Video of my Organizing Solutions

I was asked recently to do a 'Lunch and Learn' for the createminiatures.org. Their theme for April was about Spring Cleaning and Organizing.

I shared my organizing solutions and answered questions via zoom meeting.

The video can be found here.

Happy miniaturing!

Preble

Storage options - cabinet vs enclosed boxes

 I am continuing my re-organization of my studio...

Storage options - cabinet vs enclosed boxes

First let me say that I use what I have as much as I can. I also try to make something work, but as I have said numerous times on this blog, its ok to re-evaluate your solutions.

One evaluation I had most recently was to decide that the metal and plastic cabinets have issues I was no longer willing to deal with. These were made for use in a garage environment so concern about dust was probably not considered at all. But for a crafter, dust is an enemy and to be avoided if possible. One way to deal with it I was already doing was just being selective in what I was storing in these cabinets. But when I evaluate what I was storing in them and how it was causing me to divide where I store things, so I was forgetting what I had; I felt I wanted to think of getting rid of them. Not because they don't work at all but just I can find other ways to store items. 

There were three metal tall cabinets and two shorter, wider ones. The tall ones I really used and the shorter ones I didn't. The main reason I didn't was because I couldn't get to them. Mostly I didn't use them because I didn't ever get around to finding just the right items to store in them because they were hard to get to.
Mounting them to the wall was an option but one I wasn't willing to do. These cabinets didn't fit too well in the black shelves and I wasn't prepared to move them to the white ones either. Once I decided to get rid of my desk and move the black shelves I also decided to get rid of the storage drawer cabinets.  But what to do with the items actually stored in these cabinets?

My solution was to purchase more photo boxes. In 2016, I decided that for my project boxes stored in shoe boxes I would replace with photo boxes. I planned that I would do this over time by buying only when they were on sale. I had done so, but used this as  time to buy more. There is nothing wrong with shoe boxes. But the photo boxes provide consistent sizes and that is what led me in that direction. 

I decided that I would also use the photo boxes for storing supplies as well. 

• Ribbon/Trim - keeping the bags I had in the big bin, the only change was to have them 'filed'. But it did take two photo boxes to store all of it. I love being able to quickly find the color I am looking for without having to dig in the big bin. Another thing I did was to give up on the case binder. I really loved the case binders I have but I don't have enough of the pocket pages to fill up. I re-purposed it to another task.
  
  
  
  
• Flower making - I'm not totally happy with this box, but for now the items from the storage cabinets are moved inot one photo box. I plan to get these 'filed' as well.
• Kits - rearranging things from my tall plastic drawer cart to the photo boxes, I split them into Furniture and Misc. and I 'filed' them using the dividers that came in the photo boxes.
  
• Electrical - got it's own photo box. I think I may use some smaller boxes inside to help organize this as it is a mass jumble. Another solution I may consider would be the plastic divided boxes.

Meanwhile...

I visited the thrift store and found 6 divided boxes - these are the plastic fishing tackle type things. I've used some for years for my swaps. 

For the swaps, I had significantly reduced what needed to be stored by making and furnishing my Swaps Mall. So my first step with the divided boxes was to consolidate swaps into fewer divided boxes. 

I even pulled other items like my resin rabbit collection into these. They were previously stored in the drawer cabinet so they needed a new home. Now they are altogether waiting for a new home in a mini project.

Another step was to use only the smaller fixed section boxes for swaps (I have gotten these used at thrift stores, but usually get them from the local craft dept store) and use the ones with flexible divided sections for supplies. 

• Wood strips and bits - all my wood except some wider pieces are now sorted into 3 divided boxes. Yes, 3 because I had them available and also because I had that many scraps in assorted places. I now have wood in 3 places, these boxes, a drawer for larger flat pieces and a large cardboard box for the remaining long pieces. 
  
• Pencils and pens - these were in the cabinets and needed a new home. A divided box worked and a second smaller box for my permanent markers.
• Glitter and sequins - spent a couple of evenings sorting my sequins by color. I know silly, but therapeutic for me. I just love color but prefer it to be organized. The sorting paid off later when I just needed silver and could go quickly to the silver section.
  
