In My Studio - Tools

Hello CTK friends!  This month a few members of the Creative Team are sharing  photo's and details of how they store their various tools!

Cece here showing you the tools I use. Here’s the mug where I store my scissors, punchers, markers, pens, pencils, dirty brushes, water brush pens. Then this mug goes on my craft cart so it’s easily accessible.

There are so many things in the craft world that I wish I had but it’s hard to get a hold of some things while living in a foreign country so I’m leaning how to just use what I have in my stash and I’m still able to get by pretty well. 🤗

Tool storage, right now, for me is in brown cardboard boxes! Not because I’m trying to make things hard to find but because my family is moving!  So instead I’m showing you my top twelve tools & supplies! 

1. Teeny tiny watercolor brush 
2. Faber Castel Big Brush Pens 
3. Acrylic block & acrylic stamps 
4. Tim Holtz mini stapler 
5. Washi tape 
6. Jumbo bow clip
7. Paint
8. Date stamper 
9. Die Cuts 
10. Mini Pom Pom maker
11. Tabs
12. Tape runner 

Whenever I travel this is what gets packed! I can’t wait to hear what some of your favorite tools are and how you neatly or not so neatly store them!! 

Ashley aka @magmagandme 

Honestly, most of my tools are spread out around my room. I organize more by type or what they’re used for. But I like to keep my most used tools within arms reach so when I recently built my giant pegboard system, I added some cute areas to hold some tools. My favorite holders are these macrame hanging mason jars.

I taught myself macrame for the sole purpose of making these. Ha! They hold scissors, pens and paintbrushes. Another container I have is this wire basket from Walmart. It holds punches and staplers and fits perfectly on my pegboard shelves.

I store most of my tools as scissors, rulers, different pen's, staplers and so on in my tool-bag (makes it easy just to pick with you if you are of for a scrap-crop).

My tape's, date stamps and regular black ink pads I store in a little separate basket.

Also I've a big basket-tower on my desk for miscellaneous bits and pieces.

Hi there! We live in an apartment which means that i have to share my time and space with my family.   Well, that also means many of my tools are stashed in drawers and in designated spaces for my supplies.

Our large display bookcase in the living room has a few empty shelves, and it is where i store most of my mixed media stuff. I love decorative/funky jars that can housemy brushes, knifes, etc, and since you can see through the glass these also serve as decor pieces.  The lower drawers of this book case house my machines, this way they are out of the way and the view of the public.

A few months ago we bought an industrial type bookcase for the dining room so that i can house some of my scrapbook supplies (yes, we are surrounded by my stash!), since it is open, I try at best to keep everything organized (this is a craftermath!).  I love having my most used tools just a stretch away from the dining room table since i do most of my work and videos from there!

Most of my tools sit on or right near my main desk.  I picked up this "kids craft bucket" spinning from an online shop in Australia and it's perfect for holding almost everything! The individual buckets are super handy in that I can just it pick up and carry it to wherever I need it to be at the time.  I can fit so much "stuff" in this too, I love it.

The only other tools I use often are my typewriter (which sits on the desk, right in the middle so I can use it all the time!), my cameo (which I've parked underneath my desk on a small rolling table) and my sewing machine (which sits just to the left of my main desk)!

How do you store your tools? We would love to see/hear (just share a post on the Facebook Fanpage!).

Is there anything you would like to see from our "In My Studio" posts? Please leave a comment below and we'll be sure to include it in the future!

In My Studio - Mists/Paints Storage

Hi friends!  This month the GraceBox Team (along with a few friends from the Creative Team!)  are sharing how they store their paints/mists!

Oh how I love using paint and getting messy while creating something colorful - but unfortunately my paint storage is equally as messy! Being a former art teacher my basement is exploding with tubs, buckets, & shelves of paint in every shape, size & color. Instead of scaring you with those pictures, I'll show you my smaller collections of specific paints for my Bible Journaling Art.  I keep it close to my desk so I always have access to it.  

First of all, I don’t have a craft room or table for that matter, I just have a cart. On a normal day, I craft on my desk that doesn’t have any drawers but only has a tiny space/shelf for me to stack some supplies in boxes.

I love these medium-sized acrylic boxes. It’s clear so you can see everything but what I love most about it is that it has these lids which doubles as a tray. I don’t have a ton of paint but these are the ones that I have and on the tray is where I put the colors that I’m reaching for the most for the month or for when I’m working through a certain kit. 

