My Copic Marker Storage

Hi again! Annie here....

Well, sometimes we have to make due with what we have, right? Try to recycle and save money...well that is what I did with my new Copic marker storage solution!

I have 2 Copic Wallet Organizers... but hated that I had to carry around 2 of them when I was working...and it never failed... I always opened the one that didn't have the colors I needed... such a pain!

Quite some time ago, I scored these really great storage organizers at my local Tuesday Morning store.  They are not colors I would normally pick out if I was using them for home decor or anything...but they were 80% off at the time..so I just snatched them up figuring they would be great for my scraps and stuff.  Im sooo glad I got them!!

So... as my Copic Marker collection increased, I knew that I wanted a new storage solution.  I had a few ideas in mind...but most of them involved buying new crates/systems to work.  At first I was just going to ask the hubby to make me a wooden box with dividers (like a pencil holder) .... but then I thought... "hmmm, no"... only because I wanted it to be portable, as sometimes I color at the dining table, sometimes while watching TV etc....

Then it dawned on me... my Storage containers from Tuesday Morning.  I have various sizes and styles..but settled on the catch all with the handles..so I can easily carry it from room to room.  So that settled that...but HOW was I going to keep the markers in there?

Then I came across a lighting crate at Home Depot.  Its about $12 and pretty big in sheet size. I knew we would have to cut it down to size..but I also realized that if my collection grew larger..at least I would have left over crate to grow as I needed!

So I gave the puppy dog eyes to the hubby and asked him to cut the crate to fit within my carry tote. It took a matter of 5 mins probably!  The SKETCH markers fit in here nice and snug (angled)..the Ciao Markers wiggle a little..but who cares... I can easily see the marker numbers and easily grab the ones I want to work with!
So what do you think? Not to Shabby for under $17  (yep the crate was $12 - with extra to spare to make about 4 of these babies  and the tote was $5)....sooo all in all..quite the bargain.
 I paid way more for ONE Copic Brand Wallet!!

I hope this gives you some ideas or inspiration to organize your Copic markers!

Twine Intervention

So, yesterday I shared with you how I get my Copic markers in order... today I'm gonna share with you how I store my twine.

First, a little about me & twine.  I love it, I really do ---but I use it as accent embellishments, so I never need HUGE amounts of it.  As much as I want EVERY color under the sun, the larger spools just would have no place to be stored in my house...so I opt out for the mini spools/bundles.  This allows me to get more colors and smaller storage space to keep it all in!

Here is an example of what one looks like..

I have a tendency that if I keep the twine as they are shipped to me....that at some point they always TANGLE on me... so I have to re-wrap so they are all in a single direction way. 

Pretty cool, right?  It keeps them all nice and PRETTY!!

What are those things I put them on, you ask? Those stick looking things?

They are Stitch Bows!! They are intended for DMC floss {for those that do cross stitch.}  They come in a pack of TEN for under $2!!  So, I buy tons at a time... and organize all my twine.... 

This is what the packing looks like, and you can find them at Walmart, Michaels, Joann's etc...

 they are in the needlpoint/cross stitch area.  Incidently there are MANY kinds of floss holders out there... so take a look around and just see which would work best for you!

Once they are all wrapped up, I place them in zip lock bags, by color.... and hang them on my Simply Rene Clip It Up.  

My Clip it Up is forever by my side and has all my "go to" items on it, close at hand so I am not constantly up and down finding things!!

Copic Organization, Phase I

Hi everyone....
If you are anything like me.....you have WAY more than you use in the field of craft supplies.  You sometimes (in my case frequently) buy things at the store... put it away and forget about...only to later BUY it again because you forgot you already own it!  Then when you get around to organizing your things, you realize.. ."What? I have three of these already?"

Well... when I find deals/clearance items, it doesnt bother me so much...but when it comes to higher priced items... it can be quite bothersome knowing you paid FULL price and own it already!

So today, I decided to share with you a project I did to help me keep track of what Copic Markers I already own, so I do not repeat purchasing them on a whim when Im getting new ones!

On my computer, I made a grid for each Copic Color Family according to the Copic Color Chart. I made sure it was sized to fit inside the Jaded Blossom Journal Die, which I used at the base for each family card. I suggest you test print one FIRST to make sure your printer is printing at the size needed, and if not, adjust to scale to make sure it fits the DIE.

After I printed each table chart I then cut out the Journal Die for as many as needed.  Since I wanted to use up some scrap ribbons I have found in my stash, I decided to adhered the colored ribbon to co-ordinate to the family chart on that page.  (ie: green ribbon on the Green family page, Yellow Green Ribbon on the Yellow Green family page, etc.)

Dont want to use ribbon?  What is an alternative to using ribbon?  

Cut your Journal Die in the colored cardstock to the color family you are working in.. its just a FAST easy visual so you dont have to flip through your whole book!

After all my cards were cut, embellished with the ribbon and assembled to the DIE, I punched a hole in the corner and looped it up with a binding ring.  I took out ALL my Copic markers and then 'colored' the square to co-ordinate on the color chart so I knew which color markers I currently own!

This was a Fast and Easy project to make. 

 Creating the table charts was the most time consuming, but you can get them BELOW to print out on your own.

*Please note, this goes by CURRENT Copic Chart that is currently online, any new colors added are NOT in these files.

Copic Chart -1

Copic Chart -2

Copic Chart -3

I keep my new Swatch Book close at hand for easy reference when I'm buying online...or I toss it in my purse when I'm heading to the craft store!  NEVER buying duplicates again!

~Annie