Promarker Storage - Finished at Last

Hello all and welcome to my latest followers,
Today,  I want to start by saying a big, big THANK YOU to Anne for her generosity. 
A few weeks ago I mentioned in one of my posts that I needed either a 10/11mm circular punch or the same size in white circular labels.  I desperately needed to mark the ends of my Promarkers with the colour inside to make searching easy when I was colouring and several of you kindly gave me some wonderful ideas and advice, thank you to you all for that.
Well to my delight Anne had found and used some of the labels I needed and most generously sent  me two packs of them. The smaller sized dots I put on the ends of the Promarkers and the larger ones I put into my notebook so I can always see what colours I have when ordering or buying more (Anne gave me that tip too).  Bless you Anne, you really did make me a very happy chickie!  You said they were inexpensive, but to me their value was much greater.  I now had something I had been trying to find for months and you saved me from having to trawl the internet again and again.
Now all my Promarkers are easily identified and tidied away within easy reach, right next to my craft desk.  I made a foamboard storage rack to fit within an old Ikea CD shelf unit next to my desk.   A fab job done and all thanks to the lovely people I keep meeting via crafting.   I love the world of crafting, don't you!!!
Here's the finished Promarkers (I don't have them all yet, but I am trying to buy a couple every month in my craft budget).

Here is how the unit sits next to my main craft desk.  Now all I need to do is sort through my Whisper & Sakura pens and my colouring pencils (below) and that will be another unit tidied.
On the left of that unit you can see my latest acquistion, my mini drawer unit.  It is a fabulous unit with very long drawers that are broken down into three sections with removeable dividers.  I store everything from my long fancy pins, grommets and pearly buttons to metal hinges, tiny brads and eyelets. They all stay in position and because the drawers are wide enough to allow for your fingers to reach in, removal of items is easy peasy!   That's 32 drawers times 3 sections giving a whopping 96 compartments, plus the big bottom drawer; all that for just £8, not bad aye!! (Aldi product).  I just have to label it now.

Well that's another storage solution completed (well two if you count my mini drawers).   I know from your emails that some of you have your own awesome ways of storing your markers etc, maybe you could share them with us today, if you have time.
Before I go, I meant to say in yesterdays post, that I ran out of mount board and as I didn't want to spend money to buy more I decided to recycle again  (which I love to do as often as possible).  Using some card from old cereal boxes etc, I glued four layers together, picture sides inside, and let them dry beneath a couple of heavy plastic storage boxes.  I then used one of my mountboard ribbon cards as a template, cutting them out with my craft knife and a metal edged ruler.  By using several layers with glue between, it gives the card extra strength.
I am going to try and get the competition up tomorrow as long as I get all the work done that is planned for today.  So keep those fingers crossed for me because if I am honest, I am really getting fed up of clearing, cleaning, organising and reorganising.  Don't worry I have been having time to rest; but thats half the problem, my silly back is the reason it is taking so long! Maybe I should just leave it completely for a few days and just craft to cheer myself up a bit.  Then I can get back to it with some renewed gusto.... ummm worth considering me thinks :D 
I hope you all have a productive and enjoyable day today.  Be happy dear blog friends and thank you all again for your warm and wonderful comments, they really do mean the world to me.
Best wishes and Big Hugs Linda xx

Tips For Storing Your Ribbon & Lace

Good morning and welcome to another storage idea post. 
Some weeks ago, while taking pictures of my Die & Rubber stamp storage I took some pictures of my latest idea for my ribbons & lace too.   For some unknown reason I didn't put them up on the blog to share with you at that time, so I've decided to carry on today where I left off.

I don't know about you but I started to buy more and more of my ribbon in full spools, especially the plain, unpatterned ones, as I found I could get it much cheaper than when buying by the metre.  Of course in the beginning a few spools here and there didn't really cause a problem, but as time went on the number of spools grew and the mess became a real bother.   My first solution, in my old craftroom, was to have a narrow metal curtain pole put up, suspended from underneath the base shelf on the wall directly in front of me at my craft desk.  This worked out really well and was perfect until I moved to the bigger craftroom.  In my new room I slightly redesigned the layout around my main craft desk and filled the space beneath my new shelves with miniature draw units and utility boxes.   Now what to do with my ribbons? (which by the way were all still on the extendable curtain pole, stood in the corner of the room; ribbons slowly curling themselves off the spools.)
Well thanks to a clever lady on 'Pinterest' I found an idea that I modified a little and I created a drawer of carded ribbons and lace (I am so sorry but I cannot find the link to the originator, if I do find it in the future I promise to add it so she receives the credit due).

