Mission Organization: Ink Pads

Howdy!
I'm sooo excited I just have to share!  My last post shows the card I made to participate in Papertrey Ink blog hop.  A random number generator picked 3 lucky winners from the 131 participants.  Guess what I was one of those lucky winners!  I get to pick out one free PTI stamp set of my choice!  Woo Hoo!

Okay now back to the next topic in my mission organization series:  Ink Pads.  Stamping has been one of those hobbies that comes and goes for me.  About 6 years ago (I think) I discovered the joy of  manual die cuts and paper pieicing and thus I started to neglect my stamps.  So I ended up selling all of them.  Then Copic markers came out and once again my passion for stamping was ignited.  I have started collecting again but I really don't have a lot of stamp pads.  Nevertheless I know some of you have all sorts of colors and types so I will try my best to help you organize your stash of ink!

Once again you must view my metal shelving unit since that is where my ink pad are stored.  Note:  Click on photos view them larger.

Sorry I should have moved those black "things" so you can better see my ink storage. I'll go over what those black things are at a later date. It took me several trips but I finally came across this old wooden cassette tape holder at the Good Will store. I just knew it would be perfect to store my large ink pads in!  See it is quite empty...plenty of room for more!  I am thinking of trying PTI's new ink pads.   I have mostly distress inks. I made labels with a label maker and smeared some ink across the label so I can easily see which color I need. I considered storing them upside down but noticed Tim Holtz doesn't store them that way..surely he knows the best way to store his ink! I keep the corresponding foam pad right next to the ink on the same shelf.  The other ink pads on there are a white and black pigment ink pad, memento black and embossing pad. 

I thought long and hard about which type of ink pads to purchase since I wanted something that would work well with my rubber, clear stamps and also with my Copics. So that is why I decided to go with the Memento Dew Drops. This way I could get lots of colors for a very cheap price. I might get the full sized pads of the colors I use most often. For the others I will get reinkers.   I love the cat's eye fluid chalk for inking edges but they are too soft for stamping most of the time.  These are stored in another little treasure I found at the Good Will for a couple bucks.  I'm not sure what it was used for originally but it's great for all kinds of crafting items.  It kinda reminds me of a printer's tray.  This sits behind my desk and all I have to do is swivel my chair to grab these items.  Patter Cross had a brilliant idea to take a small stamped image and attach it to the back of the stamp pad so you know what color each pad is at first glance.  So..I copied off of her and it is working quite well for me!

Items needed for my Ink Pad storage system:

Wooden cassette tape holder with sectioned slots for large ink pads

Wooden tray with sectioned slots for small ink pads (printer's tray would work great)

I have to say I was greatly disappointed in my search to find frugal DIY ink pad storage options.  I did find a handful of ideas which I will share with you in a few seconds.  There are however lots of wonderful premade holders if you have the money.  Simply google ink pad storage and you'll find several lovely units and some even store markers too.  

 

Isn't that wooden ink pad holder just wonderful! Well if you are at all handy...Amanda has a step by step tutorial telling you how to make your own. Check it out here.

Okay so you say you don't have any power tools. No problem! Karen made the fabulous ink pad holder above using foam board. Check out her step by step tut here.

If you are looking for a portable way to store your ink pads..check out Heather's storage idea. She took a plastic container and made "shelves" within the container to store her inks on. Check out the deets here.

If you have wall or door space the above idea is for you. Sandi used a hanging jewelry organizer for her inks. Check out more info here.

Above is another option from Rosita if you have spare wall space. She used a CD/DVD storage rack to store her distress inks. For more info click here.

Christie Hund had a wonderful idea of storing small ink pads in cigar boxes. She decorated them up to match her craft room! Brilliant! For a video tut on how to do your own click here.

This isn't exactly DIY but I thought it was too unique not to share. Unhinged Creative sells these. They come with lids for traveling. They also have Cat's Eye fluid chalk and Stickles storage containers too. Click here to see their store.

Many of us have numerous foam pads for each color of distress ink but don't necessarily have lots of handles to store them on. So therefore the dilemma comes with how to store each foam pad so they don't get mixed up. You can put a piece of velcro on the back of the ink pad but then the pads don't sit nice.

I love Becca's solution..she simply placed each pad in it's own bag and hung them on a ring. Check out more info here.

Britta Swiderski had a great idea to print out a poster to store the foams on using velcro. She even included the chart for us to download. Click here for a video depicting her distress ink storage and also more info on the chart.

Okay so that's ink pad storage in a nutshell.  I hope this helped you figure out how to organize your ink pad stash so you can make the most out of your stamps.  Please check back on Monday for the next organizational post.

