the larger one that measures 24" wide x 31.5" tall.  It hangs on the wall in front of my desk (the ink pads in the lower right of this photo are sitting on my desk).  It has cubbies to hold jars of ribbon and also Crop In Style's Ribbon Spool Stackers (again, I have no affiliation with this site -- I just wanted to find a better photo for you).  I've found my ribbon stackers at Michael's or Hobby Lobby and the Embellishment Center at Michael's -- use your coupon!

I've tried to organize by color: reds, oranges, yellows and white/cream are in this center.  The jars usually contain the same type variety -- wide satin, polka dot, swirls, velvet, etc. that I've gotten from the same source . . . that's just how my head organizes things!  So I know if I want a polka dot, I can go to that jar and find the color I need.

On top of my ink pad holders is Stampin' Up's ribbon in their holders, along with my scrap ribbon jar.  I stick all kinds of small scraps in there -- you just never know when it will be the perfect piece for your project!

Okay, don't gasp . . . but I have another smaller Embellishment Center on another wall! 

It measures 27" tall x 18" wide and houses greens, blues, violets and dark neutrals (black/brown).  It hangs on the wall next to a wall of storage I created with my Store in Style cubes from Crop in Style . . . I'll show you those at a later date when it's organized a little better!  Look, I have one empty jar left!

Can you tell I love ribbon?!!  So how do you store yours?  I'm always looking for new/better solutions!

WSC41-Tea Time & More Copic Coloring Tips & Storage

You know the Friday drill . . . Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge!  Here's the sketch for this week.  I decided I was in the mood for shabby & distress, and looking through my Lockhart stamps I found this new Itty Bitty Teapot that I thought would work well as a background stamp for the Teabag. 

So here's how it all came together:

I knew I wanted to work with browns on the teabag, so I chose this Memory Box Inspire printed paper that has a brown pattern in it.  Next, I stamped the teapot all over a manila tag (5-1/4" x 2-5/8") with Ranger's Adirondack Espresso dye ink.

I knew I wanted to color the teapots with green to match the paper, so I got out my Copic color chart and matched up the greens.  (Edited: this blank color chart is now available to be downloaded from this post).

I also wanted to share with you how I store my Copic markers.  It was driving me crazy trying to keep them in numeric order in the clear boxes they come in (they were forever getting all mixed up!), so I tried this solution and am really liking it:

This is a cabinet for storing dies (by QuicKutz).  It measures about 14" tall x 10.5" wide x 4.75" deep.  The markers stick out about 1.50" -- just perfect for grabbing!  I have my markers separated by (L-R): Blue/Blue-Violet, Red/Red-Violet, Yellow/Yellow-Red, Green/Yellow-Green, Blue/Blue-Green, Earth, Neutrals, Grays, Blenders.  It sits right in front of my work space, within easy reach.

I find this system works very well for me:  I use the color chart to choose the colors I want to work with, then pull them out of the cabinet.  When I'm finished, clean up is a breeze -- just toss them back into their individual cubbies and I'm done . . . no more worrying about keeping them in order!

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To color the the teapots, I chose a lighter shade of green (G21-Lime Green) and applied that to the entire teapot:

Then I shaded the darker areas with G24-Willow:

Then I went back with a lighter G40-Dim Green (shown in the very last photo below) and softly blended the two together.  I'm happy to report this combo of ink with the coated manila tag worked very well with the Copics -- no bleeding whatsoever!

For the teabag, I decided I wanted to cut the image with a smaller, square die (Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Square) instead of the usual rectangle shape you would probably normally use to cut out the whole image (and so I would stay within the sketch guidelines).  But this left me with the string and tag of the image being cut off.  We'll get back to that later!  So I went ahead and die cut/embossed the image.

The image was on shimmer white cardstock, but this looked too stark next to the manila tag, so this is what I did:  I colored within that infamous Spellbinders' embossed edge with Copic E00-Skin White, leaving the embossed edges white, and it was a very close match to the manila (it looks pinker than it actually is in parts of this photo):

Then I went back with my Colorless Blender and removed some of the color around the teabag:

After coloring the rest of the teabag and teapots and distressing the tag with Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink, here's how it turned out:

I cut out the rest of the teabag's string & tag and mounted it on a tiny bit of pop-dot.  The tag was crumpled and it and teabag were mounted with dimensional foam tape to the card.  The corners of the card were faux stitched with dark brown marker and a paper piercing tool.

