Starlight Musings

      A few years ago, I unmounted my stamps to save space (I didn't have a designated craft area) .  Some of the rubber stamps peeled right off while others needed to be put into the microwave for 5 second intervals.  I tried a few different ways to store them, but ended up with this.      Basically, I unmounted stamps, put them on clear plastic pages (the kind used for projectors) , and put them into page protectors.  If they needed help, I used Aleene's Tack it Over.  I've covered some clear stamps with a layer of cling wrap before putting them in the sleeves to keep them from sticking to the protector.      Thanks for checking my quick idea out.  Hope you're doing well and hope that maybe I sparked something in you!   (On with the yammer. . .)      I unmounted most of my stamps several years ago.  It saved a lot of space, but I had to learn as I went and ended up trying a few different t...

     Sometimes, it seems to be more helpful to see how specific items are stored (or is it just me?) .  I've already shared how I've stored my original, Bigz, and Pro dies, so why not continue with my other sized dies?      I have my Sizzix XL dies in a few places.  A few that are more "seasonal" are in my die file cabinet and the rest are in my old changing table.  They're in a plastic box that actually used to be the top part of a record turntable on my brother's old stereo.  I'm guessing I used it to carry something I was wanting to save while tossing old stuff out and it worked well enough I kept it, otherwise, I'd have gotten something else. I used more pieces of the closet backing to divide them into the themes I use.      Thanks for checking my quick idea out.  If you've used/repurposed anything around your house in a new way, please share in the comments below.      No yammer this time - not ...

     I suppose the short version of this quick idea is that I put my Sizzix alphabet sets and smaller dies into a cabinet that doubles as the base of one side of my craft table.      Once my boys were grown enough to stop using a changing table, I took the wooden "guard rails" off.  While unpacking my craft supplies after our last move, I decided to try to use it for some dies and liked how they fit.  I also liked the white color and the beadboard details on the cabinet door enough to make it the end of the craft table hubs made.       It's divided into two sided - a side with "open" shelves and the other with a cabinet door.  Both sides have 3 shelves.  On the top shelf of the cabinet, I've put Sizzix Alphabars and other small sized alphabet blocks, some in their original boxes.      The thinner, Sizzlit alphabet sets stack 3 high on the middle shelf.      The bottom shelf has small dies in p...

     After doing a lot of online research, I ended up using Dollar Tree acrylic drawers.      I originally had them in four stacks that "nestled" together so there was a stack "facing"each direction on a Dollar Tree lazy susan.  I labeled the fronts and one side to help see what pad was where, but without a shelf, this system wasn't as convenient for me as I hoped.  Instead, it went into my IKEA closet alongside my wire paper stack.      Hope you're doing well and able to enjoy some of the little things (we're enjoying a bit of blue in our skies - a welcomed sight after the past few weeks of smoky, orange, "Mad Max" skies) . (On with the yammer. . .)      I wanted a system that would be able to hold an ink pad, a reinker, and the foam pad used for the distressing tools.  I thought about using a system called EZStudRack, designed for a multitude of items, screwed into 2x4's. (I found them on YouTube.  They're...

     After making the drawer-shelf unit I posted here , I decided to use it for all my jewelry craft items (charms, tools, chains, etc.) .  They were tightening the stay-at-home regulations again, so shopping didn't seem prudent.  I went through what I had and tried to organize my supplies better, with the idea that I'd use them more if they were easier to find. . .      I cut down the granola box - magazine file thing I mentioned in my last post .  I glued extra cardboard to double the box's thickness all around since it was going to hold a bit and could get heavy.      I grabbed our box of square sized snack baggies, (without any guilt since we weren't using them for school anymore) and cut down some more cardboard to make dividers.  The cardboard was ugly and from various boxes, so I wrapped them in decoupage along with the box, and printed up labels for each divider and baggie.      Hope you're doing wel...

     I "built" something.  Pardon the pic - it looks horrible!  Kinda like a proverbial red-headed stepchild - and I could only think to describe it as if a magazine file fell in love with a box and created an offspring.  But, to use another phrase, this thing has legs, if ya give it a chance and can look past this horrible cover job.        I took a granola bar box from Costco, lifted up the top to make a tall back, glued a big piece of cardboard to it and around the sides, and then covered the whole thing.  I decided against trimming the sides to allow them to offer more support to any supplies housed inside - scrapbook papers, pads, or even some albums fit nicely.  I liked how the sides seemed to almost blend into each other when they were side-by-side.  Not trimming them down could also help them stack better laying down.      - but after all that, I didn't use it as-is.  I thought I could still sha...