Before I go I have to share a fun little thing Adoree said to me today.  See I told her I needed to make some Valentine cards.  She told me that she couldn't make any.  I asked her why and she told me she didn't have any Valentine embellishments!  Okay so she is only 4 so I'm wondering if she knows what embellishments are.  I didn't need to ask because she proceeded to tell me that she calls the things she puts on her cards embellishments.  Ha...too funny and soo smart!  Yep..she'll be scrapbooking her own pages before too long!

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't be a stranger and come around again okay!  Have a fab week!  Hopefully, I'll have some Valentine's to share with you soon!

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Papertrey Ink Jan 2012 blog hop

Woo Hoo!  I did it I created a card within a couple hours and am making the deadline.  Okay now that I am done patting myself on the back I will tell you more about this challenge.  PTI wanted us to pick our favorite project and also CASE ourselves by copying something from that project into a new project.  So...here a greeting card I did in July of last year.

See the original post here.

And here is the card I made today:

I used my Card Base 4 file for both cards.  The only thing I changed are the focal stamp and the papers yet these cards look entirely different!  I can't really say which one I like better actually!

Let's see:
Papertrey Products used:
Let Freedom Ring (sentiment)
Round and Round anniversary set focal image
Mat Stack 2 and coordinating die

I used Cosmo Cricket's early bird digital papers.  It was nice because I could scale the digital papers to the size I wanted before printing.  Inking the edges with some distress ink gave the papers a more store bought look.  I added some Stickles to the berries.  Oh and the brown scallop circle came from my Card base 5 file..I just resized it smaller to fit behind the mat stack 2 die.  (Thanks for the tip Sandra to cut enough pieces for two duplicate cards...I remembered to do that this time...so all I have to do is assemble the other one to have a completed card in minutes!)  Bakers twine, dew drops, and a jewel are the finishing touches.

If you would like to purchase my file so you can see for yourself how versatile this layout is please click on the previews below.

Before you go I'd like to share with you a elegant tea holder Creative design team member Joahnne made using my tea caddy file.

This is what Johanne had to say about her splendid creation: "I made the cutting file for the swirl getting inspiration from a stamp which I don't have the name. For the base of the box I used Langton watercolor - aquarelle 140lb paper. It cut great and was very strong to support this project. Also it comes in 16 X 12 inches which gives more space to work than many other paper. I covered it with Timepiece Dot from BoBunny and inked each joint with burgundy ink."

If you would like to purchase my tea caddy file please click on the preview below. I think this would be a perfect Valentine's gift paired with a decorative mug. The file comes with a matching sugar caddy you can make too!

Okay it's soo time for bed! I feel like we are living in a house infested with germs! Tyler has strep...he was diagnosed with it on the 13th of this month and someone managed to reinfect himself and was diagnosed with it again yesterday. We are hoping changing toothbrushes and trying a different antibiotic will get rid of this for good! I went to the docs today too as I have been battling sinus problems for the past 3 months. Good new is I don't have strep but if the nasal spray they subscribed doesn't help then I have to go to a specialist to get a sinus scan. My blood pressure is high too! UGH! Adoree and hubby have a runny nose off and on but so far not too bad. Time to bring out the Lysol and Clorox wipes in hopes they don't get sick too! So any of you living in a germ house?!
Night night!

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Mission Organization: embossing folders and a freebie

Hello,
Welcome to the 3rd installment of my mission organization series.  I do hope you are enjoying these post and are inspired to get your space organized.  Next up we will discuss embossing folders.  I am always amazed at how much depth and interest embossing can add to a project.  However, before I had my folders organized I did not use them.   I saw Christie Hund's idea for hanging the embossing folders up on a clip it up system and fell in love!  I knew this system was for me!  You can see Christie's post here. 

For those of you who have been following this series you may be experiencing deja vu! Well this metal shelving unit holds lots of stuff so you will be seeing it many times. I have marked with an arrow where my embossing folders are hanging.

Edited to Add;  Forgot to show my close up photo of my folders

Now I got the idea for making a horizontal clip it up from Nat she calls hers a sticker gripper and you can find how she made hers here.  I used curtain clips instead of the clothespins and paper clips.  Hubby thought a metal rod would be more sturdy plus it fits perfectly in the holes in the support posts of my metal shelving unit.  (I also put one of these sticker grippers under my ribbon storage jars...I'll show you that later though)

Above you can see the embossing folder contained in the paper folder I made (I have provided you with a freebie cutting file so you can cut your own paper folders at the end of this post). I used white core card stock and embossed the front of each paper folder then sanded to make the embossing more apparent. It is great being able to see what sort of design each folder makes at a glance.   I didn't have a labeler when I organized these so I just cut out the name of the folder from the box or wrote it with pen on the tab if I didn't still have the box.  You can also see the curtain clip attached.  The curtain clips I used had a huge wooden circle attached to it so I swapped them out for the washer so they would slide on my rod better.  You may be able to find curtain clips with  a smaller ring similar to the washer already attached though.

