Hello everyone,
Happy WOYWW (What’s on your workdesk Wednesday) I wasn’t sure I was going to make it this week due to everything going on here and I keep meaning to share some of my storage “solutions” but haven’t got time to take and edit the photos, and then I remembered some photos I took before I switched rooms. So I can share those today as the storage is still the same just in a different room now. I generally don’t buy special storage containers for crafts as I like to a. save money, but also b. re-purpose unused items from around the house or elsewhere : ) I am sharing this post with the WOYWW Gang and for the Blog Along with Effy Day 15 – we are at the halfway mark already! Links to all at the end of the post along with a complete list of posts for September so far!
Paperartsy Fresco Chalk Paint…
Let’s start with the Paperartsy paints since this photo can also serve as my desk photo for this week as they happen to be on my desk! I store my Paperartsy paints in these gold wire baskets that I got in ASDA years ago. I think they might have been a Christmas item as I got them in a post-Christmas sale at a greatly reduced price. I have about 20+ of them storing all sorts all over the house (including storing old videos, just the right width) and a lot are in the studio storing various things, anything from washi tape to journalling cards to paint. They are handy for these paints as they can fit seven rows of five bottles = 35 bottles in each basket and I can stack them if I want to, but I currently have them in a Raskog trolley from IKEA. I put a dot of paint on each lid with the level of opacity 1,2 or 3 written on it. These are the only paints I store this way, because I use them a lot and I want them within easy reach, also why they are in the trolley. All the other acrylic paints are stored in a chest of drawers, and my watercolour paints are stored separately in palettes.
Fabric, Soft Crafts etc…
I keep most of the fabric etc in these plastic tubs. They are all numbered and the contents are noted in a list (handwritten and Excel) so if I ever need to find anything I can check the list, find the tub number and pull out the right one – assuming I can’t just see what I want through the clear plastic! I keep heavier items like bag hardware, purse frames, bulky metal zips, tools etc in these seagrass baskets. The seagrass baskets used to be in a storage unit for towels in the bathroom, and then for clothes in the wardrobe and now they are for craft storage. I started buying the plastic tubs for easy transportation to craft fairs but discovered they were very useful for full time storage. Here are some of the contents of the tub in the middle, 24A, yes that means that there are at least 24 of these plastic tubs!
Stamps and Dies Storage . . .
This was taken in the old room but the storage remains the same. I have two IKEA Expedit (now Kallax) units on top of each other, and inside each cube I have an assortment of various storage options. These include the black Drona drawers that are designed to fit in the Expedit, more seagrass baskets in a smaller size that just fit the Expedit dimensions, one filing box from TK Max that I used to store dress patterns in until there were too many, and two x Soap and Glory boxes (the red ones) that I rescued from the tip! I nearly fell into the cardboard recycling bay when I spotted them in a sea of brown amazon cardboard boxes, but I was able to reach in and grab both of them. They are the perfect size for storing my stamps and dies and they are good sturdy boxes that were undamaged.Something I do differently to a lot of people is that I store my stamps and dies by brand. So for example the filing box in the top left has all my Concord & 9th stamps and dies, the red box on the top right, has all my Altenew stamps and dies, and the seagrass basket on the bottom right has all my Tim Holtz stamps. If the stamps have a matching die like a lot of the C9 and Altenew ones do, then they are stored together in Avery Elle plastic sleeves, and each sleeve has the name and the product number written on them. It’s a bit like being in a shop, each brand has its own section lol. They are stored in release order too, oldest to newest, so I know roughly where to look depending on age. The exception to this are the Sizzix dies. I have all my Tim Holtz Sizzix dies together but filed under type, so all the word dies, all the Christmas dies, all the Halloween dies, all the stacked dies, all the nature dies etc are kept together. All the non-Tim Holtz Sizzix dies are kept in a different box. None of these containers were bought specially for this purpose, they were all repurposed from other parts of the house or rescued from the tip!
Collage Fodder, Backgrounds, Scrap Card etc . . .
I’ve saved these boxes over the years and have been storing/collecting all my bits and pieces in them. Most of them are the pizza style boxes that shops use to ship 12 x 12 scrapbook paper so they are a handy size for most things that I might be creating. As you can see, they are separated into cardstock scraps (for diecutting), tea and coffee stained papers, gelli prints, watercolour backgrounds, collage materials. That last one is a BIG box, not one of the 12 x 12s, and it is full to overflowing, and I actually have three more in the wardrobe since I switched rooms. I really must do better at using up this stuff instead of collecting it!
Fun Kitty Storage Options. . . ?
Option 1: Try stacking some IKEA Lack tables on top of each other and store your kitties on each level.
Outcome: unsuccessful, possibility of escape is high.
Option 2: Try storing the kitties in a high, hard to reach place like on top of this stack of plastic tubs.
Outcome: unsuccessful, not recommended unless your kitty has life goals to touch the ceiling in every room like Miss Lily – yes that is the ceiling and yes she got up there all by herself!
