I need help. I am obsessed with storage. But then again, as paper crafters aren’t we
all? How much time do you spend on the
internet searching out the “PERFECT STORAGE” idea? And I love that feeling when I find something
that gives me an Aha! moment, will it work, can I tweak it just a bit, is this
really it? Sound familiar? It is
definitely me. Aside from buying new
goodies, I spend more time trying to figure out how to store them than using
them. My longest ongoing search and
discover is for die storage. Can’t store
them by color and they are all different shapes, yikes, how do you deal with
them? Well, check the internet, watch
“YouTube”, there are a gazillion solutions out there and I have tried a number
of them. First I tried the binder with
the soft plastic zip up inserts. Hated
those, they got stuck on the binder rings and it was difficult to flip through
them and space per die ratio wasn’t good.
$25.00. Then I bought 3 of those
plastic boxes that are made for cling stamps and put the Avery magnetic sheets
on those. Nope, didn’t like that either,
again, hard to access and the space per die ratio was not working for me. $36.00.
I next saw a blog where a CD storage box (Atlantis)with hanging folders
was used. Wow, that had to be a great
solution. I have four $40.00.
You can see where this is going.
The boxes actually worked for a while but the larger dies didn’t fit and
I couldn’t actually see the dies until I pulled the individual folder out. I need to see those dies. So through all this experimentation I
discovered that
I need to see my dies quickly and don’t want a
reference sheet as to where they are filed.
I
want a solution where I can store some dies together if they are small or of a
type.
I
need them filed by company
I
need to be able to add new dies quickly and efficiently.
Okay, expensive learning
process. But, it is important to
recognize how you function in your craft space. My big shot sits on an old
stainless steel medical 3 shelf cart that my husband gave me and I have room
next to it to store dies and room on the shelves below. About a month ago I was reading one of the many
blogs I follow (will try to find it) and whoever it was stored her dies in a
library drawer on what looked like file cards.
Wow, I loved it and I immediately started searching for library
drawers. Too expensive, too small, not
what I wanted. So the idea percolated
for a while and I realized that I had a spare large banker’s box – you know
those ugly green things that you can keep checks in- and a half pack of 5 x 8
sturdy three tabbed file dividers.
WooHoo! I cut down the box, cut and glued Avery magnetic sheets to the dividers, covered each tab (by manufacturer) in washi tape and Voila, happy at last. Well, not completely, I had to order more
dividers.
A little post note: the spellbinders grand calibur also fit but not on the cards. I used a piece of cardboard cut to fit and it is sitting in the very back of the file box.
Supplies:
Washi tape from stash