Above you can see how the embossing folder slips onto the paper folder. I  am sooo glad Christie developed this system as I just love it!

Materials needed for my embossing folder storage system:

Clip It Up or homemade one (rod, curtain clips, screw hooks, rubber grommets (optional))

White Core Paper folders (cutting file provided at the end of this post)

Sand Paper  

Oh and if you don't have any white core card stock and you don't want to buy any you can also use colored core card stock and my tutorial here to make your own sandable paper.

Okay so maybe you don't have the room for a clip it up.  NO problem these folders also work stored in a box just as Cat did.  See her photo below and read more about her system here. 

If you have any spare CD storage racks then you can store your embossing folders as Jeannie did below. Read more about her system and see more of her craft room here.

Teressa used sewing to turn a page protector into a great storage system. She says you can also use super sticky tape to achieve the same results. Check our her photos below and get a complete tut on how to make this yourself here.

Linda had a simply brilliant idea...she took a simple paper scrapbook and glued two pages together to form a pocket to store her embossing folders in. Check out her photo below and see more at her blog here.

Okay I do hope one of these systems will help you to organize your embossing folders. I hope you will get more use out of this wonderful product! As promised I am sharing with you the cutter file I used to make up my paper folders to hold my plastic embossing folders.

The zip file contains AI, GSD, KNK, MTC SVG, Studio, and WPC formats.  I have included files for the smaller A2 ebmossing folders and also the  larger 5" x 7" ones.   Click on the preview to download or click HERE.  Enjoy!

Please share your embossing folder storage system even if it's similar to those listed here.  Simply click on the Inlinkz tool below:

Thanks for stopping by.  If you aren't a follower of my blog please sign up so you don't miss any of my organizational posts.  Oh and I'm sorry I am soo late in posting this.  I haven't been feeling very well and went to bed on Sunday night instead of working on this post and then this morning my son had a 2 hour delay which just threw my whole day off.  Well....better late then never right?!

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PTI MIM #49: Ghost Masking and a few other cards

Hello,

When I saw this MIM video demoing a technique called Ghost masking..my eyes were glued to the screen.  I had never seen this done before and I loved how it added dimension to a flat card.  This would be perfect for Operation Write Home cards.  You can see the video here if you missed it.   I will say this technique works better with larger stamps I think.  Unfortunately, I do not have large stamps in my PTI collection.  So I made due by creatiing a flowering vine.  Overall I think it did turn out pretty cool.  I will definitely be trying this technique again in the near future.

I tried to leave this card alone as is after stamping but it just seemed to flat to me...I'm a sucker for embellishments!  Sooo I added one of my 3-D butterflies to fill in that empty space in the left hand corner.   I cut the butterfly out of white and used the same ink I used for the stamping to color the butterfly. 

Papertrey Ink stamps used:
Paper Tray (sentiment)
Mat stack 2 (frame)
Turning a New Leaf
Honey Bees (flowers)

Other supplies:
Momento Ink
3-D Butterflies by Shelly's Art

If you would like to purchase my butterfly file...please click on the preview below:

Next up we have a lovely card by creative design team member Johanne Larouche. She used my Birds of Feather file. I just love how she added the pennants to her sentiments.

Here is what Johanne had to say about her great card: "This card uses Shelly's Art cutting file Bird of a Feather - SS00075 and Aussie Caz Card Template 29. The paper is from Momenta (from Walmart). I used crystal stickle on the bird and mounted it on thick square to give it a 3D effect. The flowers were colored with copic and finished with distress ink. I added a bit of crystal stickle to give it a bit of sparkle."

If you would like to purchase my birds of a feather file please click on the preview below:

Lastly,  I have a card I made using my Scalloped card file.  I gave this to a wonderful friend who is definitely a cat lover so that is why I chose to substitute the items provided in the file with a digital stamp by Motivet.

For the background I used a PTI: MIM video technique coloring embossed images with Copics. I used Versamark ink but I should have used white so I could see better what I was stamping. I do like this technique though and the color options it gives since I don't have that many inks. I also colored the digi stamp with Copics. I added flocking to the flower and colored fluff to the dirt. The card is based on a sketch from Aussie Caz for my monthly card sketch challenges on Paperthreads. I added silver spacer beads and small brown rhinestones for an accent. I also stitched a little with yellow floss.

