Craft Organization - Die Storage (thin metal types)
My last post was about the top part of my die cabinet (here), so thought I'd share the bottom part where I put my Sizzlits and other thin dies.
I use page protectors. Loaded page protectors can go into binders, fridge bins, baskets, magazine files, boxes, or even be tied together with string or a loose ring.
My Sizzlits are in either regular page protectors (I sewed pockets into them) or baseball card protectors, then put into a binder.
My thin, metal dies are placed on magnetic vent covers before going into page protectors and placed into a Ritz box from Costco.
Thanks for checking my quick idea out. If you have another system or idea, please share - I'm very interested and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
As always, I hope you're doing well and hope that maybe I sparked a bit of creativity or courage in you!
(On with the yammer. . .)
I used baseball card page protectors for my Sizzlits - the kind that fit 9 cards on one sheet. Dies that were too big go into page protectors. I put a piece of cardstock to help make it more stable, then I used a straight stitch on my sewing machine with whatever thread I had. I carefully used a box cutter and a self-healing cutting mat to open up any pockets that were sewn closed.
I'm not sure if I'm going to keep them in a binder for two reasons.
1.) Binders don't let the drawer close unless you slant them at just the right angle. Bigger binders shift around due to the weight. Moving them into thinner binders does make them lighter, but then there are more moving parts you have to adjust and they seem to love the struggle to get the drawer closed.
and
2.) I like the idea of only having one place to look instead of the binder and the boxes. . . I don't have a lot of thin dies so it isn't a real issue if I can't remember if the die I want is is a Sizzlit or not - but, there's room for improvement. Plus, I might have more time soon, especially with the boys being required to Zoom without a parent for several blocks of time. . .
The magnetic vent covers for the thin dies are in most home improvement stores (I've gotten them from both Lowe's and Home Depot) - they're 8" x 15". To fit the page protectors, I cut them to 11" - making them 8" x 11". The 4" x 8" left-over piece can be used by itself, but I've duct taped two together to get another almost full sized sheet. (I put it on the back to hide it and to keep as much of the magnetic surface as I could.)
The magnetic sheets are a little thin and wobbly (especially the two 4" pieces). I've cut a frozen pizza box, put it behind the magnetic sheet, and popped them into a page protector. I used to put them in binders too, but I experienced the two problems I mentioned earlier. I tried just using the metal dividers in the file cabinet to support them, but the page protectors still needed something more to keep them upright and in place. I started "experimenting" - that's when I found that Ritz boxes from Costco were just as wide as the interior of the drawers.
I printed the themes I use to divide my supplies onto regular printer paper and covered some cardboard with them. I used the "extra" metal divider from another drawer to keep the Ritz boxes from moving as well as separating the boxes from the binders.
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