Mini Ink Pad Storage

Long time no see!  Today I am going to show you the adorable mini ink pad storage unit I made for the Tim Holtz Distressed Mini Ink Pads.  I decided to make this to travel with instead of carrying all the big ones in the larger storage tower that I built.  You can see it HERE.  I also made a cool cover for it HERE, as to make it easier to travel with and even later I added onto the top so that all of the 48 colors would fit in one tower.

Ok, back to the subject at hand, the mini storage unit/chest.  I can't take any credit for the design of this because just as before with the tower, I used Jenny Potter's instructions and pattern.  She is from Jen's Joint, or Ozegran.blogspot.com.  You can find all the resources you need to make this little dandy yourself on her blog right HERE. Not only does she have a PDF of all the supplies and instructions you will need, she also has links to her YouTube videos that show you exactly how to make it.  I found the videos invaluable in making this because the directions are more of a list instead of detailed how to's.  She does a GREAT job.  Thanks Jenny!!!

Before the pictures, I would like to say it is intense in the measuring and cutting department, but I seem to be a glutton for punishment so I loved it!  I think it's super cool to take a stack of chipboard and glue and end up with something like this!  Enjoy!

Here you go!

Here is a view of one side with the doors closed.  I got my little closure/latches at Hobby Lobby, they are from the "Spare Parts" embellishment section.  I got the drawer pulls from there as well.  You can see them farther down the post.

This is a double sided chest.  There are a set of doors on each side.  If you decide to build one, when you look at the supply list, Jen uses something called Kraft-Tex that she likes a lot for the door hinges.  I was too impatient to order some online so while I was at Hobby Lobby, I picked up some fabric tape that worked really well.  I was able to spray paint it with the primer and cover it with paper.

This is a top view with only one side open.  It also shows the leather handle that I made.  I cut it from regular leather, sprayed it with primer (which peeled off when it dried) so then I used some new permanent sprays I got for Christmas from my awesome SIL.  They are DecoArt Media sprays and they worked great!

Here is a view with both sets of doors open.  Pretty cool!

 Now for the good part!  Each center section holds 24 of the mini ink pads.  The very top row isn't big enough to put more up there.  The way Jen designed it, the doors were to store the inking handles that you put the foam pads on.  She created this cool way to hang them from the inside/top of the doors with magnets.  You will have to watch her videos to see what I am talking about because I made a change that you can see below.

 Since there will be at least 12 new colors coming out and possibly more next year, I decided to prepare for the future.  As you can see, above the drawer in each door, I added shelves for 6 more ink pads.  That gives room for 24 more pads in the future!  I just used the same measurements as for the center part but just did 3 shelves instead of 6.

 Here you can see that I created a pull out panel (that part with the paisley paper) so that when I travel with this, the ink pads in the doors will not fall out.  There are shelves behind that little panel.

Here is a picture with the panel pulled out and sitting next to the door.

In two of the doors drawers I store extra blending pads.  With the mini ink pads, the 1" round pads fit perfectly in the bottom of the ink pad and store nicely when you put them in the shelf upside down.  You can see this in the bottom right corner where you can barely see the round blender on top of the ink pad.  I store a blending handle on each side of the chest in the other two drawers.

The paper that I used to cover it with is Kloe Lane by Paper Studio also from Hobby Lobby. 

 I got all the chipboard that I used to build it from Blick art supplies (dickblick.com).  It is the crescent chipboard that comes in a 40 pack.  I also plan to add a spinner on the bottom so you can just spin it from one side to the other without picking it up.  I will get the spinner in any day now.  It will be ordered from Scrapadabadoo.com.  Be sure and let me know if you have any questions and I would love to know of any brave souls that take on this project.  I had fun making it!

Good luck and blessings to you!

Distressed Ink Holder Cover

If your a traveling scrapper like myself, everything has to have a cover to protect it on the road.  So, as I told you in my last post, I created a cover for my distressed ink holder that I made.  Check out my previous post to see how I made it.  Here is what the cover looks like while on the unit.

See how the ribbon handle pops up through the top?  The cover is about a 7" square and it is about 12 1/2" inches tall, so it isn't really big.  It just slides down over the top of the unit.  I made it this way so it wouldn't have to be made super sturdy to hold the weight of the unit.

Just an FYI for anyone wanting to make one, I used medium weight chipboard I purchased in the art department at Hobby Lobby and when I mod podged the paper to the outside it made the sides bough and that drove me nuts so I took some heavy chipboard 6" squares I had and used Aileen's Turbo Tack glue and put then on the inside and now the walls are a perfect square! Well as close to perfect as I could get :)

Here is the cover and the storage unit side-by-side.  I love it!  Now I am afraid I am going to feel the need to fill all the slots with distressed inks!  Lol!