If you would like to purchase my Scalloped Card file please click on the preview below:

Thanks sooo much for stopping by! I hope you are making the most of the last few hours of this weekend! It snowed here so the kids were thrilled to play in it. I'll share some photos later in the week. Oh and please stop by on Monday for the next installment in my Mission Organizational series.

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Mission Organization: Glitter glue, liquid pearls and paint

Hello,
Welcome to the next installment to my organizational series.  I do hope you have made some head way with your ribbon.  If you missed the ribbon organizing  post you can check it out by clicking here. Today I am going to discuss with you how to store glitter glue, liquid pearls and paint.  You can easily line these up on a shelf but if you start collecting many colors you may run out of space.  Plus glitter glue and liquid pearls are best stored upside down to prevent those nasty air bubbles from ruining your project.

First up I must apologize as these photos are not the best. I am using hubby's camera and I don't know exactly how to modify it for the lighting in my room. (My camera still works but we need to find a good CF card reader or a new cord so I can transfer photos to my computer). Anyway, above you will see one of my most favorite features of my craft room. I know you are probably thinking this looks awful!  Well what this metal shelving until lacks in style it makes up for in functionality. The whole surface is magnetic so I stick all sorts of items everywhere by attaching a magnet to the back. Also, the holes in the framing supports allow for little hooks and dowel rods to be inserted easily. It was hubby's idea to purchase this shelving until from a home improvement store long before I had an actual craft room but I'm soo glad I could make use of it now.

As you can see my glitter glue is stored magnetically under the top shelf. I got the idea from Christie Hund. You can see her totally gorgeous craft room here. I do not live near a craft store therefore often I make due with supplies I can find in my hometown. So I have some Stickles but I also have Studio G (which I think are just as good as Stickles) and even some glitter meant for craft foam I found on clearance). This storage method is perfect for me since I have various sizes of bottles...I can just space them out as needed.  I love that they are all visible and within reach of my desk.  I don't have any liquid pearls but you could store them just as easily using this method.




I used my high temp hot glue gun to apply the magnet buttons to the bottom of the glitter glue. I purchased them at Wal-mart in the kids craft section. They are 3/4" in size. I did try some larger 1.7 oz bottles of swirl glitter glue and they kept falling down but rest assured these particular magnets do hold the average size bottles (.5 to 1 oz)  perfectly.

I have removed some of the glitter glue bottles so you can see I store my Distress Crackle paint the same way by putting the magnets on the lids. I'm not positive but you could probably store the Adirondack Acrylic Paint Daubers this way too if they aren't too heavy.  You CAN'T store the traditional bottle of acrylic paint this way because they are 2 oz unless you get stronger magnets.

Materials needed for my glitter glue, paint and liquid pearl storage

Metal surface (ie. magnetic shelf, magnetic strip or cookie sheet)

Magnets (3/4" button magnets) available at Walmart

High temp hot glue or other strong liquid glue

If you don't have a magnetic shelving unit you can use a cookie sheet as seen above. Check out more info on Bea Originals blog here.
 

Velcro works in much the same manner as the magnets. Mariposa used an acrylic picture frame and velcro to store her bottles. More info here. You could easily place velcro anywhere you want to store your bottles even on the wall or inside cabinet doors.

Looking for a cheap storage solution that makes use of wall space...well Living/laughinscrapper did an amazing job with that as you can see above. She used those plastic mini storage crates and inserted the Stickles through the holes. See more info here.

Ron had a great and cheap storage idea too. He used couplings found at your local home improvement store. Check out his blog here.

As you can see above Ron has a similar idea for storing paint daubers using 1" pvc pipe. Check out the deets here.

If you have a peg board....Thistlegirl discovered screw driver holders fit Stickles perfectly. Check out her post here.

If you need portable storage...Army Scrappin' Diva has the perfect solution. She applied velcro to the lid of an Iris type container. That way when the container is closed the Stickles remain upside down.

There are several products on the market specifically made for storing these items.  I believe though my money is better spent making homemade and frugal storage solutions so that is how I chose what to present on this blog.  I'd rather spend my money on actual crafting  supplies.  I do have a few other options on my Pinterest site.  Click here to see my board.  If you aren't a member I'd be happy to invite you just give me your e-mail address.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to join me next Monday for the next item I get organized.

P.S. I'd love for you to share with us your glitter glue, paint or liquid pearl storage system.  Just click on the Inlikz tool below to do so.

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