• Plastic bits - I previously had most of all this in a shoe box size cardboard drawer. But this way I can find things easier. Larger bits (that I am less likely to use for smaller scales) are still in the cardboard drawer.
  
• Screws and such - I previously had two drawers in the storage cabinet. Oh and various other spots around. So I consolidated it all into one single divided box. This one was an odd ball compared to the others.
  
• Previously, I had a divided box of doors and windows for 1:48 scale but added a second one for other building components. Mostly I spread out the stash into two boxes because I had them, but I also found some of these stored somewhere else so now everything is together.
  

Moving all this around I freed up some other boxes and wanted to find places for more things.

• Tape - it is in a plastic shoebox. (shown above)
• Clay - these was moved from the plastic shoe box I just mentioned into a 3 section snap together box. This way all the clay and tools are together.
  
• Kid art - I keep on hand some kid friendly art items like markers, scissors and glue. These all are in an additional snap together set box.
• Small boxes - literally little boxes. I keep these from when I unpack my swaps or other purchases. These then are used when I need to ship something or for the clear ones I will use for display.
  
• Stamps - I can't seem to part with these (or these pink boxes), a leftover from other crafts. These could easily go in a photo box instead.
• Punches - these needed to move from the cabinet drawers and have found a new home
• Glue and bulky paint - these, for now, are on the bottom two shelves of a black bookcase. I still need to decide if this will be their official home. Can also see the stuff stored in the corner. I left a gap between the book shelf and the wall just for the storage of large flat things.
• 
• Paint bottles - I have been collecting small mail boxes to use to separate by color. I like this better than the bigger bins I had, but I wish they were deeper to fit the depth of the shelf.
  
• Scissors - the fancy kind and my handle hole punches - these all fit in the top of the medium rack tool box (see below)
• Tools - the extra tools I had stored in the drawer cabinets needed a new home. I finally succumbed and purchased the medium size tool rack system. I decided on the medium size because I felt the larger one was too big, especially since I had the smaller one to hold most of my regular use tools already. I got this one from Michael's with a coupon. I choose to elevate the small one to fill room on the shelf. I do tend to leave my tools out and so the two bins below make for quick clean up. The little shelf was a thrift store find. I also added a piece of foam-board under the toolbox so support the front cover that is sticking out. This is so a divided box has something to sit on. The medium rack box has the front cover removed. These are easy to remove or take off. The shelf above was left that far up to allow the top portion lid to be opened. All my tools including a small hammer (except rulers) are in these two boxes.
  

That's all for now.

Cottontail Cottage Studio Desk Update

Studio Update and solution considerations drawer cabinets vs enclosed options

Last fall I decided to remove my artist easel type desk.

Before

The desk was frequently covered with stuff to the point that I was forced to use a folding card table or tv tray to work on. Because there were cabinets on the top of the desk (more on those later) I also couldn't use the easel aspect even if I wanted to. Rarely was this ever an issue. The biggest issue was the height of the desk. I am short and I like my feet on the floor so this means that I really need a lower work surface.

Removing the desk meant I had to come up with another way to hold some of the cabinets, etc. My solution was to move one of the black book shelves to where this desk had been.
I only moved the desk into the dining room as I figured it might go back to my room sooner than later.

Before

I also moved the three plastic drawer carts together. However I got to thinking that it might be nice to have the desk available for cutting things on or whatever. This desk is designed to pivot up so that it can be like an easel. My idea was to have it so that the pivot could lift the top up and out of the way. So we moved it back in the room where the book shelf I had moved was. (Basically at this point these two large items swapped places.)
The desk with the top down would block the door to the closet but since it could be lifted up and out of the way, it would still work in the corner and not block the door then. The ability to lift it out of the way was because we turned the desk around so that the pivot was at the wall side not the front. So it still can't be used as an easel. Again this isn't a problem.

More Shelves
About this same time my hubby had started selling on eBay. This desk would then be available to him as well for packing/shipping and also to photograph the items. But he needed a place to store his items. We visited a local thrift store to find some shelves. We got really lucky that we found just what we were looking for and more, at half price even. For him we found a metal shelf and for me two tower units.
Here's his ebay shelf (btw - if you see anything of interest here - email me, a lot of this hasn't been listed yet and I will practically give it away).

