Ink It Up! with Jessica Taylor

Want to See My Stamp Room?

Take a video tour of my Stamp Room! 

Warning: It doesn't look as clean in the video as it does in this picture!

 

National Get Organized Week October 4-11, 2011

It's National Get Organized Week and it's a great time to get your craft room organized before you begin all of your holiday projects. 

What's your biggest trouble spot?  What craft supplies do you most need to organize?  How would it feel to walk into your stamping area and see a clear spot to create in and know where all your supplies are?

We're talking about it over on the Ink It Up! with Jessica Facebook Page, so come on over and join us!

 

Craft Supply Organization: Paper Shelf

I know that I've posted about my fabulous paper storage shelf before, but I've had a lot of questions about it recently.  It seems that the link to the directions no longer works because my husband posted them on another site.

So, if you are handy or have someone that is, here are the plans for building a paper shelf like the one you see here.

Materials:

For Frame:
¾” x 12” shelving material, Compressed wood recommended, usually white or woodgrain

            (2) 9’ lengths, holes pre-drilled on one side

            (2) 9’ lengths, holes drilled on both sides

            (1) 4’ length, solid

For shelves:
1/8” thick, 2’ x 4’ sheets of compressed wood

Shelf clips - need them as flat as possible to take up minimal space. I recommend Knape & Vogt spoon clips, Product # SP12426, can be ordered at most hardware stores in bulk.  You'll need 4 for each shelf.

Fasteners:

(30) 2” wood screws or drywall screws

(1) 2” metal “L” bracket -for anchoring to wall for tip protection.

Tools:

Circular saw or table saw.

Drill

Screwdriver (power drill/driver recommended)

 

Instructions for frame:

1. BEFORE cutting the 9’ pieces of pre-drilled shelving material to length, lay all (4) pieces out on the floor to make sure that you orient the pre-drilled holes BEFORE cutting these pieces. The pre-drilled holes MUST line up for the finished shelves to be level. You can use the bottom factory edge as a starting point for the (2) middle sections with holes on both sides. (save the cut ends for inner shelves)
2. Cut the 4’ piece of solid material down to 3’ for the top.
3. Cut the left over pieces of the vertical supports for use as inner shelves. Need to cut (5) 12” wide pieces and (1) 9” wide piece.
4. Lay out the vertical supports and the top plate as shown on the plans. Drill 2 holes per vertical support in the top plate, 1” in from front and back edge (using a drill bit slightly smaller than the screws you have selected) at the specified distances for the shelf widths.
5. Attach all (4) vertical supports to the top using 2” wood screws or drywall screws. (Gluing all connections before you screw them together will add some extra rigidity)
6. Attach the 3 bottom supports as shown on the plan. Pre-drill and use 4 screws for each of the 3  bottom support pieces. Notice that the middle support is ¾” lower than the others so you can get screws in both sides of all 3 bottom support pieces.
7. Attach the inner shelves at dimensions per plan(optional) using 4 screws per shelf.

 

Instructions for paper cardstock shelves:

1. Determine the number of 12” cardstock shelves you want. Each 2’ x 4’ sheet of material can produce (8) 12” shelves.
2. Cut each 2’x4’ sheet per plan to produce the required amount of 12” cardstock shelves.
3. Determine the number of 9” cardstock shelves you want. Each 2’ x 4’ sheet of material can produce (10) 9” shelves.
4. Cut each 2’x4’ sheet per plan to produce the required amount of 9” cardstock shelves.

 

Instructions for installing shelves:

1. Install shelf clips in all pre-drilled holes that you will be installing cardstock shelves for. 
2. Slide shelves into place, seating them on all four shelf clips for each shelf.

 

Safety requirements:

The completed unit is very heavy, which requires this to be anchored to the wall to prevent accidental tipping over, which could result in serious injury or death. Several methods work well. The easiest would be a metal L bracket, anchored to a wall stud and screwed to one of the vertical supports, somewhere on the upper 1/3 portion of the unit. This can be done before the cardstock shelves are set in place and it will not be visible when the shelves are in place.

 

So there you have it.  It's all greek to me, but if you have questions, email me at jessica@inkitupwithjessica.com and I will ask my husband. 

 

Craft Supply Organization: The Craft Palace

Yesterday I went to visit my friend Anne at her Craft Palace.  We had a great time stamping, sharing My Digital Studio projects and cutting out fabric with the Big Shot.  Before I left, Anne let me take some pictures to share with you.  Hope you get some great ideas on how to organize your craft space!

 

Anne's got a long wall of shelves and countertop work space.  Love it!

 

Colorful photo boxes hold a variety of smaller embellishments, plus she has empty ones to grow into.  Two ways to store ribbon - on a wire rack and strung on wooden dowels.  Lighting under the bottom shelf brightens up the counter top work area.

 

Punch Storage Idea - metal bars hold the punches in place.

 

Spray bottles and ink refills stored in a photo box.

 

Card stock stored on a paper shelf.

 

Markers, paint brushes and scissors stored in buckets and pots.

(Just a note on marker storage - if you have markers with 2 ends, they are best stored flat so that both ends remain well inked.)

 

A Craft Table perfect for card making!

 

A wheeled set of drawers from IKEA...

Pefect for storing ink pads, sponges, and other tools.