I might be the least mixed media inclined member of the creative team, but it doesn’t stop me from buying mixed media supplies! My stash is relatively small, so it makes it easy to contain. I have a few of these refrigerator bins in my room for multiple purposes, and think they work perfectly for my paints and mists since they’re really easy to clean. I have a slightly larger fabric bin to hold my remaining supplies and the plastic refrigerator bin fits right inside. 

I keep my color sprays and paints along with some other mixed media supplies in a drawer cabinet which is placed right beneath my desk, so I can have easy access to the supplies whenever I need them.

I keep the ones I use a lot (it changes from time to time) on my desk though to have them handy. 

I've got all my paints/mists (i.e. all the messy stuff!) in one of the drawers of my Alex drawer.   I've used a couple clear plastic baskets to hold the mists and the paints just  fit in the gap perfectly!  Everything is super easy to find and I just take them out as I need (and I have to admit the rainbow colours are just pretty to look at this way, haha).

Hi dear CTK friends! I store my Color Mist's easy to reach on and in my Ikea Råskog. I use them quite often so I like that I easily can view them and just reach out my arm and grab the cart to get what I need :) 

We always love seeing how our Creative Team members store their goodies!  How do your store your journaling cards? We would love to see/hear (just share a post on the Facebook Fanpage!).

Is there anything you would like to see from our "In My Studio" posts? Please leave a comment below and we'll be sure to include it in the future!

In My Studio - Pocket Life Team

Hi CTK friends!  This month the Pocket Life Team are sharing some brilliant ideas on how they store their journaling cards!

All my cards are from Citrus Twist Kits. I don't have a lot of them, as I actively use them in the Project Life. I keep them together with the stamps in the container is from IKEA.

Hi, friends!  I like to store my Project Life (PL) cards in two little wooden Ikea boxes and organize them by color.  Over the years I've tried organizing my cards in various ways (from manufacturer to theme), but since I usually select my PL cards based on their color, that's what makes the most sense to me when it comes to organizing them.  

To keep my card supply somewhat minimal I like to go through them every now and then and de-stash.  This helps me not only remember what I already have but also keeps me refreshing my stash.  I work best when I'm not surrounded by too many supplies so keeping my stash small is really important to me.

To divide up my colors I use a piece of white cardstock with a colored label between each color.  This makes in quick and easy to find what I'm looking for and it also makes it easier to organize any new cards I get :)  

Journaling cards have been a problematic supply for me over the years, but I’ve finally found a storage solution that suits the way I scrap! Originally I colour coded and stored all my journaling cards in a large, heavy, divided box. This was great when I didn’t have a lot of other supplies and could easier open and dig through it on a flat surface in my craft room...however, my supplies have since accumulated and I now need a more compact form of storage! 

I accidentally stumbled across this clear plastic chocolate container from a gift and realised that it fits 3x4 cards perfectly! I now store my fav cards, 3x4” pieces of scrapbook paper scraps and any leftover cards from my monthly CT PL kits here, right next to my desk. My tip for journaling card storage - make it simple and adjust it to suit how you scrap. If you scrap by colour, sort that way. If you prefer to dig through a treasure trove of mismatched themes and styles like me, store them all together!

I like to keep all my CTK supplies together, which I do using an Ikea box. When I work on a project such as a PL spread, I will pull out my journaling cards and store them in a small container while work. This enables me to see all my cards and sort through them easily.  

I love to keep all my Citrus Twist goodies together in one spot for easy creating.  I use the CTK journal cards and stamps so often that I keep my box at the top of my Kallax organizer from Ikea.  This little organizer fits all my 3x4 and 4x6 journal cards perfectly.  I am easily able to flip through all the cards and pick out my favorites for each project, and it looks so cute! By keeping all your products organized it cuts down on the time it takes for you to find that “perfect” product and lets you just get to the fun of creating and telling stories!

Have fun, happy organizing!

Once I have finished working with a kit, I go through what ever cards are left (if any!) and decide whether to keep them or not. I don't find any point in keeping cards I know don't suit my style or have a sentiment or colour I don't love. Any I love and desperately want to use, I keep in a little bowl on my desk where I have easy access to them. The others go into my card storage box (literally an old shoe box I added cardboard dividers too!) where they are stored by colour.

-----------------------

We always love seeing how our Creative Team members store their goodies!  How do your store your journaling cards? We would love to see/hear (just share a post on the Facebook Fanpage!).

Is there anything you would like to see from our "In My Studio" posts? Please leave a comment below and we'll be sure to include it in the future!