To the right of my main craft desk I have a smaller, narrower desk running along the wall under the window.  Under this I have a set of three plastic drawers that take 12x12 paper easily and they worked out perfect for my ribbons etc.  I have used some foamboard to section off the drawers.  Unfotunately I didn't glue the sectioners into place before I took the photograph so they have moved slightly and look a little messy.  Nevermind it still gives you the overall effect.  Now to the storage cards themselves.
A few years ago  I owned a Wedding Stationers which I ran from my home.  I loved it.  It was my dream come true!  Unfortunately, as my health deteriorated much quicker than I expected, I could no longer cope with the hours of work required for a successful business and so I had to cease trading.  After my spinal surgery I was told I would never be able to work again;  then I started the business and it looked like my life was not over after all.  Then another blow, this was the final time I would ever work and it had come to an end.  The only advantage was that it left me with lots of cardstock, including mount board. 
First I sectioned the drawer with the foamboard and then set about cutting up the mount board to fit within the sections.  I had some oddments that were alot smaller, but I didn't waste them I cut them to shape and used them for the smaller reels of ribbon (as pictured here with the blue organza).

 For some of the larger lengths I cut the cards with the indents on the opposite sides (as pictured above with the ivory lace).

 Shorter lengths and narrower ribbons were easily accomodated on one card, the same idea working for oddments of one type also.

On this card I have lengths of faux suede (it's beautifully fine and delicate). They measure approximately 1inch wide by 12-14inches in length.   I wonder if you could possibly guess where I got it from?  I'll give you a clue, it's another upcycle.    Well, I'll tell you.  It started life stuck onto the plastic shell of an uplighter shade in my bedroom.  I have wanted to change it for a while now and when I did, eventually take it down I thought about just ripping off the fabric and recycling the actual shade.  However, on close inspection of the fabric as I started to pull it away from the shade, I realised it was so fine that it would make lovely ribbon.  It is so soft and flexible that it folds into pleats like a dream and ruches up easily to make really pretty flowers.  What a find, don't you just love it when you can find something so special and it cost you nothing at all!!

Thats another storage idea finished at long last.   I am just sorry that I didn't get it done sooner for you, but better late than never, that's what they say (whoever they are...LOL!).
Have a great day and keep smiling.   Linda xx





 

Storage idea

Morning all,
I hope you have all had a good weekend.  It has rained all weekend where we are in S. Wales, UK, but at least we have not had floods as some poor people have.  My heart goes out to them all, it must be devastating.
I would like to thank everyone again for the lovely comments for my Butterflies Challenge card, I was very nervous about entering it into challenges, but I am glad I have, at last, had a go.

Today I have the last of my storage ideas to share with you.  Lots of pictures that I hope will give you some inspiration.
I acquired a set of filing drawers when my sister moved back to Canada and it has been such a bonus in my craft room.  To go inside I purchased a bulk pack of the hanging (suspension) files and started sorting through my boxes.

When my craftroom was set up I had the drawers put under my main desk so they sat right next to my legs.  This allows for easy access.






In each of the files I keep alot of the items I would like to grab quickly to help with my creating or finishing on my cards etc.

Here I have my acetate pieces from my Spellbinders packaging, plain cds for altering, doeflex and spare acetate.

 


I also store my craft sheets, cutting mats for my diecutting machines, sticky adhesive sheets and wax sheets etc





 A large cardboard backed plastic wallet holds A4 magnetic sheets for all my border dies and Grand die.
There are some new Cricut cutting mats here too.

(Sorry about this blurred picture, I think I had the shakes taking it.)



Thickers, rubs on and adhesive alphabets are all kept here too.  I can add them to a project quickly, without having to get up and go hunting around for them.

