Thursday, August 9, 2012

Ink Refill Organization and a GIVEAWAY!

Hi there stampers! I wish I had a card to share with you today. If you don't already know, I had foot surgery last Friday and have been very limited in my mobility this week. I have been doing a LOT of resting (thanks to the pain meds) and keeping my feet elevated, which has been tough for my creative mojo. I do, however, have an little organizational project that I completed today, to share with you. If you make it to the end of the post...you might also find a little Blog Candy, too! Woot woot! 

Right before my surgery, I took out all of my ink refills to take an inventory of the colors I had and to make note of the colors I needed to order. I store my ink refills in the little spaces on the top of my Color Caddy, where my stamp pads live. Searching for an ink color has always been a bit of a challenge, because you pretty much have to take ALL of the bottles out to find the color you need. I wanted to try to find a way to make it easier. That, and if you know me, you know how OCD I am about things like this. *wink, wink* 
I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of doing this, but I did not search for ideas anywhere, so this is what I came up with for color coding my ink refills. I simply grabbed some card stock scraps in coordinating colors and a 1/4" Circle punch. This punch is retired, HOWEVER, you can use the "eyes" on the Owl Builder punch just as easily for the same effect. They are just a touch bigger then the 1/4" circle...I just happened to have that punch more readily accessible at the time.  
Then, I added some Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue to the to the top of the ink refill cap and stuck the punched color-coded circle to the top of the cap. There you have it, an easier way to search for a ink refill color to keep those ink pads full and ready for stamping. Here is how the ink refills look in the top of the Color Caddy. I have them organized by color family. There are a few retired refills in there, too as I wait for my next order to arrive to fill up more of the space.
I also thought I would share a fun photo with you of my little Schnauzer, Emmitt and my bandaged up tootsies. He was lounging in our walk-in closet next to my favorite pair of Toms wedges. LOVE my Toms! Ahhh, such cute shoes...it will be a little while before I will be able to get my feet into them again. *sigh* Thank goodness Emmitt is keeping watch over them for me. Ha! 

*** But WAIT! Did somebody say BLOG CANDY?? ***
I happened to notice yesterday that in all the recent happenings, I completely missed my 2 year Blog Anniversary! So crazy that I have had this little blog up and running for 2 years now. Wow! Thank you to everyone who has stopped by to share encouragement along the way. I am so blessed to have met some wonderful friends thanks to this blog. 

Since we are talking about INK today, I wanted to offer up a brand new Melon Mambo Classic Ink Pad  (my favorite color!!) to one lucky blog reader. Yes, this is the brand new style of ink pad that SU just released in the new catalog. They are AWESOME! 

How do you win? Simple...just leave a comment on this post between today and Sunday, August 12th sharing a favorite ORGANIZATIONAL TIP for your crafting supplies. If you would like to become a follower of my blog, that would be awesome, but it is not required to win. I want you to follow me because you enjoy my little corner in blog-land, not because you could win something. :) 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will announce the winner on Monday, August 13th.
Enjoy your day,

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47 comments:

  1. Such a great idea! I'm totally doing mine soon. I hate picking up every single bottle to find the one I need. :)

    Even though I'm not a pink freak like you, Melon Mambo is one of my favorite colors too.

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  2. Anne Marie, Oh, I hope your feet are soon better. They look painful all wrapped up. Recently, I got tired of all my ribbon spools getting tangled, as I had them stored vertically. Anyway, I decided to use a tension curtain rod to line them up on and string them inside my cabinet. Some of the spools have to be trimmed in the center, but it's awesome. I can just spin them back on the spool, and no more mess! Thanks for your wonderful blog, and i'll be using your ideas, too. Awesome! Carol Smith

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  3. Love Emmitt posed along side your shoes and little red toes! My tip is that I store my 6x6 DPs in quart size zip lock bags (with the zipper part cut off) all lined up in a basket. This way the snips and scraps go in the bag too and I know the maker!

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  4. Ahh Anne, you are too kind! Hope you are back on your feet soon (no pun intended)! I was recently recouperating myself and took that time to sit with my laptop and browse all of the wonderful blogs (including yours) for ideas. Saved ideas I liked to a jumpdrive and now I am ready to create again!! Thanks for sharing all of your inspiration! Praying you heal quickly and as painlessly as possible.

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  5. Hello Anne-Marie
    I am so pleased to hear you are improving, like everything it all takes time.
    My tip for organisational storage of tall items; pens, brushes, scissors, and craft tools, is to use Aluminium soup cans,and decorate in corresponding patterned paper, it looks so pretty and works well.
    Smiles:)
    Sue

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  6. Hope you are feeling better soon. Sweet little schnauzer, I have one too, Bosley who is nine. I recently bought some beautiful cubicle stands with fabric baskets and I've re-done my craft room. I'm excited about all the new storage space, since it was all over the place before :) Melon Mambo is on my must have list!!

