PaperFections

Paper Punch Storage

Friday my preorder of Marvy scalloped punches arrived from PaperTrey Ink, along with the panic of where to store all of them! So a trip to one of my favorite organization stores was in order for the weekend . . . here's what I found: These great stacking shoe-box like clear storage drawers from The Container Store fit just a little bit of space I had left under one of my crafting desks (I craft in an L-shape just to the left of this photo, so these will be right within easy reach). Each drawer unit measures approximately 7.5" wide x 7" tall x 15" deep (to the back). The drawers easily pull all the way out (see photos below), if you want to take the drawer with you or sit it on your desk. They can also stack side-by-side and have clips to hold them in place. Unfortunately, I'm not finding these at the online store but they are very similar to these at the bottom of page 2 (but mine were only $8.99 each), or some clear shoebox drawers on the 3rd page (if that link doesn't work, try navigating at the top of the page to Shop... Read more →

Happy Friday - Tip

With today's tip I thought I'd also include a photo of some beautiful flowers that hubby came back from a St. Patrick's Day banquet with. The roses were yellow, tipped in a deep rose -- just gorgeous! Can you tell I'm a sucker for flowers? :) Today's tip comes from most crafters' love of using anything they can get their hands on and not throwing anything away -- right? Please say I'm not the only one who does this! I ordered some new Stampin' Scrub refill pads (rubber stamp cleaners) and after I replaced the old ones, I thought "These are worn but certainly there is still some use for them". So today while stamping with craft ink, I had the idea to use one of the extra pads to clean up my messy craft ink-encrusted stamps and that would still leave my new scrubber clean and ready to use. Just toss the crafty mess pad in the sink to soak and keep on stamping! I love using craft ink but the clean up was always a problem for me. I used to take the stamps to the sink to scrub off the ink but I think this new way... Read more →

Photo Cropper

Ever have a problem getting multiple photos all the same size for scrapbook page? Or if you've ever cut off too much of someone's head and ruined your whole photo, this tool is for you! I found this easy way to size photos . . . just take an 8" x 8" square of cardstock and cut 1" in from each side, so that you cut a 6" square out of the middle. Then cut it in half diagonally so you have two separate triangles. Next, take a ruler and mark 1/2" and 1" increments up to 5", starting at the corner and working your way outward. To size a photo, just overlap the two pieces to form a square or rectangle the size you'd like. Now you'll be able to position the correct size just where you want it, and never chop off a head again . . . Enjoy! Read more →

Long Tags

Here's the photo I promised, showing how to create a longer tag with a tag punch (see 2nd post below entitled "Another Thanks" -- the faux stitched "fence"). Just slip the strip of paper into the punch from the front and then pull the strip up thru the hole, toward you. Now you can make any length of tag you'd like! I have another cool trick I discovered to share with you tomorrow, so check back in! Read more →

Get Organized Week - Part 4

I finally got my new ink pad storage all filled up! The left unit holds all my classic ink pads, reinkers & markers. The right side holds my craft inks & reinkers (still spots for more markers). On top of the 5" shelf, I have petal-point chalk inks, Distress ink, StazOn, Brilliance ink pads and cleaners. I love that all my inks are in one spot now and in the right corner of my stamping space within arm's reach. These finely hand-crafted units are from Storage Units, Ink. They can be ordered unfinished (like mine) so you can paint them to match your room, or you can order them stained. The owner, Denise, is a wonderful stamper herself and designed these holders for her husband to make! And for this weekend, they are giving all my blog readers a special 10% discount on anything at their site . . . how nice is that?!! So run on over before the end of Sunday, March 18 to take a look at all the different types of storage systems they have and place your order! Just mention "PaperFections" as your password discount code. I keep my quartered stampin' sponges and daubers grouped... Read more →

Get Organized Week - Part 3

Ribbon -- who doesn't love it . . . but how to store it? Again, here's where the Store-in-Style cubes by Crop-in-Style were a lifesaver. These two drawers make up one of the cubes and are within arm's reach. Each is about 7.5" tall -- perfect for all sizes of larger ribbon rolls. The next drawer holds more spools and cello packages of ribbon card collections, fibers, cords, twill and hemp. This Cropper Hopper box holds smaller amounts of ribbon yardage (2-3 yds) in each Mini Square (1-5/8") container. These four individual ribbon boxes were found on clearance around the holidays about 2 years ago at Target. They were in the gift wrap section but I haven't seen them again since that time. I had purchased them before Stampin' Up came out with their ribbon roll storage, which is very similar if you are looking for something like these. The above five ribbon boxes are normally stored in the cube below my ribbon roll drawers: Snips of scrap ribbon are stored in this apothecary-type jar I found at a craft store. I try to check this jar for a match before I cut any new pieces. Get Organized Week -... Read more →

