My "Cute" New Marker Storage

I recently purchased several sets of the Spectrum Noir Markers by Crafters Companion at Consumer Crafts.  These alcohol ink makers are for stamped image coloring and are comparable to the popular Copic Markers but for about half the price !  While I love the few Copics I own, I certainly appreciate a quality product at a better price, don't you ?

The markers showed up today and while I was excited to use them, I needed to figure out how I was going to store them.  Since I bought 8 color sets of 6 markers each, that is quite a few markers to store.  They do sell a case specifically for the Spectrum Noir Markers, however, it only holds 36 markers and I have more than that and plan to get even more sets to complete my collection so I needed bigger storage in one case.

As I looked at the large pile of markers waiting for a home, I had a brain storm of an idea !  Off to Target I went, hoping my idea would work....and here is what I found to use.

It is a cosmetic travel bag from Contents by Allegro.

It was only $14.99.  And it certainly didn't

hurt that is was hot pink and white polka dots :)

They also had it in all teal or all black.

It even has a handle...Can you say perfect!

Next step was to use some thin chipboard and make

dividers for the inside.  I cut the chipboard 8 1/2" by 4"

to make (8) horizontal pieces, then (1) piece 5 3/4" X 4 1/4"

for the cross piece down the center.  I then cut the

8 1/2" piece at 4 1/4" down the center from the bottom up 

stopping about 1/4" from the top.  Then  slid

the center piece into the 8 long pieces to form the grid.

The dividers fit 6 markers in each section perfectly.

There is enough room to hold 96 of the Spectrum markers.

I have left room for the other color sets that I am missing but

hope to soon acquire to fill in my collection.

As you can see in the picture, I also put my few Copic

Markers in there too...I could get 8 Copics in each section. 

I even added one of the color charts of all the markers

that is part of their packaging to the inside top of the case

for ready reference. I used double sided tape to hold it in place.

And the color set packaging has so much great information

with each marker color code on it,

I decided to use that to create a reference set of tags.

I  cut off part of the package, hole punched it and put it on a binder ring.

I love my new marker storage and the fact

there is plenty of room to grow my marker collection.

And of course, the cute pink polka dot case makes me happy too ! 

2012 Organize your Stash Challenge-Stamps & Inks

Another wonderful thing that comes from being a member of the Cricut Circle is the way all the members support each other on the message board.  From inspiring us with their creativity, providing a needed shoulder to cry on when tragedy strikes to helping us celebrate achievements, this group of crafters really are a big part of my online family.

Now some of that support is a "wee bit bad" since they "enable" you by posting deals on scrap supplies they found.  But then, that is balanced by also helping us figure out how to store those items in our craft room !

For 2012, we have an Organize Your Stash Challenge going.  Each week the host post an area we need to organize.  This week we are organizing our Stamps.  I mostly had a system going but needed to straighten this area out and re-org how I was sorting them and all my inks.

This is my stamping station.  My DH added a larger shelf

to some existing builtin bookcases in my craft room so I

had more room to stamp.  Yeah !

I store all my stamps in CD cases.  They are sorted and labeled

by theme and type.  This works out great for me to easily

find what I am looking for when I need a certain stamp.

This is what they look like in their CD case.

As you can see, you can get quite a few in here.

I have a small wire basket

(it's  cute & pink...I bought it at Target last year)

and I keep all my "new, need to be stored" stamps

in here until I get around to using them and putting in

a CD case.  I even have some scrap white cardstock

tucked in the front to use when I need test a stamp.

My inks are stored with my stamps.

I found this wooded shelf set out for

trash in my neighborhood and re-purposed it

to hold some of my inks.

Starting at bottom: embossing inks and large acyrlic blocks

2nd shelf: stazon, waterproof inks and small acrylic blocks

3rd shelf: permanent inks & 7 Gypsy stamper

top shelf: Paper Towels, wet wipes

On the side wall , I hung my roller. And tucked in

between wall and shelf is Ranger Dry Foam and Felt Sheets.

I even have some 12X12 chipboard sheets covered in plastic to use

for portable stamping, painting, glittering when I need to set aside to dry. 

My Distress and Chalk inks are stored temporarily in

some photo boxes...it ain't pretty I know, but

DH is gonna make me two little shelves across that

whole area for me to keep these most used items on

above the stamp cases.   And my markers are stored here

as well in a folding pen holder I turned on it's side.

And my latest addition to this area

is my awesome 4 tiered revolving tray

where I have my mists, daubers, ink daubers,

blending tools, alcohol inks, ink refills, etc.

I LOVE this !  And I saw one on Pinterest and

hunted it down.  For only $20 I can hardly

believe how much this stores !!!!!!

I keep my Cats Eye inks, Stickles and Ranger Pearls and Paint on a shelf next to my inking station.

My Cats Eyes are stored in this Plano box and sorted by color family.

I do keep some basic colors like Chestnut Roan and Black in my tool bag.

My Stickles, and Dimensional Pearls I keep in this

taller Plano box.

I store this box upside down on my shelf so the Stickles

stays to the top and does not dry out. 

Again, I keep one of the white glittery ones like Crystal

or Star Dust in my tool bag for easy access.

My Perfect Pearls. Perfect Medium and assorted brushes are kept in the clear plastic shoe box.

Well, I hope this inspires you to get your stamping area set up.  It's nice to have everything handy

and a specific place to stamp.



See Why They Call Me ScrapHappyDeb

Ever wonder why my MB name is "ScrapHappyDeb"?
My DH took this picture tonight of me in my scraproom tonight for a contest on the Cricut Circle Blog that requires we submit a picture of ourselves in our scrap rooms. 

We decided to ham it up a bit...I am wearing my "signature crown",

surrounded by some of my Cricut machines including my new E2 while

reading my inaugural copy of the Cricut Magazine.