     A video on YouTube (Connie Stewart's craft room tour video, shown here ) inspired me to have a shelf near my craft table.      I found an unused wooden piece and put it on top of my file cabinet to see if it'd work for me.  I figured I could decide if I liked it there or if I wanted it on my table like in the video.  I've put a few things on it and now that I covered the file cabinet, I decided to fix it up as well.      It had a thin edge slightly attached with a few biscuits, so I clamped it and used wood glue.  After the glue dried, I painted it and put it back.      Hope you're doing well and hope that maybe I sparked a bit of creativity or courage in you! (on with the yammer. . .)      Years ago, while watching craft room tour videos on YouTube and trying to get inspired and figure out what to do with my craft space, I came across one tour that had a shelf on a craft table.  I was in...

     This metal piece at a Salvation Army store "leapt" out at me.  I've never seen anything like it so I didn't know what it's missing "base" was supposed to be or look like.  I had to use my very limited imagination to make it useful.      I decided to turn it into something to hold supplies, similar to a small Clip-It-Up.  I searched for some clip ideas.      At IKEA, I found these shower / curtain hooks.      I could also use the paperclip looped thru' a clothespin idea. . . I found 3 sizes, all reasonably priced at Dollar Tree and at Walmart.      Depending on what I'm hanging, I could also go with some free options by using old pencil pouches and various packaging from socks, curtains, or plastic clam shells that have the store display punch cut out. . .      Now, I needed a "base."  For height, I used a wooden dowel in a Coke bottle.  To prevent it from tipping, the ...

     As you probably know, Pinterest has many beautiful pictures of Copic storage.  Pictures of products like Art Bin Marker Storage or units built for IKEA Expedit  and homemade versions using  ovc electrical  conduits, egg crate ceiling light tiles,  cut pvc pipes, glued CD cases, and repurposing cassette or CD storage racks.      I had one of the later, so I used it.      Unlike most of the pinners I saw, I used cut acrylic sheets I already had to create "shelves" instead of empty CD cases.  They take up less space and make it easier to grab the markers.      Thanks for looking.  Hope you're doing well!   (On with the yammer. . .)     This isn't my first Copic storage.  After taking a card making class, I went out and bought some stackable, plastic containers from Target on a recommendation from the teacher, Irina Blount.   (A few years after I took some of her...

     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. . .)   ...

     Some might argue that being crafty is all about making things.  I think sometimes it's about using what you have and making it work for you.      I took an unused file cabinet and made it store the thick, steel-rule dies.      Along the right side, you can see the magnetic labels I made to help find dies easier.      Thin plywood lines the bottom of the drawers and create dividers to help keep rows and themes separate, even if the drawers get slammed shut.  This can fit Sizzix original, Bigz, XL, etc. - the small and medium dies could fit, but might be a little difficult to take out.  The only ones that wouldn't fit are the Pro sized dies.  If I were to put the small or medium ones in here, I'd probably put them in boxes or baskets to make it easier to get to them.  I didn't try that because I have them in other areas.      Thanks for checking my idea out.  Hope you're doing ...

     After searching the internet, I decided to try my hand at the wire cube hack for my paper.            It isn't too complicated, so most of the sites I saw it on didn't have too many details.  I used zip ties in several spaces to hold the shelves up and spaced them about 2 inches apart.      Only thing that might be a little different is that I made mine tall and put it in my IKEA closet.  It keeps the paper from being directly in the sunlight and helps keep things out of sight when I leave my area.       Hope you're doing well! (On with the yammer. . .)      I started with the generic paper cube with the vertical dividers that were everywhere awhile ago (the same one I had to fix in an earlier post ) .  It works for my solid cardstock, but after a few deals at Scrapbook Expos and getting paper on sale from Michael's, I needed more storage for my printed papers.     ...