Option 3: Pop your kitties in some IKEA Drona boxes – if you’re lucky, they might just jump in without your help!
Outcome: unsuccessful, possibility of jumping back out is high,does present fun entertainment possibilities of jumping in and out of boxes all day long!
Option 4: Place kitties on top of filing cabinets
Outcome: you’ve cat to be kitten me, silly human! : P
Of course I don’t store my kitties anywhere, they were just being their helpful selves while I was relocating the contents of the room, but it is funny how they have to test out everything, isn’t it? No box untested, no ceiling untouched lol. Also in this photo, are my jewellery supplies, which I keep in an assortment of boxes on those shelves on the left behind the kittens, there are also more of those gold wire baskets, this time holding various twines and ribbons. When there is not a load of junk piled on top of that table, I can sit there and everything is within reach.
Hope you enjoyed the post. Let me know what you think in the comments. As always, thanks for reading!
Ingredients
see above
Challenges
WOYWW – #641 – What’s on my desk (I’m number #11 in the linkup!) Happy WOYWW!
Blog Along with Effy – Day 15
Links to all the days of the September blog-along
Sept 1st – UFOs Tapestry Cushion and Harris Tweed TBD
Sept 2nd – Second on the Second – e-reader covers
Sept 3rd – There is no enjoyment like reading
Sept 4th – A Day in the Garden and UFO update
Sept 5th – Begin the Beguine
Sept 6th – She Sells Seashells on the Seashore
Sept 7th – Vintage Children Doing Vintage Things
Sept 8th – WOYWW Desk, Garden, Kitties, Kitchen and Blog Along One Week In
Sept 9th – August Reading List
Sept 10th – Sorry Not Sorry
Sept 11th – A Peek Inside The Fabric Stash
Sept 12th – Garden Catch-Up, Bees, Cats, Cat Mint
Sept 13th – Happy Roald Dahl Day!
Sept 14th – T Stands for Banana Bread
Sept 15th – this post
This month I decided to join in with Effy Wild’s blog-along – 30 posts in 30 days same as we did in April this year. The idea is to blog every day if you can, but also to comment on other people’s blogs to keep the conversation going. There is a facebook group where you can link your posts and find other people’s to go visit and comment.
I love seeing how other people store their goodies – I get lots of good ideas, but I always have to think it thru and really consider if it will work for ME. I love your paint array. I always mean to stock up on PA paints and never do. If i need a chalky finish I add some chalk to paint I already have. Not exactly the same but it works for me!
Happy WOYWW, so very late!
Mary Anne (9)
your room looks like a fun treasure hunt!
It was fun seeing all your storage solutions, especially storing the kitties! I store Inky in the window of our bedroom, seems to be pretty successful! But Mittsy prefers to be stored in the bushes beside the house, LOL! Daytime storage only though! Thanks for your visit to mine. Have a great week, Lindart #20
Cats just love to be involved don’t they! Your post was great fun to read. Angela #2
Haaaa! That was fun. Kitties are such awesome helpers! Loved the tour. I also repurpose things for craft storage. The ones made for the purpose are way too pricy!
I absolutely love this, Elle! Great storage solutions, and well done, repurposing things from the tip and from other rooms in the house (some being 3rd generation purposes too!). Best of all was the kitty storage. So much fun.
Thank you for your two visits, last week’s one and this. You sound as if you’ve been very busy especially in the garden. I’m so glad you’ve got frogs in your garden, too. Our kitties have a habit of chasing the wildlife out of hiding so that we can actually see them, and then my hubby rescues them.
What sort of stand mixer do you have? I think the puree attachment is pretty standard for all Kenwood models but mine is so old that I can’t be sure on that score.
Glad you liked my CD tiles and also all the butterflies I made the other night! I gave the card to the radiographers yesterday and they loved it. All 5 treatments now complete. I feel pretty wiped out but I think it may be too early for the onset of fatigue from the treatment – it’s more likely to be an ME reaction. I’m going to be running late with all my comments this week because I was simply too exhausted yesterday to make a start on them!
Happy belated WOYWW and kisses from Lily and Ruby, to you and your feline gang!
Shoshi x #12
Love your eclectic storage containers. I use a Pizza box as a make do spray booth – LOL
Thanks for the visit BJ#18
well, anywhere where there’s a small gap I know that nosey Jinx will be exploring it to see if it’s a good hiding place for a nap! You have loads of stuff,(so do I!?) so any storage ideas you have are always welcome! Happy WOYWW! Stay Safe, Keep crafting ((Lyn)) #22
Love all your storage and wish I has room like that, Two lovely cat, and full of fun I would say
Take care and stay safe,
I always like looking at storage solutions and how other crafters keep their stuff… I guess I recognize the last photo solution, old cardboard boxes with all kinds of paper scraps – that’s mostly my thing *haha* Thanks for stopping by my blog yesterday, enjoy your week. Love from Holland, Marit #16