The desk moved over from previously in front of the closet to under the window.

I can still use the desk for cutting and also we leave up the photo booth. Although I have been trying to keep the boxes put away. 

In order to place the two tower units in the studio room, I needed to move the second black book shelf next to the first one I had just moved. 

Before

It was something I had considered doing when I was considering removing the desk and moving the first book shelf, even before I got these two new units.

I believe these units were part of an entertainment center. The top shelves do not adjust but do have lights in them. The other shelves do adjust using the peg system. I believe that one of them may have had a door as there is extra wood pieces and trim that a door likely hung from and fitted against. It would have been nice to have the door, but I am pleased with them without it.
These two units give me both display shelves and a place for my scrapbook supplies.  They were previously in a couple of shelves of the just moved black bookshelf. These units also have doors at the bottom. Since I was going to keep the bike here, I decided that what went in the cabinets must be items I don't access as often. Examples are extra display boxes and some large tools (small table saw) that may or may not stay here.

Here is the two tower units And yes, the bike does can be used there  - but it is easy to pull it out for more elbow room.

It isn't obvious in this pic, but to get the two tower units in this corner I had to slide the white shelves over a few inches.
After several months of working on this, I am finally ready to share more photos of where I am with the other portions of the room. No, the room isn't picture perfect, but hey this is how I really work in here.

You can see in this pic that I still have piles of things to sort thru, but I have made progress as there are fewer piles and misc boxes.

This one shows both the first black shelf new location and the folding table I am using as my desk. Plus can see the corner. I left a gap for storing tall things like foam sheets in the corner.
That was an interim pic that I was going to post weeks ago, but have moved on to this.
The main difference is moving some of the new divided boxes and other supply boxes lower so I can reach while sitting.

I have refined that placement of boxes and decided that I will have display area on that second shelf that is nearly empty right now. I would like to purchase an extra shelf (piece of wood I would paint black) to go in the other other shelf unit (one on the right). Then my photo boxes won't be stacked as high.
The boxes in the black shelves - most of them are the photo storage boxes that I purchased when the hobby stores run a sale. I actually have some leftover. I guess I need more projects to put in them. Or I could get busy doing more sorting of the remaining areas. LOL.

On top of the folding table is a folding bed table. I got this at a thrift store as well. I so rarely ever used it in my bed, that I tried it on my folding table/desk. I really like that I have the additional space which more than makes up for the loss of the easel desk.

One advantage that I have by using the folding table is that I can easily slide it over to allow a bed roll on the floor (for guests). Or if I needed to it can be cleared off and put away.

This shows behind the door and where the other drawer cart ended up. I did clean out the other one and gave it away to my daughter (they both used to be under my second folding table that was always piled up). The items that was in that cart are now in the black shelves near the bottom. Items that were there, were moved into the cabinets of the two tower units. In this case, items I used less often were stored away behind a door and items used more often left out.

As one can see, my studio is ever changing - for a number of reasons. I still have some work to do for this round of re-org, but I am much happier that my stuff is not as likely to get dusty being in boxes. 

My DIY makeup palette

This post is not about miniatures specifically – but it is related if you ever use eyeshadows in miniature projects.
Edited 2015/04/16 - to make this more mini related, other people mentioned that the pans make great pans in 1:12 scale, the round ones I show, well those could be small pond - both of these require to remove the makeup product.  The real big container held the pans in by plastic liner.  That liner could be salvaged and the bubbles also used for ponds.

Lately on the DIY list on Pinterest I have been seeing diy makeup palettes.  I have always loved the idea of a bunch of colors to choose from and so having eyeshadow and blush in different shades appeals to me.  But what does not appeal is all the different size and shape of the containers.  It is very inefficient if you want to use one color from this group and another color from another group.  Not that I am in any big hurry to do my makeup, just I like being organized and the multiple container idea is not that.

I have been looking at the various purchase options that are in my price point – Z Palette – which has several sizes and Uni Palette which is one size.  These are all great ideas, but my problem is that I wanted to have more than just the eyeshadow and blush together. 

Here is a pic of all my eyeshadow and blush before

Here is a pic of after I consolidated.

