The Secret to Effortless Crafting
Crafting should be a time for relaxing, unleashing creativity, and spreading joy. So, why does crafting sometimes feel stressful? The secret to effortless crafting might surprise you: organization. Whether you are a meticulous or messy crafter, organization is the key to your creative peace of mind. Now that you know the secret, it’s time to put it to good use. Read on to learn how to organize your paper and ink supplies to promote calm and creative crafting.
Rainbows of Inspiration
One of the most essential and foundational elements of paper crafting is color. Your choice of colors sets the tone of your project, reflects your personal style, and guides the creative process. Because colors play such an important role in crafting, they need to be organized in a way that inspires innovative ideas.
For example, if you often look for complimentary colors as you craft, consider displaying your paper in rainbow order for easy visual matching. Two great options for organizing your paper this way are the 12x12 Paper Holder or the 8.5x11 Paper Holder, depending on the size of paper you have. These are also great options for sorting your paper by shade or tint. To store your ink pads by color, use an Ink Pad Carousel! Carousels are a great way to store your inks in descending rainbow order or by shade. When you feel uninspired by the colors you see, simply give the carousel a spin and spark your creativity with new colors! Plus, our Ink Pad Carousels are available in "For Ikea" configurations that fit perfectly in your Ikea® Kallax shelving unit.
Prefer to keep your ink pads ready to grab on your desk? Check out our variety of Ink Pad Holders! We offer Ink Pad Holders for multiple ink pad brands, sizes, and shapes! To organize multiple brands and shapes of ink pads together, consider our Standard Ink Pad Holder. For organizing your Tim Holtz Distress® Inks and Distress Oxide Inks, use the Distress Ink Pad Holder. The Distress Ink Pad Holder is also compatible with Marvy®, and Papertrey™ ink pads. For slim ink pads like Gina K. Designs, Taylored Expressions, Catherine Pooler, Pink Fresh, and more, use the Stamp-n-Storage Slim Ink Pad Holder. The Slim Ink Pad Holders are designed for ink pads that are narrower. With compartments that are 2-7/8" wide, this holder will accommodate a wide variety of ink pad brands. Not sure which Ink Pad Holder is the right fit for your collection? Take a look at our Ink Pad Holder Compatibility Chart to see which holders are the best fit for you!
Keeping it Clean
If the rainbow of color feels more overwhelming than inspiring, consider closed storage options like drawers and crates. Paper Crates are great for organizing your paper using hanging file folders. The folders keep your paper protected, easy to categorize, and all in one location. Our Paper Crates are stackable and available with a Rolling Base, so you can keep your paper wherever, whenever! For an added layer of protection and style, check out our Paper Crate Covers.
For incognito ink storage, consider Drawer Cabinets. Our latest innovation, the DeskMate Drawer Cabinet, is perfect for keeping your favorite ink cubes and ink refill bottles on your desk and ready to use. Use a Mini Ink Cube Grid to organize your favorite ink cubes in Single-Height Drawers, and use the Grid Storage System to organize your ink refill bottles in Triple-Height Drawers.
Whether you prefer keeping your paper and ink pads on display or neatly organized in covered storage solutions, it’s no secret that organizing your craft helps unleash your creativity!