 

Stamp Set Storage: In wire rack wall shelves

 

and more on a shelf in the closet.

 

Doesn't Anne have a wonderful setup!  Craft Palace, indeed.  Please leave a comment thanking Anne for sharing her craft room with us.

 

 

Craft Supply Organization: Punches

Before Stampin' Up! changed their punch style, I was thrilled with how my punches were stored. (Click here to see a photo of my "old style" punch organizer.)  When I can see all of the punches in front of me, I use them a lot more.

I do like the new design of the punches, but I still haven't figured out how to store them.  Rachel Brooks sent me the following photos of how she is storing her new style punches...

This paper sorter was purchased at Staples and is perfect for storing the border punches.

The Extra-Large size punches fit in a Medium Big Shot Die Storage Box.

Thank you Rachel for sharing these storage ideas with us!  If you have tips for craft supply organization, please email me at jessica@inkitupwithjessica.com. 

Craft Supply Organization: Paper Scraps Part Two

Last month I asked you how you store your paper scraps.  Thank you to everyone that shared!  For the rest of you, here are some ideas to help you tame your paper scraps...

Tammy - I have big freezer baggies that I store my scrap papers in. I usually don't keep anything smaller than a 3x3 size. Otherwise it goes into the baggie. So I would have a baggie for card stock scraps in every color and then a separate baggie for the patterned paper. Then all of these go into a big bin so that they are easy to find!

Lori - My storage is similar to Tammy. I store my scraps in page protectors, then I store those in Paper Holders by Color Groups. This works for DSP also (I only keep scraps of current papers). My 12 x 12 strips stick out the top, but are so helpful for scrapbook page borders. I bring these along to workshops and classes so that customers can pull out scraps for punching, etc. They all rave "how organized I am". It is very easy to keep organized, as soon as I am done cutting or punching I pick up my scraps and put them in the correct page protectors. Then it is super easy to find the color you need!

Kerry - You know those small plastic 3 drawer storage thing-a-ma-jigs?? I think they're 9x12 in size...anyway, I have 3 of those, and each drawer holds the color families, one for the current In Colors, one designated for next years In Colors, plus one for Vanilla and White scraps, and one for DSP. So when I am looking for a certain color, all I have to do is open the little drawer and see if there are any scraps in the color I need!

Ginny - I have them all in a plastic envelope. I just loaned that to a niece for scrapbooking.

Rachel - I have a file folder for each main color, one for metallics, one for patterned and keep them in my desk file drawer.  I can whip open the drawer, find the size scrap I need for a punch, a trim, etc. and find it works well.  I have another folder for what I call "SMALL SCRAPS" - those I can't bear to toss, but are really small.  This system has worked well for me for several years."

Amanda - I keep all my Stampin' Up! Cardstock in hanging file folders - both 8 1/2 x 11 and 12 x 12. All the scraps for those papers are in the folders just in the front of the full sheets. For NON- SU paper that my CS hang in I only keep scraps that are larger than 4 x 6. The ones that are 11 or 12 inches still will go back with the original paper in a paper file, the smaller ones are in a container similar to yours in color file folders by color.

Thanks for the tips ladies! I have an idea of what I am going to do to organize my paper scraps, so once I get them sorted I'll let you know how I tamed my paper scraps.

Craft Supply Organization seems to be a hot topic, so leave a comment telling us what craft supplies are giving you the most trouble and I'll help you get them organized.

 

Craft Supply Organization: Paper Scraps

Okay, it's confession time for me.  In general I am very organized, but when it comes to paper scraps I am a mess!

 

I throw all my paper scraps smaller than a quarter sheet into this bin.  As you can see, it is overflowing.  I find myself cutting into a full sheet of card stock before digging through this bin for the color I need.  Occasionally I tip the whole bin into the trash and start over.  Gasp!!

So this is where you can help me... 

How do you store your paper scraps?

Please leave a comment on this post with your paper scrap storage tips/ideas!

Craft Supply Organization: Paper Storage Ideas

Over on my Facebook Page, I asked what your biggest organizational challenges were with your craft supplies.  Connie said that her biggest problem was her paper, and Norma said that organizing in a 1 bedroom apartment was challenging.

If you are blessed with a full craft room like I am, you might want to go with a paper shelf like this.  My crafty husband built this for me and has graciously provided directions for you, if you have a handy man around.

If you are not quite the paper hoarder that I am, you can create a scaled-down version of this paper shelf to fit your needs and your space.

Paper Storage Tip: However you decide to store your paper, keep it out of direct sunlight!  Paper will fade over time.

If you have a small area to store your craft supplies in like Norma, you may want to store your paper in a paper holder.  These are great if you have a bookshelf designated for your supplies.

Vertical storage protects your paper and makes it clearly visible so you can organize by color or style. These holders protect the corners of your paper from bending and hold up to 200 sheets of card stock each.  Made out of polypropylene, they are archival safe.  Dividers are also available to sort your paper.

If you like your paper ready to grab and go, you might like to store it in Craft Keepers.  These polypropylene envelopes are perfect for storing all your paper, or individual projects.  

If you have questions about storing your paper, or would like to order Paper Holders or Craft Keepers for storage, please email me at jessica@inkitupwithjessica.com.