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  7. I'm a Canadian demo, so don't enter me in the draw, but I wanted to wish you well with your healing. Hope you'll fit back in your favorite shoes very soon! :)

    As for organizing tips... let's see... I personally alphabetize all my stamps... I'm still working on organizing everything else. :)

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  8. Hope you feel better very soon! Sweet little doggies...so CUTE! Great organizational tip! I keep all my flowers color coded in zip lock bags. Thanks for the chance to win the fab ink pad...take care!

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  9. Thanks for the awesome tip! Speedy healing! I scrapbook mostly and I prepare and stay organized for my crop by matching my pictures to my paper and embellishments and throw it all together in a kit in a two gallon zip lock bag.

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  10. I sure hope you are feeling better soon. It seems that if your feet hurt you hurt all over. How miserable!
    My tip is for storing your stickles. I cut a small piece of 2X4 wood to fit in the length of my shelf and drilled holes the size of my caps. I could put 3 rows of stickles in the width of my 2X4. Mine is 8 1/2" long and I could fit 21 bottles in it. They are upside down so the are ready to use.

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  11. Great Tip Anne Marie... I am going to do that tomorrow. I have tried to use a sharpie marker but it is still hard to find some of the colors!!
    My tip is something just like this but I did in on the ink pads. I used the word window punch and punched out one of each color and put them at the end of my ink pads. It just helped me see the color better. I only have 3 of the new ink pads, so I am not sure if this is a good tip for the new style or just the old style.
    Don't make Emmitt work to hard taking care of you! lol

    Hugs
    Shirley Pumpkin

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  12. Sure could use more of the new ink pads, they do rock! So this blog candy would be awesome!

    My organizational tip for you would be the following:

    I love storing my embossing folders in the Longaberger Recipe Box Basket I've had for years. It's been stored away, never used but when trying to find decorative organizational things I pulled it out. So pretty. Now what? LOOK! The Sixxix SU Embossing folders fit right in like a mini file cabinet.

    Yes, I don't have a ton of them but the ones I do have fit great and beleive it or not I found another one at a garage sale at not near its collectible value and scooped it right up so I have a second waiting to be filled. These gorgeous baskets are functional (I lay out the folder I want to use on the lid being held by the lip to hold recipe cards) and I have a place to put it as I am creating. Reminds me where it goes when all is said and done and they just look cute in the room. : )

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  13. Super idea with your ink refills. Hope you recover soon. x

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  14. Have heard so much about the new ink pads on how wonderful they are that I would dearly love to be the winner.
    Thank U 4 this opportunity.
    My organized tip is that I hung a very large pegboard on the wall right above my working desk to where I hang my scissors, ruler, large tape gun runner, etc.
    Everything is within easy reach. Also use a old muffin pan for eyelets, paper clips, brads, etc.
    ColleenB.

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  15. I love your organization idea...I find I use my supplies if I have a quick way to find them....out of sight, out of mind. TFS and the chance to win the Melon Mombo....Jan D., Florida

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  16. Anne Marie, I hope you are feeling better! :) One thing I like to do it stay organized is put everything away after I use it.... That seems to help A LOT! Saying that makes me want to go clean off my desk of the little scraps, etc... lol

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  17. Hi Anne Marie, I hope all is going well with your tootsie recovery & that you are feeling better! Your refill idea is fabulous - much easier & more effective than writing on the bottle lids - so I'm off to do some punching, lol!
    PS Emmitt looks adorable! :D

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  18. I scrapbook too. I take my large scrapbooking paper scraps and file them in a 6x7x6 inch box by color. These are large scraps, perfect for cards. I made dividers, with a nice little tag, the edges colored to match the color group filed.. I sincerely hope you convalesce quickly and that you can get back to the everyday things you enjoy. Thanks much for the drawing.

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  19. Ann Marie.. those toes are looking better everyday! Hope you get lots of rest.
    I love your ink refill tip...which I'll be doing this weekend, thank you very much. I have a hard "reading" the white type! So this is going to really help out.
    My favorite organization tip is for classes I bought those containers (6 in a bigger box photo thingies) and I use the large box - with my handmade dividers - to store cards ready to mail. The small individual boxes contain: Snips, Tombow, double sided tape, bone folder, dimensionals, a small piece of sand paper, that are placed at each seat in class. Now each girl has their own "stuff" and they are very good about putting everything back into the box when the move to the next station and at the end of class. (ready to go again). I accummulated pricey things like snips over time, but it really saves time in the long run and nothing gets lost..AND I only have 8-10 girls anyway.

