5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash 2018 – Stencils, Embellishments, and Tools
Over the course of the past few days, we’ve covered organization tips for inks, stamps, Die-namics, and paper storage. What’s left? Stencils, embellishments, and all of the various tools that are essential to achieving your favorite techniques. It’s no small feat trying to optimize space while keeping a variety of sometimes oddly-shaped supplies and tools accessible but our team has some great ideas for you!
Let’s start by taking a look at a couple of areas of Julie’s space — you’ll find lots of great ideas for displaying your collection in a way that is appealing and accessible…the best of both worlds! Clear storage bins and large jars provide for portability and visibility. You can also see a peek of the card stock storage we featured yesterday.
This longer shot shows her ink and Copic storage, and in the background you can see her set up for taking photographs of her projects.
Take a look inside one of her clear storage units and you’ll find a variety of embellishments — this one holds all of her MFT shaker pouches.
Speaking of shaker pouches, Stephanie keeps hers in labeled pockets in a drawer along with a selection of coordinating dimensional embellishments like mazes and filler options.
Inge keeps her stencils within reach and easy to flip through by slipping them into 6″ x 6″ page protectors. Adding binder rings keeps the collection contained.
A clear bin holds Barbara’s stencils as well as a variety of compatible products like texture and modeling pastes. If pulling out a multitude of products dampens your desire to experiment with messier techniques, storing like products together may encourage you to play more!
Ink blending is a versatile technique but figuring out how to manage your tools is a cumbersome affair. Amy keeps her pads, sorted in color families, in a clear, lidded plastic container. Small daubers and blending tools are held in the same drawer.
Keeway has a fantastic tiered storage solution for her blending tools. You can see on the front right tool that she’s labeled them with the corresponding ink color.
Taking labeling a step further, Stephanie has labeled the top of her blending tool handles with the color name but has color coded them as well to help her narrow her search even more quickly! Her divided storage keeps the tools neat and compartmentalized.
A pegboard creates fantastic opportunities for organizing a variety of supplies. The ability to rearrange the pegs and to store things vertically is the ultimate space saver. Keeway stores indispensable tools — scissors, adhesive, and her scoring and stamp positioning tools readily accessible in this way. Pegboard accessories like compartmentalized trays allow you to store your most-used embellishments within arm’s reach too.
Another option for embellishment storage is a rolling cart like Debbie’s. Designating and labeling each drawer allows you to aggregate similar products together and a cart like this gives you the ability to remove the drawer completely to make it even easier to peruse the products to find just the right solution for your design needs.
With the introduction of our cross-stitch products, you may find that your assortment of embroidery floss is multiplying. Julie has her collection neatly wound and labeled on plastic bobbins and arranged (in rainbow order, natch!) in a storage box.
Are you a heat-embossing fanatic? Stephanie’s collection of embossing powders are carefully stored in secure containers with a designated spoon tucked into each. A label on each identifies the color and manufacturer to make it easy to restock as necessary.
Vika demonstrates that repurposing pretty packaging is a great way to store and display collections of supplies. The next time you receive a sweet little gift bag, consider how you can use it in your own space to store treasured embellishments.
Phew — what an incredible amount of information! We certainly hope the past five days have provided valuable ideas for getting your stash under control. If you use any ideas our designers have shared, or have some great ideas not mentioned, tag #mftstamps to share! We’re always on the lookout for inspiring new ideas.