Please let me know if you need any tips or advice on making one.  I would be glad to help but just a reminder that I used the wonderful pattern from this blog - Jen's Joint.  She has very generously provided PDF's you can print with the instructions, pictures and labels for your ink pads.  If you make one be sure to tell her thanks!

Blessings,

Jana

Distressed Ink Holder

Well, it's been almost 2 months since my last post.  I've been busy!!  As my dad used to say, "You have too many irons in the fire."  Or "far" as he would say :)

Anyway this week I made this totally cool, spinning distressed ink pad holder!  I am so pumped at how great it turned out.  I didn't come up with any of it myself.  My sister-in-law actually pinned it on Pinterest and I repinned it and couldn't stop thinking about it so I started on it Tuesday night and finished it the next night.  I would say that all in all it probably took about 6 hours to build and cover with paper.

Here is the link to the original poster - Jens Joint.  There you can find a PDF with all the measurements, a PDF for the labels she created for the ink pads themselves and a link to her Ustream video where she is making it.  The video is an hour long and she mostly talks with people that had joined her for the live stream but I found it helpful to see the type of cardstock she was using and how to hinge each of the boxes.

I built it just as she did except I covered it with my decorative paper after I completed building it.  As I looked in her pictures I think she wrapped the side panels and the top pieces before adhering them to the unit-not sure.  I waited to wrap mine so I could wrap the paper from the side panels into each slot as to make them a bit stronger. My side panel pieces are cut at 5" wide x 12" tall.  I glued the paper to the side panel, laid the unit on it's side and used an Exacto knife to cut slits so they would wrap into the shelves. I also cut pieces of the black polka dot at 3 2/8 x 1 1/2 so that I could cover each little shelf.  I didn't like being able to see the chipboard layers and I thought this would also strengthen it more.  It is super strong!

I added a ribbon handle to the top so I could easily pick it up if needed.  I used a 6 1/2" square layered with a 6" square to make it stronger.  I used my Cropadile to punch holes through both layers and ran the ribbon through and glued it underneath then used LOTS of Aileens tacky glue to adhere the top securely.

The coolest part of this is that it will spin!!  But I can't show you that part because I had to order the spinner from Scrapadabadoo.com.  It was $8.50 for the plastic spinner.  I can't wait for it to arrive!

After completing the unit I printed off the PDF for the labels from Jen's blog.  They are cool because they wrap around all 4 sides of the ink pad case.  I cut them into strips and then inked each one with the matching color.  After inking, I ran them through my 9" Xyron using the one sided lamination and permanent adhesive them cut then into strips again.  Here is a little tip.  The strips will not wrap smoothly around the ink pad as the side edge of the ink pads are not flat, they are ever so slightly angled so the top is a bit smaller than the bottom.  Because of this, I cut a slit on each corner so the strip would overlap and line up straight around each edge.

You can see the tiny slit on the corner.  I then burnished it down and it stuck well.  I also wanted to add that the words didn't come out centered on each of the 4 sides of the pad and that made me a bit buggy but by the time I realized it I wasn't about to start again.

You will also notice I stuck them on upside down.  Storing them this way keeps the surface on the ink pad nice and juicy.

Another helpful hint: I use velcro stickies to adhere my inking pads to the back of each ink pad to keep them organized.  I didn't come up with this either :)

So now I am pondering a cover of sorts so that I can take my ink pad unit with me when I go to crops.  I am quite the traveling scrapbooker and crafter.  Stay tuned.  I will post the cover and directions when I am finished along with the unit on the spinner!

May you be blessed with many days filled with stress-free crafting,

Jana

Organizing Your Markers

Happy Sonday Everyone!
This is the day the Lord has made...(the crowd says)...let us rejoice and be glad in Him!  That is the way we started our church service today.  It makes me smile to hear so many people unashamed to proclaim the word of God.
Today is not Pinterest playtime but I had a few people ask me how I organize my markers, especially my Copic markers so I thought I would show you how I do mine.  Maybe it will spark a little idea for you.

For my Copic markers, I used the drawer organizers that are made to go inside the drawers for the cube storage systems.  It took two sets to do this for mine but you could do it with just one set.  Be sure to use your 50% off coupon from Michaels or Hobby Lobby so it is cheaper.  I had these in a few of my drawers and they were not being used so I took them out.

I slid the boards together like you are supposed to assemble them and then I used my hot glue bug and ran a bead along the seams so they would stay in place and not slide apart.  Then I set them on my shelf and the on the right side I actually ran a bead of hot glue under the 4 boards that touch the right wall so they would not sag and to also make it more stable.  

There is also hot glue on each side of the vertical boards where they meet the shelve.  This makes it semi-permanent.  You can always peel the hot glue off and remove the dividers easily.  This system works great for me and then when I am on the go I just put them in some snap lock containers and I am off!