    Now that little doggie is cuter than cute! Woof! i mean Hugs.

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  20. Wonderful way to id ink refills! My tip is using rods from ikea to hold lots of punches in easy reach on the wall beside me. Love your creative style and appreciate all the inspiration you give me!

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  21. I think the best organization skill I've used has to be placing all my cricut cartridges along with the corresponding books inside a box. The cartridges on are stuck on the inside lid using velcro and the booklets are inside. Of course I purchased the books from Michaels which have pretty Paris designs on them so it also works as decor for my craft room. But with only limited space available, I think that's the best one yet. I love your idea with the refills and will try it out once I begin purchasing the refills! Thank you for a great organizational skills with the ink refills and the great giveaway. Oh and btw HAPPY 2ND BLOG'AVERSARY!!!

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  22. Hope you continue to feel better everyday! Love those shoes! Two tips from me, one for the ink refills...some of my labels have faded and are hard to read...I put file folder labels with the names in bold lettering so they are easier to read. Helps when colors are similar. My second organizational tip that has saved me tons of time (and money) was to make a binder listing every paper, ink, embossing folder, die, etc. along with a picture of every stamp set or individual stamp I have. Now, when I want to make projects, or need that perfect stamp for something, I flip through the binder and find one. The stamps are now organized by manufacturer in my craft closet so they are easier to find. This saves me from possibly buying the same item again. I can easily check my "list" and avoid having duplicates.

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  23. This is a great idea, Anne Marie! You may not have been the first one to think of it, but I have not seen it anywhere before, so you get credit in my book. I use a LB basket to store my punches. I used to store them in a cardbox and realized I needed to put a few of my baskets to good use. I also use these baskets to store my Big Shot dies for now and some of the cards I have made (bread basket).

    Thanks for sharing a picture of Emmitt. He is adorable! Thanks also for a chance to win the Melon Mambo ink pad. That is my second favorite color and I would love to add it to my collection.

    Happy Healing! :)

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  24. WOW - what a great organizational tip! I swear I would of never thought of it! I really have to do a color code swatch of my Memento inks!

    Hope you're feeling well and not in too much pain. Good Boy Emmett! :)

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  25. Hey Anne Marie - I didn't realize you had foot surgery and I hope you heal quickly. I love this way to organize the re-inkers - I don't have a color caddy like you had and have been keeping mine in a cigar box, so putting the color tabs on top of the bottles like this will be perfect for me. Thank you so much for sharing that tip with us. Congratulations on your two year blog-anniversary. Emmitt is adorable. I love melon mambo as well - thank you !!

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  26. I love this idea! I have been slowely trying to do a better job of organizing my paper. But, my husband let me convert our small formal living into a study with a wall of built ins, and I get the bottom storage for stamping stuff. I have the top drawers devoted to punches and I love that I can open the drawers and see them all.

    Wendy

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  27. That's a great ink refill bottle tip. My tip is that I save pictures of projects and cards I see on the blogs that I like by the theme or subject. So I have a computer document for scrapbook ideas, spring, summer, xmas, winter, valentines, birthday etc. So when I need to make a birthday car, I just have to open the birthday documents and there are lots of ideas right there..

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  28. Hi Anne Marie, Hope you are on the mend. I follow your blog regularly and your cards are very nice, very professional. One of my organizing tips is to keep stamps separated by holidays, birthdays, etc. so that when I need a birthday stamp, they are all in the same place and I don't have to go looking through a bunch of cartons. Thanks for the opportunity to win the blog candy!

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  29. Hi. I recently found your blog and like what I see. I have used the 1/8" hole punch to put the colored circles on top of my ink refills. When I buy a new refill, I just put the old cap on the new bottle when the old is empty. My orgaization tip..when I find card samples that I like on the internet, I print them, cut them down and put them inside the box of stamps that matches the set. I hope that your footsies heal quickly so that you can wear those cute shoes again and take that cute little guy for a walk :o)

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  30. Thanks for the organizing idea. I'm always on the lookout for new ideas. I'm wanting to redo my stamp space, so any added info is needed. Glad to hear that you're recovering from your surgery. So nice of Emmitt to watch over your shoes.

