PaperFections

Grand Die Storage

If you didn't already know, I'm a bit of a storage nut . . . I think most of us paper crafters with a hoard of supplies HAVE to be, if we want to know where our supplies are so we can use them, right?!! :) So I wanted to share my recent storage solution for Spellbinders fabulous new Grand Nestabilities dies: I'm using these 8.5" x 11" Full Size Storage Panels from Stamp N' Store (Ellen Hutson is the only online retailer of these that I’ve been able to find): The dies are held in place with business card sized magnets, cut in half OR you could use Inchie Magnets from Inchie Arts: You can place a set of dies on each side of the storage panels -- they are quite sturdy. The panels are all stored in this Clear Translucent Full Size Binder from Stamp N' Stor (measures approximately 11” x 11-1/2” x 1-1/2” closed) that Ellen carries in her store: I like that this binder will close up for travel, so no dies can accidently escape! I punch holes in the die’s packaging insert and place them in the binder, for easy reference of die name, SKU... Read more →

My Studio

Finally, 3 years after moving in, I invite you to take a tour of my stamping, scrapping, cardmaking, general papercrafting studio and home office! Let me start off by explaining my room is a "flex space" -- it was the third/tandem garage space (approximately 16' x 12') that was already finished out when we found the house just completed. It has NO closet or other built-in storage, so I had to get creative with mostly just the furniture I already had! And because I know someone will ask -- the green paint we used on the walls was custom mixed at Home Depot to match Stampin' Up's Certainly Celery color! It's lighter and less yellow than it's appearing in the photos here. Here's a full view of those storage units on the back wall: They are Store In Style 15-inch cubes by Crop In Style. I found this 12-cube starter set to be the least expensive (per cube) at the time I purchased them almost 5 years ago from Oriental Trading, after closely watching free shipping and additional discount offers from them and creatively combining offers (so watch for those, if you are considering these units)! The cubes can be... Read more →

More New Lockhart & Ellen's 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways!

Have you been following Ellen's 12 Days of Christmas over at the CLASSroom blog? If not, you are missing out on some MAJOR giveaways!! We are on Day 11 today and I have some Copic coloring tips, along with some more previews of the new Lockhart stamp release! Here's a sneak peek: We hope you'll join us for some fabulous, greatly-varied project inspiration to start off this new year AND by just leaving a comment on each of the 12 blog posts, you could win some fantastic product prize packages! Don't fret -- you still have until midnight PST tomorrow, January 6th, to leave comments on each blog post to be eligible to win each individual prize package! And on a personal note, I'm absolutely giddy about something that was just delivered to my house -- a Cricut Expression!! I've wanted to try this electronic/digital die cutting machine for ages, and through the very kind generosity of Provo Craft & Imagination International (Copic), I'll soon be sharing some very cool (I hope!) die cut projects! You'll be able to easily find those blog posts by clicking on the "Cricut" category over in the right sidebar of my blog. So over... Read more →

Color Cubbie / Copic Storage Update

I promised I'd be back with more photos of my recently added Copic storage, the Color Cubbie from Studio 3 Solutions. I had two "towers" and added two more: I'm a very happy crafter now, with plenty of room for the whole line of Copic Sketch markers (334) PLUS the 24 Spica Glitter Pens! These make my markers easy to access, right in front of me on my desk -- since I use them on just about every crafty thing I make! Remember, you can purchase the "towers" individually, to match up with the amount of storage you need. For a size comparison, here's a full-sized Memento ink pad -- it's about the size of one of the little cubbie openings. You may wonder what I'm using my old storage for now? My QuicKutz Magpie unit on the left is now holding ink pads within easy reach: Memento full-sized and Dew Drops stored in QuicKutz die containers (color coded with buttons on the front), Ranger Distress ink pads, and adhesive in the drawer. You can also see here how many more markers the Color Cubbies can hold vs. one Magpie. I hope the photos help you make your Color Cubbie... Read more →

Copic Glitter Pen Giveaway Winner & Copic Storage

The winner of my Copic Spica Glitter Pen giveaway (compliments of Copic) was chosen by Random.org: Random Integer Generator Here are your random numbers: 300 Timestamp: 2010-02-06 04:21:20 UTC Who is: Melissa E said... "It looks like you had a lot of fun! Thanks for the chance to win!" Congratulations, Melissa!! Please email me your glitter pen set choice and your mailing address (using the link under my photo) and Copic will send your bunch of glitter goodness right out to you! * * * * * * * * * * * * * Speaking of Copics ... I recently added some new storage for my Copic markers to my desk and wanted to share it with you: I'm always looking for the perfect storage solution and Studio 3 Solutions came to my rescue! They sent me their new Color Cubbie to try out and I absolutely love them! Company owner, Tami McBeain, is a stamper & papercrafter just like you and me and when she found herself needing some storage for her Copic markers, she took her ideas to her husband (who has been a custom cabinet maker for 27 years!) and the Color Cubbie was born! What... Read more →

Back-to-School Day & PTI

Hello All -- I sent my kiddos off to school this morning and then promptly downloaded the photos I took and somehow a big chunk of the day was taken over with digi-scrapping! :) Here's just one page I created with Shabby Miss Jen Designs' new School Time album. Over the weekend I got a little organizing done and wanted to share how I've been storing buttons ... specifically Papertrey Ink's beautiful buttons! They come packaged in a little zip lock baggie. Since my other buttons were stored on shelves in jars, I decided to give Making Memories' small storage jars for their Embellishment Center a try and much to my delight, Papertrey's package of buttons fit perfectly into these jars! Ahhh, they're all nice and labeled and within easy reach now! Now I'm off to actually try and USE some of those pretty buttons! Read more →

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... Read more →

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... Read more →