Get Organized Week - Part 2

This tower of embellishments sits on top of my cardstock cubes. They are the smaller drawers of this type Iris rolling cart/chest. Office Depot is the only place I can find them any more and it doesn't appear they are carrying these exact ones online but try the actual store front. The last ones I found were a tower of 6 of the smaller drawers and were gray. I like that you can see thru the plastic drawers to what's inside. Edited to add: Drawers hold adhesive, buttons, brads, eyelets, metal tags, glitter, pastels, watercolor crayons & pencils, embossing powders, small glitter glue bottles, pearl ex & twinkling H2O jars, charms, sanding blocks. paper trimmer blades and any other kind of small embellishment you can think of! Punches are also stored in the above Iris cart drawers. For now it works well and I like that they are within handy reach but I have overflowed and hope to find a better storage solution after I move again: Prima bottles are also stored in the same type Iris cart as above, by color family/seasons: Tools: Scissors, rulers, paint brushes & glue pens/sticks, knives, bone folder are kept handy in The Pampered... Read more →

Get Organized Week - Part 1

A few of you mentioned that you would like to see more storage/organization ideas for your craft room, so I thought I would share some of my solutions this week. I don't like chaos and like having a place for everything, so I know exactly where things are when I need them . . . are any of you the same? So let's start off with Cards . . . I use two of these French memo boards . . . one to hold cards I'm working on for contests, pub calls, etc. or just current work that I really like. And the other board holds cards other people have sent me. The crossed ribbon makes it easy to slide a card in and doesn't damage it. I've found them at Michael's and Target. When the boards get full, I rotate the older cards into clear plastic shoebox containers to save for future reference or personal card-sending. Cardstock . . . I'm loving these Store-in-Style cubes by Crop-in-Style. These four on the far left of my craft area (see other photos in My Stampin' Space album over on the right side of the blog) hold all of my 12" x... Read more →

Organized!

My ink pad holders just arrived last night from Storage Units, Ink -- thanks again, Denise! You'll also find their link over on the right in the "Where I spend too much time" category! I still have a little filling up and organizing to do but here they are. I'm going to leave them unpainted for now, in case I want to match a wood stain in my next house (we're in temporary housing, between home purchases -- ugh!). So for now, this will give me a little more stamping space (which is the lower left of this photo). Those pretty jars on top of the units are how I organized all those Prima flowers I got from Confessions of a Ribbon Addict. I gave my two little girls a lesson on color theory & shades of the spectrum and they went to town sorting, LOL! The jars are are pint-size canning jars that Mike's was selling for .99 cents each as ribbon organizers (they also had larger ones). Had I known I would use 11 of them, I think it might have been less expensive to just purchase them by the dozen from a "mart" store or my local... Read more →

New Organization

It's gonna ship this week -- Denise at Storage Units, Ink let me know my new stamp pad wall organizer should be shipping this week! So while I'll be busy with a deadline the first part of the week, hopefully I'll have new photos of the crafting space to share by week's end, so check back in! Here's what it will look like: Read more →

Cuttlebug Storage

I finally decided to organize my Cuttlebug embossing folders and dies yesterday, so I thought I'd share since storage solutions are usually a big topic of conversation amongst crafters! I went to the craft store searching for a 3" box to store the dies in and found the plastic ribbon holder on the left by Store-in-Style (about 3.75" square). The 3" and 2" dies fit perfectly and I just cut the product packaging down to fit as dividers and serve as tabs with the names and pictures still on them. The beautiful wooden ribbon holder on the right by Melissa Frances I had coveted for about a year and finally broke down and purchased it this week. It holds A2 embossing folders, cutting pads and spacer block. So I guess I have no excuse to actually use all this now, right?!! Keep a watch on the blog. :) I hope this gives you some storage ideas, too! Read more →