First I ordered some tin boxes on Amazon – these came as three pack.

While I was waiting for the tin boxes to arrive I depoted all my eyeshadow and blush.  This was a simple as using a thin blade and a heat source.  I used a straighter that I just got a thrift store the week before as my heat source.  I also scavenged around my house for the flat magnet stickers.  I had some on my fridge I was willing to use. 

I also had in my stash a tin box that a dvd came in.  This would have worked except for my magnets weren't strong enough to keep them in the lid.  I had so many they had to go in both the bottom and lid.  I did have some plastic to use as a divider between, but that didn’t help to keep them on the lid as it was opened. 

So then my three pack of tin boxes came – most of all my other makeup supplies fit into one of these tins.  I knew I was on the right track with this.

Next I considered how would my palettes be inside the tin.  I figured I could get 3 or 4.  Could I make them like a book?  Well, yes I could.  I did a mock up with paper and vinyl.  The paper was the pages the eyeshadow would be on and the vinyl would be my hinge.  The vinyl came from a bag with a zip top for holding travel size bottles.  I never used it for that as I had other solutions, but kept it around just in case.  So far I was ok with this plan.

So I cut out the mat board of backing, cut magnets the right size.  I needed to cut the corners as my tin has rounded edges.  I also needed to cut them a little smaller as the tin has a rolled edge.  After cutting these pieces I taped it all together to do a test fit. I was really glad I did the test fit mock up, as I did not like the book idea because of having them in the tin box.  Instead I decided I would be happy with just layering the 3-4 palettes in the box.  I did keep the vinyl as a tab to lift them out.

Next I considered whether the palette needed edges/framing or not.  The ones I see on Etsy have sides where the pans go.  The ones I saw in the DIY section on Pinterest used foam core board.  Initially I made one board without the edges and tried it.  
This stage was adding the fancy paper around my mat board.  This was super easy, just glue to one side of the mat board and then make cuts to the paper to allow it to be folded over smoothly and glued down.
Using double sided adhesive sheets to adhere the magnet to the board and having the vinyl sandwiched between magnet and covered board.  It was sticking out about an inch.

I tested this with the pans on it and my conclusion was that the edges/frame was needed.  Especially they were needed since my magnets weren't as strong as I liked.  So I cut a piece of foam core board slightly smaller than the covered mat board.  Then I measured ¼” in from all the edges and cut out a rectangle from the inside.  The ones I was seeing elsewhere were much wider – maybe ½” or more.  I don’t see why I should waste the space.

Covering the foam core piece was more difficult with it being a cutout.  So I determined I would just go with strips of foam core for the next one.  In each corner I had to add a strip of paper to the inside of the foam core section to cover it. 

To avoid having to cover the foam core with paper – one solution I think is being used on the ones on Etsy is black foam core board.  Either that or they are painting it all black.  Another seller was using wood that was painted in a coordinating color.  If I had black foam board, I might have gone that route.  Painted wood seems more work, although the paper covering may be fiddly and about the same.

Because my magnet was already adhered to the covered board, I just trimmed the magnet to fit inside my new covered foam core frame.  Gluing the frame to the paper covered mat board backing.

So here is the first one.

I knew I was going to make at least two more.  For these two I went with different paper.  My paper is smaller and so I had to work with that.  But over all I think these were easier to make.

These were made from 3 ¼” x 5 1/8” pieces of mat board.  The corners were trimmed off at an angle – not rounded.  The foam core frames were made from ¼” wide strips of foam core.  I glued the short ends on first.  These were glued flush to the outer edge.  Used the board as a guide to trim the foam strips to match the board.  Next I trimmed the long strips to fit between but only glued one in place.

The flat board of number two was glued to the paper with glue stick and number 3 with modge podge.  No difference with that.

