Lord knows I love my craft products- and I have an extra SPECIAL place in my heart for all of the wonderful shimmery colors. I have quite a collection of Distress Stains, Adirondack Inks, Distress Paints, Radiant Rains, and more. But lately I’ve been hitting the wall of frustration because A) I can’t always find what I’m looking for right away, and B) some of my products have even dried up and gone “bad” because I haven’t used them in so long!
So today I’m sharing my road to recovery!
This has been time-consuming but SO rewarding…and now I’m finding myself on a real “kick” and wanting to organize and everything I have.
I’ve also found- much to my chagrin- that I do have a lot of duplicate product. Some were purchased again because I couldn’t find the original, or because I loved it so much I thought I’d go through it quickly, or often just because I didn’t realize that I had it already. (Which I refer to as a Craft Dupe.)
Anyway, I made you a video and after I’ll have links to some handy things for you to organize with!
And now…here’s those affiliate links to help you shop for some of the organization tools I used!
- Sizzix Tags, Traditional Combo Die
- 3/4-Inch Circle Punch
- Full-Sheet Labels
- Book Ring, 3-Inch Diameter
- 1/4″ Holes Punch for ink lids
For my Ranger Distress Stains, I also added a number chart so that I could cross-reference with my markers and stamp pads, too!
Here are my Pinata and Adirondack alcohol inks. Now each cap as a teeny-weeny swatch so I know what colors I’ve got!
I like adding my own paint- it’s kind of like playing bingo. Do I win a prize if I fill it up???
Ranger has an impressive collection of Color Charts that you can download and use- they WIN for helping me organize!
In case you missed it, I have a post here on how I organized my dies, which you could see in the video.
Let me know how YOU organize your sprays, inks and daubers! And stay tuned, we’ll be organizing more supplies soon!
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Oh, yes, I would love to peek inside that whole closet full of goodies as you organize it shelf by shelf!
LOVE these ideas!! Your craft closet it AMAZING!
For my sprays and mists I have taken old dishes and made lazy susans. I put all my sprays and mists on them and they are on my work island. That way I can see exactly what I have at a glance and I don’t have to move them around to find the color I want.
For my inks I have made three different size organizers with slots (similar to the Pro Ink organizers). I have one for all of my “regular” size (ie…memento pads), one for my minis and dewdrops and one for my TH distress pads. They have slots for the pads and I do a swatch of the ink color on the side that faces out so I know at a glance what color is where. Right now they are only made out of cardboard but we are in the process of making a wooden one that will be more permanent. They sit right on my work island so that they are readily available when I need them. I keep my Fantastix in the slot with the color I use them with. That way I don’t have to search all over for the right one!
Eventually I am going to test the waters and see if there is an interest for these ink organizers. If so I will make a bunch of them and sell them.
Thanks for sharing your tips with me!!
Wow, I’m impressed! Great job! I agree that if you can see it, you are more apt to use it. Also, when you are running low of a color, you can take the swatches with you to the store so you can replace them easily. As for binder clips….I love them too. I have several of them holding windchimes in my yard (they fit better on larger branches than the loop that comes with them.)
For years I’ve carried around a Word file printout that lists *all* of my inks, sorted by name/mfgr, which lists the sizes I have (cateye, full size, etc) as well as which colors have reinkers. I also list my misters, dies (by company), H2Os, Pearl Pens/Liquid Pearls, stencils and anything else I can think of. This keeps me from purchasing multiples. I take this with me whenever I attend conventions or shop for new product.
My sprays are all in a hinged lid container that’s tall enough for them to stand up. Doesn’t have a name on the container, but you can find the clear ones all over the place it seems. My reinkers are sorted by mfgr in smaller hinged Rubbermaid containers that fit under my cabinets from Ikea; they’re labeled on the outside so I can find what I need more easily. My Liquid Pearls are in a round container that has two levels and the bottles are stored upside down (again, doesn’t have a mfgr on the container – come on guys, free advertising you’re missing out on here!) and the lid locks in place. It’s on one of my shelves so I can easily reach it. My Pearl Pens are stored flat in a low pen holder or some such that I got from The Container Store – 2 of them fit on top of each other in the top drawer of one of my Ikea drawer units. Just about everything in my craft room is sorted and labeled so it can be easily found. I’d go nuts otherwise.
I have found that certain food containers make great storage. The large plastic, spinach salad container now has my mizuhiki cords. I bought some pastries and that large plastic container has a divider keeping stickles separated from other glitter glue. I’ve got lots of purchased containers also, but it’s fun to recycle a container with some of my artwork, so it looks really great.
Could you give us a “crafttest” on marker storage? Standing upright vs flat – which is better, or does it depend on the brand/formula. Watercolor vs alcohol. Etc. that would be great. Thanks so much. Pardon my huge comment and please keep the emails coming. 😉
Laura P: don’t let that list fall into the wrong hands. Aka your husband. 😉
Actually that’s a great idea! I love getting organized!!!!
Susanb- thanks for the ideas & questions! I’ve got them noted for future posts and videos. 🙂
For inks, paints, Daubers, stamps, & dies, I keep a computer inventory file, where I list product by brand, type, color etc. I refer to this list EVERY TIME I place an order. I had to do this because I have an embarrassing amount of goodies in my studio. Two years ago I decided to organize the studio and found that I had many duplicates, and yes, some had gone bad. It took me a ridiculous amount of time to set the inventories, but once done, I only have to remember to add new purchases and make a note when I have used the last of something. I am happy to say that I no longer buy dupes, and I have discovered that there are some wonderful products that seemed like a good idea, but I don’t really use them, so this system has been useful, saved me some money, and prevented waste, which I hate. I am headed out today to get some of those rings, what a great idea. Carole T
I love the Ranger swatch sheets. I have all my inks, distress stickels, liquid pearls, and sprays organized using them. They are on a cork board above my work station for easy viewing. I also got an idea from Gina K (StampTV) to do a “one off” of all my inks. I have one grid with the full color stamp, and then another grid with the same color stamped again. This gives you a lighter version of the color. Distress Inks are often so concentrated, that the ‘one off’ gives you a nice muted tone.