How I Store And Catalog My Dies

Posted in Organization and Storage by lisababitz

I have always stored my wafer thin dies on magnetic sheets in binders, but I needed a way to better keep track of what I have and where to find them. So, after weeks of work, here is how I (now) store and catalog my dies…

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9Apr2019

Technique Tags

Posted in A Blast from the Past, Organization and Storage, Tutorials by lisababitz

Technique Tags

(a blast from the past…)

Here’s an idea that helps you keep track of new techniques you come across and also allows you to try them quickly without needing to create a whole, finished project…

Early in my card making “career,” I couldn’t get enough of the many technique videos and instructional posts available online. I learned so much so quickly and couldn’t keep up with trying them all on complete card projects so I started doing technique samples on tags (with the video/instructional post location and instructions/notes on the backs). I used a shower curtain ring to keep them together which made it easy to add new tags as I learned new techniques. When I had time to work on a card project, I could flip through my tags to get ideas (and instructions) on techniques I had wanted to try. (I still love watching technique videos, but I pace myself now – lol!)

Saving videos as “favorites” on YouTube or pinning cards and/or instructional blog posts to pinterest boards are also great ways to “remember” things you see and want to try, but the technique tags are a way to actually try the technique quickly without worrying about the rest of a card layout.

This project was originally shared on stamptv (June 14, 2013). (Sadly, this site is no longer active, and the StampTV galleries no longer exist.)

Thanks for checking out my post!

22Oct2017

How Should Ink Pads Be Stored?

Posted in Contact Me, Organization and Storage, Questions by lisababitz

How Should Ink Pads Be Stored?

I recently received a question asking if dye ink pads should be stored upside down. I have seen this question (and lots of opinions about it!) online and have often wondered what the answer is myself.

I sent an email to Tsukineko (Memento ink pads) asking this question and received no response.

I found this HERE on the Ranger site: “How should I store my Distress Ink Pads? The molded plastic case is designed to create the proper fit needed for the ink formulation. While storing the pads flat with the bottom side up will neither help nor hurt, we usually store pads on their sides or flat with the right side up.”

And HERE is an interesting video (at 4:21 mark) where Tim Holtz talks about how ink behaves in their pads and how they don’t need to be stored upside down. (Thanks for pointing this out, Joyce!). He talks about it again HERE (at 8:30 mark).

I also contacted customer service at Gina K Designs, and this is the response I received: “It actually does not matter, it will not affect the quality of the ink at all. We store them with the colored label up here at our brick and mortar store. :)”

I am not an expert, but according to the sources I checked, it doesn’t really matter. It seems to me (and this is just my opinion) that if the ink pads were supposed to be stored with the pads facing down, the manufacturers would put the ink pad on the lid. Since the pad is on the bottom and the label is on the top, it seems (to me) like that is the way they are to be stored (or at least that it is fine to store them this way).

Personally, I store my ink pads on their sides or with the lids facing up (because that is how my storage racks or containers hold them), and I have never had a problem.

When I am actually stamping, I usually place my stamp on the table facing up and tap the ink pad down on the stamp, and then I place the ink pad face down on its lid on my desk. (I like to keep the lid on the pad when I am done inking the stamp, and this is just a more natural technique for me than flipping the pad over and picking up the lid.) The ink pads are just as “inky” when stamping from this upside down position as when I first start using it from the upright position as it was stored.

Thanks for checking out my post!

30Oct2014

Understanding The Copic Marker Letter/Number System, And How I Store My Copic Markers

Posted in Organization and Storage by lisababitz

Understanding The Copic Marker Letter/Number System, And How I Store My Copic Markers

Copic markers are great for adding color to images, backgrounds, etc. There are so many colors from which to choose (over 350), and they blend beautifully to add shading, detail and depth to any project. I used to store my markers in a shoe box, but as my collection grew, storing my markers in an organized way became a must for me. I based my storage system on the letter/number system (with natural blending groups) that the Copics fit into. And I made sure my storage system would allow me to easily add newly acquired markers.