The last picture I have for you is the file for my fabrics that I use for flowers etc.   They include wool felt, paper backed felt, hessian (burlap), metallic mesh, thin leather etc.





The bottom drawer of the two is kept for storing the papers from my CDs etc.  A few year ago, I found two expandable files in the sale and that was how I first stored all my papers.  When I had my craftroom done I was going to get rid of them but I found they fitted well into these drawers and so I kept them.  Now all the papers I print go in here.



There are approx 10 more files in the drawers that I didn't show.  I just wanted to give you some ideas of the things that store well in hanging files and show you how easy it makes it to have them very close at hand.
I hope that some of you have been able to find something of help within my storage ideas.
I don't have fancy cupboards or coordinating fitments but my area has been designed to be fairly inexpensive, easily accessible and space saving.
Well that's it for now, except for the usual Monday Quotation, it is one that I had to learn early in my life and have tried to live by since (not always successfully, but I try!!)

Have patience with all things, 

but chiefly have patience with yourself.   

(Francis de Salle)

I hope you all have a great start to the week.    Hugs Linda xx

Want to reuse your Spellbinder Die packets etc

I don't know about you, but I hate buying new Spellbinders and filling the bin with all that plastic without trying to find at least one use for it.
Well, here are a few uses that I love and would like to share with you, if you're interested hang in there I will get to them once I have explained my stamp storage first.
Here are some of my stamp boxes; they are the same type as my Spellbinders storage box, I just haven't gotten around to covering them yet.

In the first box above, I have used some old but strong beige card as dividers, keeping stamps of the same ilk together eg. Animals, Borders & Corners, Butterflies & Insects, Christmas, Girlie, etc etc.  They are all in alphabetical order too (as I am sure you spotted) as this makes searching alot easier and faster too.  I originally started off with a small box (as with the Spellbinder dies I showed the other day) and each of the divider cards had tabs too.  However, I had to move them all into bigger boxes and I have not had the time to cut the card and label them accordingly yet.  I hope to get to that in the next few weeks.

I haven't made dividers for the second box as there are only a small mix of stamps in here.  On the right of the box are my Kanban and LOTV stamps and they are all stored in plastic CD wallets as they are see through and easy to spot (just like my Spellbinders).  On the left I have my small collection of old, but very useful, See D's stamp sets, with my La Blanche foam stamps and a tin of Fancy Alphabet stamps behind.   Both boxes have a thick cardboard divider down the middle of the box to keep them all separated.

One other thing I like to do to make searching easier, especially with LOTV stamps and any other stamps that come without a printed cover sheet, is to put a card in the CD sleeve on which I stamp the image of the stamp contained within.

Now to my recycling bit of this storage idea.

Have you ever bought any of the Creative Expression stamp plates, or perhaps Sheena Douglas stamps etc?  Well you have to cut them up and, if you fancy it, put them onto U Mount foam too (personally I don't bother as I like to use a foam pad beneath my work when I stamp).  Then you have the problem of  where to store them. Well I used to use up my good quality Acetate to stick my stamps on, until one day I was opening a new delivery of Spellbinder dies and this idea hit me. It may not be overly pretty or fancy but it is free, strong and easy to do.

First cut up all your Spellbinder packages just inside the rim so that you have large flat pieces of the plastic.  I use scissors to roughly cut them up and then put each piece onto my guilotine and cut them squarely.  These I then store in a plastic bag ready for use. I will show you tomorrow where I store these (my next set of storage tips).

Ok, well the first use of these sheets of strong acetate is for storing your stamps on.  If I am storing a full sheet of Creative Expression stamps I put clear glue onto one piece and use it to glue two others side by side to form a large sheet and then cut it to the right size after it is dry.  As I don't use U Mount foam which has a cling backing, I apply an even spray of repositionable adhesive to the backs of all the stamps in an old box, let them dry for 20 secs and then place them onto the acetate until I need them.  This sheet and the printed coversheet is then cut to size to fit inside one of the A5 plastic card protectors we use. It makes it easy to store and easy to find too.