I then began wrapping the paper over the rest of the board and frame together.  When I did this I cut straight cuts wherever possible.   The long piece was easily wrapped with my paper but the sides I had to add an extra piece inside the frame to make sure to cover the foam core.  Again this was due to my paper size that wasn’t big enough.
One solution to this would be to cover the board first.  It only needs to overlap less than ½” on the magnet side.  Then use another piece of a paper to cover each of the four pieces for the frame separately.   
I did exactly that to cover the 4^th long frame piece I had set aside due to adding my vinyl tab/handle.  To add the vinyl,  I used packing tape to hold it in place on the mat board (partially covered side).  I cut it shorter than the width of the inside of the frame.  This allowed the 4^th frame piece to be glued to the board at the ends.
Wrapping the paper over the frame pieces especially around corners was fiddly, but to keep it as neat as possible, I folded and creased first.  Then cut wherever was needed so I could wrap it neatly.  Ideally I wanted the entire white foam core board frame pieces to be covered with paper.
Once all was covered, I cut the magnet sheet to fit into the frame area.  For number two I had applied some double sided adhesive sheet that I had.  For number three I had bought some magnet sheets that have adhesive on them.  For number two I also had to piece together the magnet as was too narrow, but when the pans are in place this is not noticeable at all.
So here is all three palettes laid out.

The vinyl tabs don't show well in the pics, but they are there and are used to pick up the palette from the box. If one wanted to instead the tab could be made of paper.
I did coat number two and three with several layers of modge podge.  I will go back and do that for number one and number four if I make it, which I plan to.
All three of these palettes allow me to rearrange and play with my makeup far more than ever before.
All my spares are housed in the aol tin.

I haven't yet, but I am thinking I will add some decorative tape or paper to the outside of my tin box. 
I still have the third tin box, so once I make number four palette I can use that as my spare storage space for the makeup included other such as lip gloss or eye liner but I will make sure to have a divider like plastic or vinyl between.  
If I do make number four, I will try to take pictures as I go and update this blog post.  Plus share my other tin that has the brushes and eyeliner.  

Day 31 of Organizing

This has been fun sharing with the internet my ideas on organizing this month.  I certainly have shared more than ever before.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.  I will be indexing these ideas and posting it sometime in February.  
Today  I want to emphasize my ideas about organizing.

Organizing

• Should be fun not a chore - find a way to make it fun
• Help you feel lighter - 
• Free you of unwanted items
• Be about recycling or repurposing when possible
• Is about making your life easier - not more complicated
• Hopefully will make you more productive
• Should lessen the time it takes to find something 
• Give you more time to spend making minis
• Should work for you, not about what works for me
• Should be Categorized for the way you look for things
• Will take time
• May help decide what you want to focus on
• Should be simple as possible
• Should help keep things from becoming damaged
• Should help keep you from being damaged as well
• Doesn't have to be expensive
• Doesn't have to look pretty, although that is fun.
• Should help to keep things used most often closer at hand 
• Should help you find things quicker
• Should help you to want to put things away
• May become addictive
• May spread to other areas of your life
• Should be easy to maintain
• May help you to be more creative
• Should help make room for other minis
• Solutions can be used in more ways than one

Until I post again....

Happy Miniaturing and Miniature Organizing!

Preble

Swaps - Day 29 of 31 days of organizing

Swaps and Finished item storage
When it comes to storing these, the items stored don't have to be swaps (read more about what a swap is with this link), they could be items purchased or assembled.  These are just items that don't have a home(project) to go to.  

Packaging be gone One aspect of swaps is that they generally have some extra packaging.  I decided a long time ago to discard the packaging for two reasons.  One they take up space and second they make it hard to see what you have.  It isn't just about me being able to see but also I have shown off the wonderful items I have received.  BECAUSE I THINK THEY ARE REALLY COOL.
Who made it
BUT I do record who I got the item from and what it is.  I have learned to be very descriptive in the what so later it is easier to figure how the who.  I like to give credit to the who when the what finds a home.  I do this using Access, but a spreadsheet in Excel works too.  That is what I used before I switched to Access.

Here is my swap boxes.  I call them swap boxes although they do have items I have assembled from kits and therefore not really a swap item.  
I have each end labeled so that when I put them on the shelf, I don't have to worry which way.  
These boxes are fishing tackle type divided boxes.  Some have pre-set divider sections that can insert a divider in the slot and some have non-removable dividers. My preference is the removable ones.