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  31. Not a new idea, of course, but I recently put my stamp sets (all alphabetized)at eye level on a desk-top wire rack. Helps me remember to use some of those neglected sets! Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Sounds like you've put down time to good use. Tfs

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  32. What a Great idea!! I will have to do this!!
    I find the best thing that works for me is... Once I use a stamp or stamp pad I put them back from where I had it.. This makes it so easy when I'm done working on my layout everything is put away and ready for me to start anything else that comes to mind!!
    Thank You for the Awesome give a way!!!
    Monica~

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  33. Ann Marie, I actually shared this same tip on Stampin' Connection back in May. it is such a great idea, and I can't remember where I saw it. I used the extra color labels on the new foam pads to add a color strip to the inside of the ink pad as well as to the outside of the end opposite the color name label. Some colors are hard to tell apart when the pads are open so this makes the color visible from both sides as well as the open pad. I hope that makes sense.
    I have enjoyed reading all of the tips everyone has shared, and I hope your feet heal quickly!

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  34. Thank you for this opportunity. I have a craft, tool bag that I keep most of my immediate stamping needs in. Also, I have a small plastic organizer which I keep my dimensionals, rhindstones, pearls and recipes in. It is so helpful to have in an organized way. I hope your feet heal quickly. Keep your spirits up :}

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  35. Brilliant tip on the ink refills! I store mine in clear box, but unless they are on the edges of the box I have to take them all out, too! :) Love the new pads, will definitely be buying some more new ones. :) My favorite tip is using giant Hefty zipper food storage bags for storing themed items. I have a curtain rod mounted upside down, and I clip the big bags to pant hangers and hang them on the rod. A closet rod would work beautifully too, but I don't have a closet in my space.

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  36. I don't see my comment so somehow it must have sailed into outer-puter land?? I had mentioned I noticed your lips and your toe nails were kissed with Melon Mambo, too ;). For my tip, I couldn't live without my page protectors and 3-ring binder for ideas. Also, I punched every punch I own onto card stock and bound them together...fit in my purse. I've been known to buy twice (can't say I don't have consistent taste! ;). Enjoy your down time and heal quickly. Colleen T.

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  37. Yay!!! I love candy in general, but who can beat blog candy! zero cals and still sweet.lol Hope you get up and around soon, and congrats on you 2yr anniversary. I would love to share an organizing tip, but I have not figured out a system that works for me yet. I will watch all the tips here though, and keep trying.

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  38. I have started putting my stamps in binder sheets for easier viewing and also have broken up the sets and grouping them by catagories for quick access to that special stamp I want for the project. Now I have another time saver with your idea for the ink refills. Thank you for sharing.

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  39. I keep all my scrap papers with the original paper. When I go to get a sheet, I look thru the scraps first and use what I can before cutting a new sheet. Hope your feet heal quickly!!! Those are really cute shoes!

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  40. I hope you are healing quickly and feeling better soon! I love the photo of your cute Mini Schnauzer. We have two that we rescued, awesome breed. My organizing tip is to keep my cardstock in folders in plastic file boxes - keeps the light, dust and dog hair out and they are portable.

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  41. Hi Ann Marie! Hope you are getting better! My organizing tip(s) is I also keep my paper in file folders with a snip of the color in the tab and have them grouped with the SU! color groups and I have my punches on a wall display so I can just look and grab the punch I need. Love coming to visit and I have to admit...I have CASED several of your cards!! Love your style :)

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  42. Please get well soon. I am slowly converting my wood-mounted stamps to use on clear blocks. I buy DVD's for $1 or less at garage and thrift sales. Then use the container by cutting out the center "knob" and put stamps in there. Take out the info in the sleeve and replace with sheet of white paper containing the name of stamp set and stamped image of each stamp in the set. Thanks for blog candy offer.

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  43. Happy 2nd Blogerversary!

    About a year and a half ago I bought 9 (wish I had space for more) of the white craft cubes at M's. It has helped quite a bit in my organization. Though, my craft space still is a bit messy :)

    Hope you are back in your shoes soon!

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  44. I don't know if this officially counts as organizational, but I keep a small swatch of every card stock with me everywhere I go (you never know when you're going to run into some potential accessories!) I have a set for each color family. Every color gets cuts into a little rectangle, and are held together by brads.
    I still faithfully use my color coach at home, but it's nice to have an even more portable version, too!

    (The clock has worked against me, trying to leave an ID! This is Amy Dorsett/ amydiannedorsett@yahoo.com)

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  45. I don't know if this officially counts as organizational, but I keep a small swatch of every card stock with me everywhere I go (you never know when you're going to run into some potential accessories!) I have a set for each color family. Every color gets cuts into a little rectangle, and are held together by brads.
    I still faithfully use my color coach at home, but it's nice to have an even more portable version, too!

    (The clock has worked against me, trying to leave an ID! This is Amy Dorsett/ amydiannedorsett@yahoo.com)

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  46. That is such an awesome idea! Must copy... :)

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
Have a great day! :)
Anne Marie