Now to the final uses for these recycled sheets.   Having these sheets stored closeby (you'll see tomorrow!!)  I can just reach in and cut off a piece large enough to use when gluing.
I love to use strong, thick glue for my flowers and many other embellishments so that I know they will not fall off.  I find it much easier to squeeze out a small amount onto my piece of plastic
and then use my flat ended pokey tool to apply the glue to the item.  This can now be thrown away when finished with and another small piece cut off you start gluing the next time.

By the way, while we are on to glues, for anyone new to cardmaking I have a wonderful tip for you.  Don't bother with photo glue, it doesn't last and after couple of weeks the items can start to lift and even fall off.  I use the following two glues and have never, as yet, had anything come loose:-

The clear, Collall glue is wonderful for all your card/paper gluing and the Incredibly Tacky (as good, if not better than Creative Expressions PVA glue) is perfect and very, very strong for bows, flowers and even metal embellishments.  I get mine from Wild Orchid Crafts.  A couple of  things to stress, keep your Tacky glue upside down because it is so thick it is hard to squeeze out.  I cut off a little of the top and use a 1cm piece of a wooden bbq skewer to fill the hole and stop any leakages.
Thank you to Bev Rochester of 'All the things I love' for introducing me to these wonderful glues.  Bev transfers some of her 'Tacky' glue to a little airtight tub to make using it easier.  I tried it myself but the last bit dried out after constantly being opened and shut with usage.

The last tip for these fab sheets of acetate is for dimensional flowers (sorry no photo for this, I forgot to do some).  Basically they can be used to make flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, wings etc.  They can be coloured with your alcohol inks, promarkers etc exactly the same as acetate and I have also managed to shape them by using a little heat from a heat gun and then bending and shaping around my fingers or with an embossing tool on a foam mat.  Just be very careful not to overheat and melt them please.
Ok, phew.........., that was one long and rambling post today, sorry about that.  I hope you will excuse my appalling prose today, I am so tired (it's now 6.10am) and my brain is half asleep.  I do hope you have managed to find something of interest here today, if not, maybe it has just inspired you to look at your packages in a different way.  Either would make me very happy.
Take care and I will see you very soon.  Another storage idea tomorrow and possible a card if I can get some sleep soon.  Big hugs Linda xx

Storage

Hi again
This is unlike me isn't it, two posts in one day?  I am beginning to wonder if I am feeling okay.....lol.
This is just a very quick post to show you my storage solution for my Spellbinder and other dies.
I like to keep my dies on a piece of magnetic sheet in a plastic cd wallet so they are easy to find and easy to store.
At the back you can see that I am also able to store my masks and all my long Sizzix dies in here too. (Plus I have a few pads that I made using my Bind-it-All machine and old scraps of paper.) 

Each of the wallets has a description card included that shows the die number and manufacturers name for that die set.  Each card is cut so that they index, which makes searching through them alot easier.  I originally started out with colour codes, for example the blue tabs were for foliage & flower dies etc, silver tabs were for all the Labels die sets and the red tabs were for all the fancy shapes and tags.  Then unfortunately I ran out of some colours and so I had to use any colours I had left with any new sets I bought.

Each wallet has the dies on a magnetic sheet, the tab card and also a precut of all the dies in that set.  This allows me to play around with the shapes and design layouts before I begin the actual project diecutting and then, ultimately, I make less mistakes.  This also allows me to come up with different ways of mixing and matching the dies, creating some new and fancy shapes in the process.

For me this has been the best way to store all my dies as it is cheap, easy and space saving.  When I had less dies I used the smaller of the two boxes and then moved them over when it got too full. (Sorry about this picture it is an old one of my die box, before I had the light tent and better camera.)

The plastic CD wallets were 50 in a pack for under £3 and the boxes were £2 for the small narrow one and £2.50 for the larger one (all from Wilkinson).  In all, the storage in the bigger box was just £8.50 (I had to have two lots of CD wallets).  The smaller box is now storing other crafting items, so all in all a very inexpensive way to keep your expensive dies safe and sound!!
Well that's it folks. I hope that this is of help to someone looking for a way to store their dies.
Take care.  I'll see you tomorrow with another card, thanks for stopping by.
Hugs Linda xx