Sadly my Cake Machine, YUDU and V1 didn't make it into the picture. 

Now all I need is the IMAGINE

so I can have a complete and happy Cricut Machine family !

I have decked out my adorable Cricut Plushie in his own Scrap Apron courtesy of Build A Bear!

He loves being right un the lovely Circle Scarf serving dual duty as wall decor. 

Since we are here, why don't I give you a little tour of the place that makes me so happy.

When you walk into the room, my scrap space is just to your left.

I use an old oak dining room table that seats 8 for my scrap table.

It's perfect for having friends over to scrap or

when I want to really really spread out myself !

In this picture you can see my inspiration station with projects and magazines,

my cutting station with Cricut and Cuttlebug stuff, cricut cart storage and ribbon storage.

If you scan around to the right, you will see my Stamp Station,

my Paper Station and My Small Embellishment Stations.

Here's a few close up shots and explanations method to my madness...

I store all my patterned paper sorted by manufacturer and kits

in 12X12 plastic sleeves in assorted baskets.

This makes it so easy to find just what I want.

I keep all my most current scrap buys in a 12X12 rolling hanging file bin under the scrap table.

All my small embellies I store in jars on this shelf.

Buttons, brads, fabric brads, metal tags, decorative pins, etc.

And hanging on hooks form the bottom is my extensive

Flower collection sorted by color in hanging bags on binder rings.

Here is how I store my large ribbon collection.

As you can see, I have sorted my ribbon by color, type or theme by attaching

each piece on a safety pin hung on a large binder ring. 

Each large binder ring of ribbon is then suspended from a smaller ring on the rod.

The rod is just threaded through the shelf brackets above.

This system works great for me...I just unhook the large binder ring from the smaller ring

of the colors I want to try with my project, snip off what I want and then hang

back up on the smaller ring.  This system cost me about $5 total.

Here is my stamping station. All my inks, glimmer mist, 

Paint Daubers, Acrylic Paints and stamps are stored here.

I have a nice hard wood shelf that DH extended for me so

I have plenty of room to stamp and clean up here too.

Most of my stamps are acrylic so I store in CD cases.

Here is how I store all my many Cricut Cartridges.

These are large size Snapware containers with two tiers each.

   I just expanded into my third Snapware container system for my Cricut Cartridges. 

I love this system but I changed it up a bit from other's I have seen posted. 

The top tier holds the booklets divided by alpha.

I have plenty of room to add more to this A-F Set.

For now, I am storing my E2 & Imagine carts separately

from my regular Cricut Carts.

On the bottom tier, I have placed 4 drawer dividers I bought at the $ store.

I used plastic needlepoint canvas to make a few dividers I slid between slots.

This gives me room to put 5 carts in each section and they don't fall over

when I take them out of their spot and makes it easier to replace them.

As you can see I have about 34 carts in this bin so far and

room to expand to up to 60 if needed.

On the tall shelf, starting at the top:

 1) my extra trimmers and MS Scoring board and misc blank albums

2) Stacked boxes to hold my bling, all my Thickers in big box

3) Small Sterlite bins hold my journaling cards and epherma, twine,

 doilies, gaffer tape, etc. I have my heat gun and ribbon iron on top.

4) Small Sterlite bins hold envelops, tags, bingo cards. 

Large bins hold Rub Ons, Large Bling sheets,

 Metals, Stickers, Mini Alpha Sheets 

Rest of that shelf unit

5) All my cardstock, sorted by type and color

6) Specific Scrap Items sorted by Holidays in 12X12 Bins

  And last but not least is our BIG SCREEN TV...woohooo....I can scrap and watch chick flicks too !!!

I do share this very large bonus room with my DH. His geneology area is on the right of the room when you walk in but it is just a big desk with a wall of shelves with boxes and boxes and boxes of Geneology stuff in them so not really worth showing you.

Now do you can see why I am "ScrapHappyDeb", right? LOL  I love all my yummy scrap stuff and spend
most of my free time in this room creating.  Hope something you see in my room inspires you !

Oh WOW....It's AWESOME !!!

What do you think has me jumping up and down?  The door bell just rang and the Fed Ex guy has brought me something I have been hoping to get for a while now.  Tada ................................

It's a lovely chocolate brown with pink polka dots rolling tote for my Expression.

A dear friend of mine knew I had been wanting one and ordered it for my Birthday.  I hope she could hear me sqeauling with delight as I ripped open the box !!

The inside of the bag is pink too !  he, he, he.

There is a velcro strap that goes around your Expression to hold it in place while traveling. Plus there is also an inside pocket to store things, plus the two outside pockets.

Nice sturdy handle that telescopes in and out of top of bag.

And easily rolling wheels on the bottom of the bag.  

 

The bag comes with a  Pink carry strap too. And guess what, I have had this cute cupcake luggage tag hanging around waiting for a home....I think I will use that on my rolling tote.

Look What I Have Been Up To Today !

I am getting ready to go to a Cricut scrapbook crop tomorrow and take my Expression with me so I  decided it needed  a little something to identify it as mine.   I would hate for her to get mixed up and go home with wrong person :)

So I dug out some pink Vinyl and used the Elegant Cake Cartridge to make beautify my "E".

The two shades of PINK look great together. And yes, that is BLING on there too!

It just wouldn't be mine without the BLING, right?

And of course I couldn't just stop there....So I did a few more items for good measure.

Well. I couldn't stop myself.  My Cuttlebug was feeling left out so of course I HAD to give her a little love too.  Then my Pink Cricut Tool Set started to whine about feeling bare, so I had to include her of course.

And then wouldn't you now it, those darn Cricut Cartridges started demanding that they get some bling too and so.....

 

What do you think?  Will everyone know that these are mine ?  LOL