Right next to my copics I have all my other markers like my Creative memory markers, gel pens, and even some of my tools.  These are in juice packet containers like the Crystal light but I bought the Great Value brand ones from Walmart that are rectangular instead of oval.  To make them nice and sturdy so they wouldn't slip apart I first ran some hot glue on the outside and stuck them together.  As soon as I got the glue cooled I then added a staple for good measure.

I did it row by row, gluing then stapling and then I actually put a little glue on the shelf and glued the set down so there wouldn't be any slipping and it works GREAT!
You can do this with the oval ones also you just have a tiny bit more storage space in these and less gaps in between.
I hope this is helpful to you.  I decided a while back that I wanted to help out with organizing ideas along with crafting ideas.  How do you store your markers??  I would love to hear, I am always up for improvements.
Thanks for stopping by and may your day be blessed with God's Grace,
Jana

Pinterest Playtime - Get Organized!

Hello all!
I have decided to start a new series here on my blog called "Pinterest Playtime."  I guess some one will let me know soon enough if I can't use the word Pinterest but until then, I am going for it :)

First a little news.  I am sad to say that I was not accepted for a new term as a design team member for Getting Cricky with K. Andrew.  It seems my life is too busy and I just could not post enough to be a consistent contributor to her team.  I am totally OK with that.  That really is fine.  I have to admit as I was awaiting the news to find out if I had made the team, I kept thinking to myself, "If I don't make it, that is ok, that will be less to have to get done with my already very busy life."  But to my surprise, when I got the dreaded "rejection" email, tears poured down my face and sadness really set in.  I had to really explore why I had taken the news so hard.  It was one more thing that had happened in recent weeks that took me to God to ask why?  I know it may not seem like a big deal to most people, and I thought it wouldn't be to me, but it was.  As I prayed over this and other issues I realized that feeding my creative soul is important.  Not just therapy but really important.  If feels good to create, even if under pressures of deadlines, it feels really, really good.  It's a big part of who I am and I NEED to be creative.  So when I lose the opportunity to share my passion and creativity, it hurt.  I loved the design team girls and Kristal.  They are simply wonderful, so...no more tears, I am over it and I will reapply again this summer.  Thanks Kristal for the opportunity you gave me to design for you.   Absolutely no hard feelings, I can't wait to see what the new DT creates :)

OK enough of that, I just had to share with you because I knew my blogger buddies would understand.  Well, so here I am.  Working to refocus on the important things, like being involved at church, being a good mother, a good wife and feeding my soul.  So look for some changes in my blog and I will share some big changes in my life, coming soon!

On to the fun stuff!  Pinterest Playtime.  This will be a segment to share with you the creations that I have made via inspiration or "pinspiration" that I have pinned from Pinterest.  In all cases I will make every effort to give credit to the originator of the project, not necessarily the pinner I pinned it from, although I am now making it a practice to visit the site the pin came from and pinning it from the original source. I am told that is good Pinterest etiquette.

I pinned this project onto my "Get Organized" board and finished the project in only an hour!!!
Stickles organization...I discovered in the project that I have 64 bottles.  Come on~enough already :)  Not really!!! One can never have enough Stickles, right?

Here is a first glance at it.

I purchased this sheet of metal from Hobby Lobby for 8.99.  The pinner suggested and showed a cookie sheet which would work fine but I like the way this is so flat and just looks like part of my shelving.

 Next I put that great red tape, and lots of it, on one side of the metal.  I wanted to make sure it would not come down.  I could have easily screwed some short screws through it but I didn't want to make holes just in case I decided to change it later.

 I bought these magnets from Hobby Lobby as well.  There are smaller and thinner ones but these held the best to the metal. They are 50magnets for $6.99.  BTW, this would be an even cheaper project using your 50% off coupons!!!  I used one on the metal, so this project was completed for less than $20.  I had to buy two packages of magnets but I have a LOT left over for future purchases.

 Next I used hot glue to glue the magnet to the bottom of the Stickles bottle.  I tried glue dots and pop dots but this worked the best and held the strongest.

I stuck the metal up onto the underside of one of the shelves, pressed it into place really well and then began placing the bottles.  I grouped my distressed, pearls, metals and such and then spaced them so that I could look to the side a bit and see all the colors.  If you put them too close together all you can see is the front row.  I had some space above my large format printer and since it doesn't open on top this was a great use of the space!  Tadaaaaaa!!!
Thanks you to http://wecanbeaoriginal.com/blog/ for posting this idea.  This link was also in the post but I never saw it on this blog but want to give credit any way.  http://smbogan.typepad.com/chickenscratch/

My plan is to later have Pinterest Playtime so that you can link up your projects and link back to mine and that way we all get more visitors to our blogs!  Sound like a good idea??  I would love to hear your input.  Next time I will show you how I organize my Copic Markers.
Blessings,
Jana