Inkredible Stamping with Julie

Organizing My Stamp Pads

The other day I posted about getting my Ribbon organized but it seems like a LOT of you were more interested in my Stamp Pad Holder that was hanging on the wall above my ribbon then you were in the ribbon :) I had a lot of e-mails asking me about them so here's the info...

I LOVE my Ink Pad organizers - I have had them for as long as I've been a demo and they are they one organizing solution that I never change my mind about!! They always work for me :)

The top of the ink pad holders actually has rows to hold the Reinkers but I just keep the reinkers on top in their Acrylic Holders because that's how I take my reinkers w/me when I'm doing a class or technique that uses them...

You can see the PortaInk Ink Pad Holders Online Here.

the rows are each 12 high (designed for our old color families) I just use the bottom two spaces in each row to hold things like VersaMark, StazOn, and other standard type pads. The PortaInk holders have Little Inserts that you can put in a space to convert it to hold a standard pad. See them here.

I love getting organized with all my supplies just before the New Catalog comes out - it makes it SO each to know what I have so I know what I need to buy first in the new book :) Are you ready for New Stampin' Toys??!?

Another Monster to Tame - The Ribbon Monster

Hi Stampers,

I've had a lot of projects going on this month that have been keeping me away from stamping - hopefully I'll have more stamping time next month and more projects to share with you all!!! One of the projects I've been working on is getting my stamp stuff organized.

After Grandma passed away we have a TON of her Stamping supplies to go through (by the way a BIG used Stamps and tools sale is going to be happening soon - watch for details) She had some Cubes in her Stamp Area and I decided that I would keep them and re-organize my stamp area...

As you can see I've still got a little work to do - but I'm so excited about how easy it's goign to be to get to everything when I'm finished!! One of the items that I have a REALLY hard time staying organized with is my ribbon!! A while ago I shared my Sponge Dauber Monster problem and I think the ONLY Monster worse then them was my Ribbon spools.

I started with a nice organized basket that over time grew to a GREAT jumbled mess to dig through every time I needed ribbon - and spools tucked everywhere!! So I decided it was time for a different solution!! I saw the idea online years ago to use Rain Gutter as a ribbon holder and decided to give that a try...

I sent Dad and Brother off to the Lowe's where they picked up a length of the gutter - and a couple sets of the end caps. They came come, cut the gutter down to the right size (If you don't have a way to gut the gutter at home ask at the home supply store - they'll usually cut it for you - although be prepared for some strange looks if you ask for lots of small length's!!) :) The slide on the end caps and screwed the holders into the wall.

My brother found an "interior" end cap at the store - that slides inside the gutter and he picked a few of them up for me - they make GREAT book ends to keep the ribbon from falling over when the holders are not full.

I LOVE the new system - so easy to find the ribbon I want and super easy to put things away when I'm done!!! If you have a tip for getting organized I would love to hear it - leave me a comment on the post....

Or if you have a Monster you need to tame - let me know I may have an idea for that as well!

 

Charts for the Sponge Dauber Boxes

I've had a LOT of request for copies of the charts I created for the Sponge Dauber boxes I posted about yesterday - I'm so happy you all loved the organizing idea as much as I did. I'm so happy to finally have my daubers organized in the Sponge Dauber Storage Box!

Here's the charts that you can print out to insert into your boxes

 
ETA: This chart is now updated in include the new 2011-13 In Colors!

And if you're like me and you need nice pretty new daubers to fill your new dauber box be sure to pop over to my website and pick up a few packages!

 

Taming the Sponge Dauber Monster

One of my favorite Stamping tools are my Sponge Daubers (see them online). But organizing them always seems to be a problem for me - They seem to pop up everywhere. Everytime I open a drawer, pull out a project basket, or put away stamp sets it seems a few daubers fall out at me!

The other day I picked up some great boxes - PERFECT for organizing my daubers.

