I recently received a comment on one of my YouTube Videos which showed how I store my stickers, rub-ons, etc in Lever Arch Files which stand on my bookshelf on my desk. You can view the video Here
The comment was…
My reply was…
So here are some pictures of exactly how I store my papers… ALL of them!
The picture above shows my loose 12×12 papers within a desktop expandable folder and note, that this is a PLASTIC folder. The reason that is significant is because I did (for a short while) store my papers in a similar expandable “Manilla” folder and found out as soon as I received my pH Tester pen that it was Very acidic! So beware! I have a section for each colour and I keep my cardstock and papers together.
I much prefer the fact that this folder is NOT a 12×12 one, and the reason for that is that I am able to thumb through my stash without having to pull it up and or out of it’s sections. My mum has a 12×12 folder and it’s a pain as you cannot see the papers without pulling them up slightly.
In another expandable folder I store pads, or collections of papers of all sizes. If I have a collection, such as a Basic Grey pack of papers and stickers, I keep the pack together.
This picture (above) shows my “scraps” storage. I am often asked about this! I put all my scraps into colours (as best as you can with multi-coloured papers, in those cases I go with the dominant colour in the mix!).
I place my scraps into clear pockets, if there is a lot of one colour I make a collection of light tones and another of dark tones of a that colour. These pockets are then placed with the 12×12 pieces in the expandable folder.
When I am creating, I am usually led by colour and so I can pull out… say, the pink section which will give me the 12×12 papers, card and all the scraps easily using this system. (see below)
I also store various die-cuts in the same way as I do the scraps, ie in plastic sleeves, at the front of one of my expandable folders.
In a third folder I store various items. There are collections of papers which have been magazine freebies and the like, plus other cardstocks for making mini albums, and I also store some of my clear stamps in there too. I have stapled the plastic backing of the stamps to thick paper (to hold them in place) and put that inside clear, side-opening sleeves. I stress the “side opening” because it’s a whole lot easier to get the tacky acrylic stamps into these than the top opening ones!
So there you have it, that’s my storage solution to papers. They normally sit on a table behind where I work, but they are easy to squeeze up, pick up and slide into bags (the Tesco strong square-ish bags are a perfect size for them) and I can then take everything to a crop. I do this only when expecting to need to share stuff at my own group, otherwise I make up pages kits for myself – it’s lighter!!
My solution to dusty tops is to drape some material covers over them when not in use, that also cuts out the sunlight and stops colours fading – as my room is south facing.
How do you store your papers?