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OK, so here's the deal: I'm finally FINALLY getting myself organized. I'm turning an out-of-the-way corner of my oddly--shaped LR into a "crafts area" (for me, that means card making). The space isn't huge. I've already set up two shelving units Origami R5-01 General Purpose 4-Shelf Steel Collapsible Storage Rack, Large - Amazon.com (a total of 6' wide, 5' high, 14" deep, 4 shelves), and I only have room for a 24"x48" work surface, but I think that will be OK, as I don't use a ton of space when I work anyway, and with that kind of storage nearby, I can easily pull out what I need (stamps, dies, die cutter, bling, etc.) and put it back when I'm done.
My dilemma involves paper storage. I use paper from a lot of different companies: SU, Echo Park, MME, etc. I have 6" x 6", 12" x 12", 8.5" x 11", and a very small amount of 8" x 8". I've decided on the system for my 6" x 6" -- and I think it will work.
Where I'm having a problem is with the 12" x 12" and the 8.5" x 11". I purchase a lot of "collections": designer paper, stickers, die cuts, chip board, matching ribbons and brads/buttons, etc. I like to store all the items in a collection together; otherwise, I'm apt to forget that I have stickers that go with the papers, or whatever. I've been using 2-gallon Ziploc bags for this, and storing them on end in a series of Cropper Hopper Paper Holders Amazon.com: Advantus Cropper Hopper Easy Access Paper Holder, Black: Arts, Crafts & Sewing It took me awhile and several experiments to arrive at this point, and it's working pretty well so far, I think.
But is there a better way to do this? Drawers don't work, as I really do need to "see" what's there.
And I still have some problems with the 8.5" x 11" "sets" -- they don't fit nicely in the 12" x 12" Cropper Hopper holders. But I'd like something similar, if I can find something that works.
And this doesn't even begin to address the cardstock storage issues -- I'll save that for another message. I'd rather focus on the designer paper + goodies storage for now.
Any suggestions? I'm almost at a point of "analysis paralysis" here -- just "stuck."
Oh, I like those! That's what I'm talking about. Just some way to keep everything neatly together so that I can quickly "flip through" the packets of paper + embellishments + ribbons/etc. to find the inspiration for my next project. I'd rather spend time cutting and pasting than looking through buckets and bins for matching materials.
For 8.5x11 and 8x8 pads, I use these magazine holders from Office Depot:
The "lip" there is low enough, unlike on other holders, that I can just tilt the paper right on out. I think it's like $5.49 for a two pack, and 9.99 if you can find a four pack in stock.
I keep my collections together in the 2 gallon ziplock bags. I don't know if they will fit in your holders though...
That's exactly what I'm using now -- 2-gal Ziploc bags -- and they're working pretty well. They're big enough to hold the 12" x 12" paper packs plus a lot of extras, and they fit nicely inside the Cropper Hopper holders. although if I have a lot of extras along with the paper pack, I can fit only 3-4 bags in each "compartment." I turn them sideways, so that the "zip" portion is on its side, and I attach a label on that side that contains the brand and pattern names (e.g. "Teresa Collins, Carolina Breeze"). This definitely works to keep collections together.
From what I've seen so far, I think I'll probably stay with this system for collections. I thought maybe there might be some other better ways to do this, but I'm thinking this matches how I like to work, so it's probably the easiest.
I'll probably use this same system for the rest of my 12" x 12" designer paper -- where I didn't purchase additional bits and bobs -- and arrange them by color family (brights, pastels, neutrals, darks), and then brand (SU, DCWV, MME, etc.).
Anyway, it's good to know I'm not the only one who uses those convenient 2-gal ziplocs! :-)
Interesting! I'm not sure it would work for me and how I like to work. It looks like I would need to sort every sheet in every paper pack into colors or themes, since a given paper pack can contain several different "predominant" colors, and then decide where it goes: a sheet of flowered paper with equal amounts of turquoise and pink could go in one of the spring or summer month sections, or it could go in the rainbow section, but then would it go under pink or should it go under turquoise? Agh! More decisions! I'm not good with that. :-)
But it's an interesting system, and I can see how it might work for some folks.
I like these -- I think they might work for my 8.5" x 11" card stock and the few 8" x 8" pads I have. Thanks!!
Lana (Bellingham, WA)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyNacho
For 8.5x11 and 8x8 pads, I use these magazine holders from Office Depot:
The "lip" there is low enough, unlike on other holders, that I can just tilt the paper right on out. I think it's like $5.49 for a two pack, and 9.99 if you can find a four pack in stock.
You won't need to worry much longer about keeping them straight -- the 2 companies are merging and it should be finalized by end of 2013. No hints yet though as to the new name for the combined company.
(I work for OfficeMax HQ as a web business analyst -- my focus is on search and browse.)
Scrape Racks- Many smaller parts houses have old scrap racks they don't use since computers. I got one and painted it white and use several different colored 2" notebooks which are filled with my "stuff, they sit in the raised sections of bases. It sits on a low TV table about 3 ft.long. They were the original use for the scrape rack. How do I know? We were owned a small garage 40 years ago and used one. Sugamom
HELP! Overwhelmed with paper storage ideas ...