ETA: Many of you have asked where I found the boxes - I found them at a vender fair but I looked online and was able to find them listed on Amazon - Sponge Dauber Storage Box

The .pdf of this chart is avaliable on This Blog Post.

I printed up a chart to assign each spot a color (and but a fresh new set of daubers to fill the box). It holds 40 daubers - so this box gets the entire main color collection for SU. I picked up a second box for the In Colors and any other dauber needs that pop up.

and of course - because I'm me - I had to make the boxes a little prettier :) So I decorated the tops w/some Designer Series Paper

I used Temperary adhesive to hold the DSP and color charts into the lid - that way I can change up the paper with whatever my current favorite is!

And just so you know I'm not kidding when I say I LOVE my daubers - I couldn't even get my photo box put up before using one of my shiney new daubers

Today's the last day of Sale-a-bration - and a GREAT time to stock up on things like Sponge Daubers and paper while earning FREE stamp sets!! If you have a few things on your re-stock list jump over and shop now to take advantage of the SAB special! Just click on my name below...

 

Organize Your Stampin' Sponges

Just after the Stampin' Up! convention this year I met up with my girls who went this year for some coffee and they got to show off some of their swaps and projects. It was tons of fun to talk about the things they learned at convention.

While I was there I snapped a few quick pictures of some of their swaps so I could remember the ideas. One of my favorite ideas they received as a swap was this fun way to organize your Stampin' Sponges.

 

You'll have to forgive me for the picture quality on these - I was taking quick snap shots and we didn't have fabulous light :) but at least you'll get the idea! I don't know who this swap came from but whoever it was thanks for sharing this fun idea!!

To keep track of which color was used for each sponge:

• Cut the big Stampin' Sponge into pieces (I think to cut mine into 4 pieces)
• Use the Round Tab Punch to punch out a piece of card stock the same color as the ink you're going to use.
• Attach the Tab to the sponge using Glue Dots or a Staple.
• Decorate the Tab (A cut out SU logo was used for this one but you could easily stamp and punch out decorations to make it pretty)

That's it you're ready to sponge - the tab makes a nice handle which will help to keep your fingers clean (a nice bonus) and you'll remember exactly which color you used on your sponge - no more mixing colors up!!

The Stampin' Sponges are $3.50 per package of three. If you cut the sponges into 4 segments you'll get 12 colors out of one package! and even more if you like to work with a smaller sponge - that's a GREAT deal!! Go check them out in the SU Store.

Storage for Bigz XL Dies - Wish List Wednesday

It's wish list Wednesday and this week's wish list makes me SO happy! :) Have I mentioned my fondness for organizing my stampin' toys?? My whole house is chaos - and I'm ok with that - it's how I function best! If you drop in for a surprise visit I make no excuses for the mess!! If I'm being honest - even if you drop in for a scheduled visit I made no excuses for the mess! But when it comes to my stampin' toys I need to be organized, the easier it is to find things the easier it is to be creative!!

One of the things I've struggled to find the right solution for is my Sizzix Bigz XL dies. I have found solutions that work for most of the other sizes but nothing I've tried for the XL ones was just right so when I saw the storage boxes for the Sizzix dies in the Idea Book and I saw that one of the sizes was just right for the XL dies I was over the moon happy!! It's a similar system to what I'm already using for my other dies. So up near the top of my list is a couple of these boxes...

 

The Big Shot Die Storage Boxes come in a three different sizes.

My Favorite the Large Die Box 122221 ($24.85) holds Bigz or Bigz XL dies!!
There is also a Medium Die Box 122220 ($17.95) which is perfect for the Originals or Bigz sizes and the Small Die Box 122219 ($14.95) which is perfect for your Sizzlits, Clearlits, and Emobsslits.

Do you have a great solution for a craft storage problem? I would love to hear about it! If you want to check out all the great Storage products available from Stampin' Up! visit my Stampin' Up! online store. Click Here.

Happy Stampin'

Does Your Stamp Table Need a Makeover?