Slotted Trays

In my craft room, I use storage trays by Crafter’s Companion. I believe they are designed to store Spectrum Noir markers, but the Copic markers (sketch, ciao, and original) all fit in the slots perfectly.

Depending on where you buy them, you can get them as a single tray, or they come 6 in a pack. (They kind of snap into place if you are stacking them- either on a diagonal or lined up straight.) I’ve included a few links of places I’ve seen them:

I purchased singles at markerpop.com (See HERE.)

I purchased a box of 6 at Staples.com (See HERE.)

They are also available on amazon.com (See HERE).

I usually keep the trays on the shelf and bring the markers that I need to my desk. Occasionally, I need to bring the whole stack, though, so I put some decorative duct tape on the sides to keep them from coming apart and spilling all over the place.

How My Markers Are Organized:

I arrange my markers by keeping all the letters together, and then I arrange the markers in chronological order within the letter groups.

(click on photo to see a closer view; use back arrow to return to post)

Why do I arrange them like this? Understanding what those letters and numbers mean might make it clearer!

Copic Markers have letters and numbers on the caps (or on the marker) to give information about the color itself and to help you see what markers will blend together nicely.

The Letter(S) stands for the Color family: E = Earth, C = Cool Gray, B = Blue, YR = Yellow-Red, etc.

The First Number represents the Blending Group or the saturation of the color. Lower numbers are more vibrant (or more pure), and higher numbers have more gray (or are toned down). So B04 is a more vibrant or more pure blue than B24 which has more gray in it.

(The E’s are a little different since you can get brown from so many different color combinations, but there are still groups of browns that seem to go together.)

The Last Number(s) represents the Specific Value or shade – how light or dark a color is. The lower the number, the lighter the shade. So within the same color family (B2), B24 is a lighter blue than B29.

A Natural Blending Group is a sequence of specific values (light to dark) within the same color family and the same blending group. In other words, a blending group of markers will be markers where the letter(s) and first number are the same and the end numbers change. (Only the shade varies.) When these colors are blended together, they coordinate perfectly, especially if you choose end numbers within 2-3 digits from each other. Use (end numbers) 0-3 for highlights, 4-6 for mid-tones, and 7-9 for shadows.

Using a Natural Blending Group is simply a guideline; any color has the potential to blend with any other color. But for storage purposes, I chose to keep the blending groups together. This allows me to quickly and easily make color choices for my projects and is why I store them grouped with like letters and in chronological order.

Since I do not own all of the colors, I have left spaces for new markers. However, the markers are easy to move around if necessary.

Label Strips

In addition to having the markers arranged “in order” in the trays, I also made strips of cardstock with the letters/numbers of each marker and put them in each of the slots with the corresponding marker. When I work, I pull out all of the markers that I plan to use for a project. These labels show me very quickly where they go when I am done with them! This is particularly helpful when trying to replace markers that go near the ciao markers since these don’t have letters and numbers on the caps. (They are on the markers themselves.)

Because these strips are just card stock, they can easily be moved to other slots if necessary when new markers are purchased and the old ones need to be rearranged to make room.

Travel Wallets

For traveling with my markers, I have 2 “wallets” that I use. One holds 72 markers and the other holds 36 markers.

I really like these wallets for traveling because the markers are very secure and easy to carry. The reason I do not use these as my primary way to store my markers in my craft room is because I couldn’t use my card stock labels, and they were not big enough to hold all of my markers. Also, the markers are held pretty firmly in place with elastic, and moving all of the markers every time I bought a new one would be a bit cumbersome! It is fine as an “every once in a while” thing, but for every day use, I find the trays work best.

Click HERE to see 72 marker wallet on amazon.com

Click HERE to see the 36 marker wallet on amazon.com

Color Swatch Book

One final thing I want to share with you is my Copic Color Swatch Book. This contains a blank rectangle for each of the Copic markers available. The book has the markers arranged the way I arrange them on the trays and really helps when setting up the trays initially! When I purchase a marker, I color in the rectangle that corresponds to that marker. This helps me keep track of the markers I own. Coloring in the “swatch” also shows the true, actual color of each of the markers which makes choosing colors for a project much easier than relying on the caps.