Stamp Out Chaos: Embellishments

Hello there friends,

Lindsay and I are back today with another step in our journey to Stamp Out Chaos.  This week, we are tackling the "underembellie" of crafty organization- embellishments!  If you missed an earlier post or what to see where we started, check it out here.

From hardware organizers to tackle boxes, there are so many options for organizing the little things and do-dads of our hobby.  Over the years, with embellishments particularly, I have learned that I need to see them in order to remember to use them.  At the same time, they need to be contained and organized.  After MUCH trial and error, here are some options that have been working for me...

I have been keeping all of my wood veneer, metal, flair, resin, etc in plastic bead organizers that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.  Pretty much any embellishment that is on the small side and come in a package containing multiples winds up here. These organizers are inexpensive and great for travel.  They also stack quite nicely in one of the cubbies of my Expedit. 

Enamel dots get their own storage box.  I picked this one up in the unfinished wood craft area of Hobby Lobby.  I will get around to painting it soon, but for now, it does it's job.  You will notice that I remove the dots from their original packaging.  They are simply easier to access for me that way.  I can generally recall manufacturers and usually buy dots from the same 2-3 makers.  Another idea would be to affix a simple dot label to the back of the clear sheet with the initials of the manufacturer.      When not in use, this box sits on a shelf above my work area. 

This organizer from Land of Nod sits on the corner of my desk or the shelf above my desk.  Unfortunately, I think it may have been discontinued, it was a part of the "I could have bin a container" series.   It holds lots of supplies for Project Life and embellishments that are a bit random- they may be large or oddly shaped and therefore, won't fit into one of my other solutions, so they hang out here until I am ready to use them. 

Sequins!  So I tried storing sequins in one of the bead boxes that I use for my wood veneer and that was a bit of a mistake.  The bead box lid does not prevent the sequins from co-mingling which can easily happen when traveling or if the box is jostled in the slightest bit.  Lindsay actually found this brilliant solution in the beading section of JoAnn's and I happily borrowed a page from her book of tricks.  I love that all the containers have their own screw-on lids, so my colors stay tidy.  I am not sure that the acrylic box that holds all the sequin pots is sturdy enough for tough travel conditions, but I have been using this for a few months and it has served me well.  I see in the picture above that I only have two open spots remaining.... hmmm... I may need to pick up another one.

This shelf is hung above my craft desk and I decided to put the scrolled brackets to use by resting a metal dowel rod on the brackets and using curtain clips to hang us packets of die cuts, sticker letters and other embellishments.  Previously, these items sat in a basket and I would forget that they were there.  I am really happy with this arrangement because they are visible and let's face it, crafty products are just inspiring to look at!

So with all these freshly organized inspiring embellishments at my disposal, I decided to make a card featuring three different types of embellishments- stickers, wood veneer and sequins.

These cute little wooden umbrellas came in my March Studio Calico kit.  Umbrellas always make me think about Mary Poppins, so I stamped a London Skyline using Papertrey Ink's City Scene set.  

I didn't have a sentiment that would work for this card, so I made my own by combining some stickers from My Mind's Eye with a computer generated sentiment.  The font I used is called Sofia. 

A few sequins finish off the card.  Speaking of Sofia or Sophie in my case, I was trying a different angle to photograph the card and I got photobombed by Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks.  Say it with me now.... ALVIN!!!

Well, that's all for me today.  Please be sure to stop by Lindsay's blog to a peak into how she organizes her embellishments!  We'll be back in a few weeks with another area of the crafty room to tackle.  Can't wait!!  

Thanks for stopping by! 

Katie