     In the last post, I talked about trying to find something that went with my medium dies to put into the IKEA Gnedby I have.  The thought is to keep similar items grouped together to ease finding things and keep organized better.      What else cuts paper into shapes?      Punches!             The grey box in the picture on the right = my old, quick solution to organize smaller punches.  It's two boxes duct taped together.  The duct tape didn't just keep them together, it covered the labels and made a handle I used to lift it out of the shortbread cookie tin I originally put it in.  Other punches fit on the bottom of the tin and I used this on top with my more-used punches.      Hope you're finding ways to keep yourself sane whether you're stuck - I mean, staying, inside with other people or not. (On with the yammer. . .)      Although the dowel/rack/curt...

     I already had a picture of this idea in a previous post, but thought I'd revisit it to explain the storage idea.  I use an IKEA Gnedby (designed for CD/DVDs) to store my medium sized Sizzix dies.  The unit is deep enough for them, even after I put in scraps of beadboard in the back to give it a detail some other pieces in my craft space have.      I used my Dymo label maker to make it easier to find the die I'm looking for.  I think I'm going to paint it white to match the rest of my craft corner furniture, but don't have the paint and it's not critical, so I'll wait for things to cool off (literally & figuratively) .      Thanks for checking my idea out.  Hope you're doing well and maybe I helped spark a bit of creativity or courage in you to do something with unloved furniture! (On with the small yammer. . .)      Once we moved into our current home, we realized we didn't want to use our Gnedby ...

     Quick post today -      While unpacking some of our office supplies after our move, I came across a metal incline desktop sorter like this.      It was perfect to store my Sizzix Pro Dies!  No altering needed! Thanks for checking out one of my quick organization solutions - hope you're doing well and hope that maybe I sparked a bit of creativity in you! (On with the yammer. . . .)      When I was living in Southern California, I was lucky enough to be able to make it to a Sizzix Warehouse sale where I was able to buy a few Sizzix Pro dies.  I didn't have a machine big enough to use them yet, but they were very discounted and I had access to some Ellison machines at work.  (I did use 2 for work purposes, but they were a great deal and I figured I could always resell them for a small profit if I needed to.)       Some time after moving, I had started unpacking a few crafty things during...

     I had space under my craft table and wanted to make a bookcase.  With COVID still an issue, I decided to get creative and just get it done.  I used some drawers I had.      I checked to make sure they fit in the space, then had to decide the spacing.   (I used an empty box to help me guess better.)       I attached feet for the two upper drawers to the middle drawer so the upper and lower drawers could slide out.  I used wood glue to attach more scrap wood to the thin underside of the middle drawer for extra stability.  Using the supplies and limited skills I have, I decided to keep it simple and use three long "support beam" being held up by feet for the upper drawer.  (Anyone who wants the correct terms, I chose to use a butt joint.)      Biscuits and wood glue were used to connect all the pieces.   I used a sealant inside the drawers to prevent more splinters.   ...

     Some time after seeing cute, mini magazine holders a few talented women made online, I noticed that graham cracker boxes from Costco were a good size for my cards. . .and came up with these.       The boxes were a little flimsy, so I opened them up and glued another layer of cardboard (from other boxes) .     I glued the box back into shape, decoupaged, and added some metal apothecary-type pulls from Amazon to the fronts (the ones I ordered are no longer available, but there are many others - just search for label pull handles and you should find similar ones) .  I just wanted to make sure I like the grouping inside before I made labels.      Thanks for checking out my quick project  - hope you're doing well and hope that maybe I sparked a bit of creativity or courage in you!  (But - if you raid your pantry and take any cardboard boxes, think of labeling any bags you take out if they're not easily...

     Short version - I pulled off the original covering off two cassette storage boxes, painted the inside, decoupaged the outside.  Still unsure what I'm putting inside or how I'm doing it . . . any suggestions? - hope you're doing well and hope that maybe I sparked a bit of creativity or motivation in you! (On with the yammer. . .)      I've had two old cassette storage boxes for a loooonnnnggg time, but I've been trying to figure out how to use them.  I've seen other blog posts showing pictures of them painted.  They say they've used them to organize craft supplies, but I haven't seen or read what they've actually put in them or how they've done it.  I'm thinking I could use them for die cuts or embellishments, but I'm still working the details out.  Did they use the old cases?  Did they use the slots like others do with ink pads?  Did they do something else??      I decided to answer those questions lat...