Scribbles From My Scrap Studio – 2017 January

Hello, counterfeiters. Susanne here, with the first of a new monthly feature called Scribbles From My Scrap Studio. It will cover a multitude of sins topics, sometimes related to our monthly inspiration kit, and sometimes not. First up, let’s get organized.

Back when I was writing my own blog, all of 30 days ago (heavy sigh of nostalgia); one of my most visited posts of all time was this one about organization. We all organize and reorganize our supplies more than we care to admit, and often start the new year revisiting our methods.

Organization is important. It is not more important than crafting, but certainly capable of contributing to or detracting from the creative process. Organization is also not a static condition, unless a scrapbooker never ever crafts and never ever buys craft supplies. And really, do WE know ANYONE like that?

There were many little items in this month’s inspiration kit, so I thought you might like to see how I deal with die-cuts. I choose them as an example, because I hear scrapbookers complain that die-cuts are the peskiest of supplies to store. 
 
First, when I buy a line of scrapbooking products I store all the items together.



As soon as I open a pack of die-cuts, I put them in a clear clamshell box where I can see and choose from them more easily. This works well as long as I am actively using the product line and keeping it together.



When I am ready to move on, I break down all the elements and store them with other like items. Papers are filed in my vertical holders. Button/ribbon packs tossed into baskets, alphabets are stored in drawers or bins and journal cards are boxed with my Project Life supplies. You get the idea: they are all accessible for when I compile stash kits.

Die-cuts, because they are printed, are often more closely related in design to one another than other embellishments. They often contain many colors, and not only coordinate with their current line, but often with other lines by that designer or company. Here are several cases in point, Dear Lizzy, Amy Tangerine and Maggie Holmes. That is why I put the die-cuts into boxes with previous paper editions by company. I label the containers of die-cuts and place them in a visible location.



That worked well for the last couple of years, until some of those boxes were full. I left the newer  die-cuts, purged a few and sorted the rest by color. In my studio, the last stop on the scrappy train is the bits and bobs box. Here is what it looked like just 2 years ago, when I would not have put most die-cuts in here.



Here it is now. Yes, it is bigger, and items are still sorted by color rather than type of item. Buttons, die-cuts, brads and other assorted doodads are intermingled. This solution is ultra-handy when I am scrapping on the go – something I plan to do more often. Instead of packing half-empty packages of embellishments (I emptied 30+ packs) for crops and often taking too much, I am determined to take only stash kits and this case of boxes. It’s like a mini studio.



Just another little tip, I added a cellophane bag to each box to hold the paper items together, and prevent dents and dings from buttons, brads and other hard doo-dads. I can dump the bag into the lid to access them them easily.



Do you think my system, which gives several opportunities to use supplies by seeing them stored in different contexts, is too complicated? Would you have pitched them without giving them second and third chances? Do you sort by color the minute you get new supplies? Or, are you going to pretend you never have leftovers from your kits?

Weigh in below and tell us how you store those pesky die-cuts. And, feel free to scribble down any suggestions for other topics you would like to discuss in months ahead.

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Remember, tomorrow is the end of the month.  So if you want a sneak peek at what is coming in February then check out our Facebook page or Instagram feeds, which is where we'll preview the kit we've chosen.  It's a good 'un!