Here are all the Copic Sketch markers I used to color this image:

This photo is a good indicator of how you should choose your Copic markers if you are just starting to collect them: about 2 or 3 shades within a color family.  You'll notice the greens are a few depth-of-shades apart (indicated by the ending number of the color code, in this instance 0, 1 & 4.  0 being the lightest shade and 4 being darker).  The first number of the code is the clarity of the color -- the smaller number being the more true/pure color of the spectrum (in this case, the 2's), while the 4 has a little more gray in it.  Selecting your colors this way will allow you the ability to shade images for a very natural look, with a lot of impact!

Be sure to also check out the blogs of Cambria Turnbow, Charmaine Ikach, Jenn Balcer, Laurie Schmidlin, Lori Craig and MaryJo Albright -- they'll have some awesome samples, I'm sure!  I hope you have a lovely spring weekend wherever you are.  The trees and grass are blooming here in Texas and I'm coughing & sneezing my head off (seasonal allergies)!

More Ribbon & Storage!

A New Stampin' Up catalog year brings new accessories, and one of my favorites is ribbon!  This year I finally decided to purchase these stacking ribbon holders Stampin' Up! started carrying last year because I was running out of ribbon storage space (can you sympathize with me here?)!!  I wanted to segregate my current ribbon from the retired (and add new!) and keep it within easy reach, right on my desk top since I'm always getting it out for just about every project.

These plastic containers seemed innocent enough when I started assembling them.  They went together quickly and easily -- they are shipped flat and just bend and snap together.  But before you can snap the final piece in place (the front part that has the logo on it), you have to be an acrobat to get all the spooled ribbon to stay inside the semi-enclosed box while you insert the included figure-8 piece that locks two or more of these containers together, then snap the final piece in place.  And then try to do all that again with the next unit you want to stack and attach to the first!

One nice thing about these containers is that the ribbon rolls fit in snuggly (top to bottom, when the proper size of container is selected for your ribbon roll) but when full, you must open the front of the container in order to change an empty roll or take one with you.  And somewhere in the assembly process, I ended up with a thin paper-type cut on my thumb from the edges of the plastic -- owie!

That being said, I like how well these containers stack and they seem plenty sturdy.  I wouldn't suggest stacking more than three of them though.  I tried stacking all four of these together but it was a little too wobbly for my peace of mind.  I also like that the ribbon is well-contained but easy to unroll -- some of my other non-SU containers have such tight fitting lids that the ribbon won't unroll easily.  Other bonusus included in your purchase are the black rubber bumpy "feet" you can stick on the bottoms of these boxes to prevent slipping/furniture scratching and a plastic insert to fill any horizontal empty space so your spools won't fall over.

I have two large units stacked on the left and two mediums on the right.  The Stampin' Up catalog suggested the medium box for its new double-stitched ribbon but I found it fit a bit too snug (top to bottom) to be able to still turn/unspool easily, so I put it in the large container.  Maybe that's also the reason the SU catalog photo shows the double-stitched ribbon in the large container, too <wink>!

So if you have (or want) all the Stampin' Up ribbon and want it to fit nicely into these containers, these are all I would suggest.  I don't see a need for the small units, as the catalog says they will only hold the new taffeta ribbon. 

TIP: Designate one pair of paper snips as your ribbon-only scissors (by tying a piece of ribbon around the handle) and do not use them for anything else.  They'll stay sharp and cut your ribbon beautifully!

Now hopefully I'll still have room left for that yummy wide satin ribbon (chocolate & pomegranate) and metallic (gold & silver) elastic cord we Demonstrators just got to preview in the upcoming Stampin' Up Holiday mini catalog!  It will begin mailing to customers around August 15 (you can begin ordering from it Sept 1), so watch your mailbox!