Nifty & Thrifty

Neither have I.
I am not showing you this to frighten you

-- but as hope!

When I am under several deadlines or very involved in a project,

I make a huge mess. (view of the floor, under my desk)

 I am not sure many believe me unless they bear witness to the explosion of paper, tools, and embellishments.

 I bet you think it must take me days to put everything back into its proper place.

Not really…this tornado of scrapbooking chaos was cleaned up in 1 hour.

Are you wondering how?

Let me share some of my storage secrets with you.

It really is all about organization.

• Taking the time to organize all your supplies prevents you from buying something you already have, thus saving you money.
•  It also makes your crafting faster because you are not hunting for supplies or products. I have to clean between projects because I don’t want to spend 5 minutes digging out my scissors from a pile of patterned paper scraps.
• Each time I clean it feels like a fresh start for my mind and my studio!
  

Let’s start with trash-
You know I like saving my scraps but they are of no use to me unless I organize them.

• The good scraps, “the keepers,” go in zip-lock baggies and are stored with the paper pad or collection of papers they came from.
• I try to pull from my scraps before tearing into a new sheet of patterned paper.
• The trash, aka the non-salvageable scraps, goes in my recycle bin.
• That’s correct -- I have a recycle bin for paper in my studio. It isn’t the prettiest container … someday I need to give it a pink makeover.
•  But it is functional. It is my way of doing my small part for the environment.

Once all the trash is out of the picture and the paper is stored into baggies, then it is time for the fun stuff.

Embellishments … all those yummy little pieces.

From my last Nifty Thrifty post, you may realize that I am a lover and collector of buttons.

You may have also learned that I store them in canning jars because I can purchase the jars for pennies at my Goodwill store.

I am not a fancy sticker storage kind of girl.

• I put my stickers in plastic tubs so I can stack them and quickly locate what I am planning on using.
• Someday I hope to put dividers in my sticker binds or metal office rings that sort the stickers by themes.
• I have the stickers sorted by sports, holidays, birthday, baby, etc. I just haven’t taken the next step and added the dividers.
• I know that it would make my search for the perfect sticker much faster.
• Another little sticker tip is to keep your stickers in their packaging if at all possible. It really helps the sticker stay in better condition, and it makes locating a certain sticker easier when needed because you have the brand, name, and the barcode number.
  

Ribbon and trim rolls and scraps are placed in my cookie jars.

•  I found these at my discount store.
• They were more expensive ($8 to $10 each), but I must say they were worth every penny.
• I can see and find the exact color of ribbon I plan to use.
• They are convenient for sorting scraps of trim and ribbon.
• They are also pretty eye candy to look at as a studio decoration.

All the little things I like to craft with … jars glorious jars. I pick up jars at Goodwill and store my pretty little things in jars.

•  Jars are inexpensive
• and you can see what is in them.
•  I am a visual crafter. If I can’t see it, I probably will forget I have it.

Something you might not know is my daughter and I love to make jewelry together.

Working with a teenager can be challenging because they aren’t the best at putting things away.

 We sat down together on a weekend and organized our beading supplies.

I went to my discount store (“Wally World”) and bought drawer organizers in the tool section of the store. They were gray and drab and can I just say -- ugly. So I headed to the spray paint aisle. I found paint that worked for plastic. I think it was outdoor paint for plastic furniture. I removed the drawers from the organizer at home and sprayed the plastic organizer ivory.

I have been asked by several friends where I found these little drawer organizers in ivory.

Now you know how to do it.

• I didn’t label the drawers because my supplies change.
• Also I store my beads by color …. all the pink beads are together, blue ones, etc. I seem to work in color when making jewelry.

Another great storage piece of jewelry making isn’t always found in the jewelry section. I have seen these little plastic divided boxes in the jewelry aisle of the craft store but that is not usually where I get mine.

Here is another crafty secret.

• Look for plastic divided organizers in the fishing section of your discount store or in the hardware section.
• They are usually sturdier and cost less.
• I like to keep all my gold findings in a separate container from my brass findings. 
•  also have a container dedicated to charms only.

Chains are hung on little nails and jewelry making tools are in small glass vases that I no longer use.

I am trying to teach my daughter about the different pliers and tools. It is easier to sort them by type of tool in the jars.

Let’s talk scrapbooking tools.

You were probably frightened by the tool mess I had going on in my studio.

Really it wasn’t that bad because my tools are organized.

Scissors quickly pick up and go in my garden urn.

It is a snap!

Then punches are placed either in labeled plastic storage bins that tell what punches are in them or they go in my table where wine bottles are suppose to be stored.

The punches, like circle punches, square punches, oval punches, corner rounders, and edgers all go in my table for quick convenience.

If I didn’t have this kitchen bar studio table, I am sure I would organize the punches in bins so I could pull out what I needed for quick use.

 I wish I could say I am so perfectly organized in all my crafting areas.

 I am not.

• Currently the basement bar area is covered in photos and photos boxes that I am desperately trying to get in good working shape.
• My stamping supplies need more organization and a good cleanout.
• I also dabble at sewing. I just painted a thread organizer for the wall. It was a shadowbox that I was saving for another project.

•  My fabric is stored in bins, but I do spend time digging for the piece I want so I’m not sure this is the best way to organize yet.

I think organizing is one of those things that you don’t just do once and call it done.

I feel like I am constantly changing and reorganizing as my supplies change.

I know when my organizing benefits me though … remember my studio.

Well after a mess that large, it is put back together in 1 hour.

Taking the time to organize your supplies will save you time and money in the long run.

Spring cleaning your craft helps you find things you may have forgotten and gives you ideas for new projects.

Please share any tips you have for organizing.

I love hearing from you, and I also appreciate learning from you!

If you would like to see more pictures of my studio, you can gohere orhere!

Get your clean on, and craft some Magic this Month! 

Love, Happiness, and Crafting-

Miss Nifty Thrifty~Kara Ward (Studio Pink)