My space needed a makeover after I tried out the new clear mount stamp option from Stampin' Up! Have you tried out the Clear Blocks and Cling Mount rubber stamps yet?? I'm in LOVE! They're so fun to use and they're so pretty! As soon as I started playing with the clear mount stamp sets I knew I would need something to set on my stamp table to keep the blocks in - I wanted them close and easy to grab, but it had to be something that would live up to the pretty Clear Blocks - I just want to look at them all day long. :)

When I saw this box I knew it would be perfect after I did a little decorating.

The box was avaliable in either Brown or White. I choose a Brown one for me. (I went back to get a White one for Grandma and I'll work on decorating hers next!) I applied the Certainly Celery Always Bird Decor Elements to the top of the box. Then I tied a piece of Certainly Celery ribbon left over from last year's Sale-a-bration around the edge of the lid.

 

I've had my eye on this bird since he first came out in the Decor Elements brochure and I'm so happy I finally found the right project for him. Doesn't he just pop off the rich brown box?

All the clear blocks fit nicely inside the box.

The box also came with an insert for the top. It had an optional divider to split it into 4 compartments but I figured out that if I use the top with no dividers it's the perfect size to hold my Stampin' Scrub, Scissors, and SNAIL adhesive.

The top just lifts out and sets to the side when I need to get to the blocks.

I finished off my stampin' space makeover with a mini Stampin' Mist Bottle. A small spritzer bottle that's decorated with some Rub-Ons and a tag (Thanks Crista!!).

I'm totally stamping in luxury now - and no it does not take much to make me happy!! :)

Happy Stampin'

Getting Organized in 2010

We had a Container Store gift cards from Grandma (Thanks Grandma!!) and I was anxious to see what I could find to get my Stampin' Stuff organized! Actually the gift card was given to my brother and he wanted some cash for a trip he has coming up so I bought it off of him - I'm such a good sister!!

I've been looking high and low for something to keep my Bigz XL dies stored in so they're easy to pull off and on the shelf and I think I finally found the answer. 

 

I found these Wire Mesh DVD Boxes that are a perfect size for the dies. You can actually get about 8 or 9 dies into one of the mesh containers but they get a little heavy and hard to pull out if you fill them all the way, so for now I'm storing about 6 in a DVD box. We'll see how that goes.

 

Another plus - our new Clear Mount Stamps come in a DVD size case so they also fit well in these. I picked out a couple of extras and I have two of them stacked next to my work space. I plan to keep the more seasonally current stamp sets in those boxes so they're easily at hand.

What's that?? Clear Mount Rubber Stamps?? Don't know what I'm talking about? Check this out...

 

You can read more about this exciting new option for our stamp sets on my Product Information Page, click here.

Happy Stampin'

Where to Find the Silverware Caddy

Remember the Silverware Caddy's I posted about using for my Grandma's Colored Pencils a few days ago?

I have received a TON of request about where to find the caddy. Well I found them in a little "Bargain Shop" locally but I did a little online hunting and found them on Amazon - and they're cheaper then I found mine for. I updated the original post with the information and I'm posting it here for everyone who is looking for Colored Pencil Caddies for themselves.

Happy Stampin'
 

Colored Pencils Never Looked So Good

I've been hard at work getting Grandma's stamping space into order. It makes it so much easier to play when your toys are easy to find! One of Grandma's favorite tools is her colored pencils. She LOTS to stamp color in images and use markers, pencils, chalks, and pens to color them in. The other ladies who live in her community are always picking up pencils for her when they find them cheap or at a garage sale so she has a LOT of them! They were in a drawer but hard to get out and easily use. I found these GREAT silverware caddy's for just $6.00 each and we bought her 4 of them. Now they are lined up on the ledge of the window into her craft room from the kitchen, easy to pick up and move to the table when she's ready to color.

Doesn't that make you want to do some coloring??

Do you have any fun stamp room organization tips? Post a comment and let us know what you did to make your space work for you...

UPDATE:

If you're looking for a Silverware Caddy of your own you can find them here

Happy Stampin'