Hi Crafting Friends! I hope you had some time to spend this week crafting. I was a busy bee getting prepared for the Carbon Valley Holiday Market Online event that started yesterday. I created my shopify shop for my handmade cards, gift bags/boxes/tags and 2020 Calendars. I just ran out of time getting gift tags and variations of my gift bags posted. Check back weekly for new items that I will be adding to the store. I am excited that I got another item of my to do/learning list checked off! The craft fair will run from 11/14 - 12/13. Please stop by my shop at: Bonnie Hershfeldt's store and shop the other vendors at: Carbon Valley Holiday Marketplace. Thank you in advance for supporting local Frederick, CO vendors. Bummer, while updating my website, I somehow managed to delete my entire top menu and Google's Blogger function is not working so I was unable to put it back up. Please look at the right hand sidebar to find items that were previously accessed by using the top menu.
Lynn Dosch, one of my crafting friends in Wisconsin, recently asked me about how I organize some of crafting supplies. This Blog is dedicated to Lynn and I'm hopeful that you will all share your organizing techniques in the comments section of the Blog. I would love to hear from all on how you manage to keep things organized in order to find what you are looking for when your project calls from something from your stash. I've crafted in Lynn's wonderful crafting room where she has everything very well organized. I wished that I had a finished crafting area - mine is in my unfinished basement. We were fortunate that our builder put up the "diaper" walls and dry walled the ceiling. I've filled numerous purchased book shelves and hubby built me some very large shelves of plain old plywood. I have a crafting table with chairs, a tv on the wall, etc. I dream of the uber organized IKEA craft rooms that I've seen other crafters have - maybe someday... But for now this works for me. I have good lighting and a quiet place that I can retreat too - and that's what's important!
Paper Storage
I use Totally Tiffany's Paper Junkie - Paper Storage boxes. They come in a set of 5. I set them on their large spines and then slide my paper in.
When I get a new stamp set, I take it straight to my printer and make a copy of the front. I then put this into a sheet protector and file it alphabetically in my Stampin' Up! Stamp Set Binder. If the stamp set is retired, I place a red sticker on the sheet and then weed out when I pull from my shelf. If the stamp set has a coordinating die set, I write the name of the coordinating dies set at the top of the sheet before I file it. I used to place the die's inside the stamp set DVD case, but I found that I wasn't using my dies for other projects so they have their own organizational product coming up next.
For my Die Sets, I use the Tonic Medium Magnetic 3 ring binders. I file the die sets alphabetically and label the outside of the binder as Stampin' Up! A - I, J - R, S - W. I have more die sets from Stampin' Up! than other vendors. My other vendor products I have filed alphabetically by type, Seasonal in one book, borders/frames in one book, etc. I've used this for three years now and really have liked them. However, I'm finding that when a die is retired and I would like to sell/pass on, I didn't keep the original packaging. The other issue is, the binder and extra magnetic sheet refills are getting more difficult to find. So I'm rethinking this product in the future. I use my label maker and make two labels: one for the book, and one for a laminated sheet with dies cut. I place the label for the book on the outside of the protector sheet. I find that when I need to re-alphabetize, I can peel them off fairly easily and reuse.
Stampin' Up! Blenders Storage
I love my Stampin' Up! Alcohol Blenders. I have all of the colors available, which is more than enough for me. I loved the Copic markers, but so many to choose from and I had such an issue in finding the right color combinations. The Stampin' Up Blenders coordinate with all of their product line so it took out a lot of the guess work for me. Stampin' Up! has organizers specially made for them. Add a top that will hold ink refills for the ink pads.
The Paper Pumpkin December kit is going to be another great one! Bears!!! I love bears - cuddly teddy bears are the best! Deadline for ordering this adorable kit is December 10. The kit includes enough supplies to create 12 cute and cuddly bear-themed cards. The kit also includes 12 coordinating envelopes.. It offers a warm way to send a socially-distanced bear hug to friends and family, near or far. New subscribers will adore the easy opportunity to reach out to their loved ones in need of extra encouragement after a beary tough year! Paper pumpkin kits are a fun way to spend time with your friends crafting together. Split the kit between 3 friends and you each will have 4 cards. You can order from my online shopping page by selecting Kits > Subscriptions and then choose the 1 month subscription.
Please remember to use the November Host Code when ordering - SFDZF3VN.
Watch next week's blog for upcoming workshops for Christmas tag and bags to make for Christmas wrapping and a mini brag book.
Have a fabulous week and Keep on Crafting!
Thanks so much for sharing your organization. My craft room is undergoing yet another organization - staying on top of all the new crafting things is difficult for me. We share many organization tools. I'll try to get some pictures to share later this morning. I have recently pulled all my Stampin' Up stamp sets and dies out of my storage drawers and have them alphabetically arranged on shelves next to one of my work areas. My Club Scrap stamps are all in my file drawers in alpha order. And I've purged my drawers organized by calendar (Halloween, Christmas, etc), theme, and design elements) These sets from various vendors are stored in Avery clear plastic 4x6 envelopes, labeled (where known, lol) by designer and name. My dies and punches need work as they are all intermingled with the stamp sets. Dies are stored in blank dvd boxes on magnetic pages. You can buy the type that peel and stick, the exact same size of the DVD box, but they are pricey. I just bought magnetic sheets (from Home Depot, I think, heat register covers, I believe) and cut them to size. Very inexpensive. Bonnie, you have inspired me to get back to work and get stuff put away. One further question: How do you store your ribbons? Spools are in a Tiffany organizer, but I have TONS of loose ribbons which are currently stuffed into zip lock bags by color, then shoved into a shoe organizer hanging on a closet door. There must be a better way! Love your craft room and it sounds perfect. One day will visit to see it in person.
ReplyDeleteGlad to provide inspiration! I hope that you get to spend sometime crafting between reorganizing - especially if you find a hidden gem that is crying to be used. Ribbons: I had hubby hang me some dowels on a wall and I have all my spools there. I did get a new cart that is near my crafting table that has holders that hang on the side where I store my newest ribbon. Scrap ribbons are a challenge for me too. I have a drawer where I store the scraps. I find myself not looking for them though... If they are a longer scrap I thread them over my dowels. I'll watch out for some inspiration for both of us on ribbon storage! I hope to see you soon so we can craft together again!
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