Organized by Theme or Room
I organize the boxes by theme or room.  The one above (an old photo) has bedroom and living room furniture in it.  If I did a specific themed swap, then I usually have those grouped together for when the project gets done.
I do not usually put these items in with the kit they might go with.  Well unless they are both specific.  For example, if I had a project box started for the themed swap,I might. Like when I did an attic swap and we got an attic kit, the attic swaps and that kit were all housed together.  But if a finished item/swap could go in different projects and haven't decided which one yet, then it goes in these general boxes.  I do that because I may end up not using in the original intended project idea.  Could be it doesn't fit with my theme after all, don't have enough room or whatever.

For the most part these items are just inside the divider sections, really small items may get added to a small plastic box with mini-hold on them, but not all items.  If I take the box to show off (like after a big swap), then I use mini-hold on all the items.  But these are all for short trips.

One solution I might consider if I didn't have these plastic boxes, is make my own from cardboard. This would be similar to the trays I have for beads.  However the trays I made for swaps would be deeper to accommodate more items.  But I could still do the stacking within the larger box.  I would definitely add sections to give structure to the trays to keep an upper layer from crushing anything below.  The trays would need tabs at the end for sure to make it easy to lift them out.

Come back tomorrow for more organizing solutions - 2 days left in my 31 days.

Happy Miniature Organizing!
Preble

Punching Pretty - Day 26 of 31 Days of Organizing

Let's talk about that punch - well punches - for making flowers and other things in minis

I have a small collection of punches - both the block punches and the hand held ones.
I have these in three drawers in my drawer cabinets

 Note the bottom drawer above has extra labels on it.  These 'labels' are paper that I punched the shape from.  I need to do this again so that the upper drawer has them again as well.  The drawer shown below also needs them.

This drawer in addition to the hand held punches also holds my fancy scissors.  
Another way these types punches and scissors could be stored is by hanging them from pegs on a wall.
Another miniaturist shared with NAME that she uses the closet door holders like for shoes or other accessories to hold her many punches.  Divided boxes that allow one to adjust the dividers would also be a good option.
The punched pieces need a place to be stored as well especially if one borrows a punch or buys some pre-punched. I started with a tray that had pockets in it but no lid.  It was something my sis-in-law had given me from her work at a dental office.  I made a lid of sorts from cardboard.  
Later I was to be a part of a group buy of a bunch of pre-punched petals.  These came to me in little zip bags.  I liked the bags.  The bags I had gotten before were not the zip bags, but had the cardboard folded over the top.
One day I decided to sort these by color and using the idea I had seen used at shows to display other items, I taped each bag to a plastic sheet protector for a three ring binder. The sheet protector just has a sheet of paper in it. The plastic is what the little bags are taped to.  I also had plastic tab sheets and I added those to make the sheets stiffer.  alternatively I could have just used the tabs to tape to or I could use stiffer paper.  The tabs do help to separate the sheets.   The tabs and sheets all go in a three ring binder. This binder is called a case binder.  It is more like a plastic box than a typical binder that is open on three sides.

This particular style also has a plastic sleeve over the outside which allows to add a cover to be inserted.  I took pictures of each page inside, reduce their size and combined that all together on one page.

Here's an actual page inside.
I sub-grouped by shade or tint, and then arranged smaller to largest of the same shape.
The same friend that uses the over the door holder, houses her punched punches in a divided box.  She labels them based on the shape and adds a number to her punches.  So if she has same shape but three sizes, she would have #1, #2, #3.  The box gets labeled that was as well so that if that bin is empty she knows which punch to use to refill.
An alternative I might consider for storing the punched punches would be a pocket page type photo album.  Again I would sort by color.
For whatever solution I used for the punches themselves, I think the more punches one has the more that I would group them by shape and label the exterior unless I could easily see their sizes.  

Sharpening a punch?
I have read that punching with wax paper or aluminum foil sharpen them.  My experience is that is not the case.  The wax might help temporarily, and the foil well to me it is just another media the punch is going through.  I don't think it really hurts to try these methods, just that it won't do much in my experience.
To truly sharpen, I think they would need to be taken apart and that is just something I am not going to do, nor am I going to have done.  I only have one punch that is really even a problem for me.  I used it to punch butterflies from cooper and I got to point of using a hammer and wood block to get them all cut.  
Granted none of my punches are the expensive - $30 ones and if they were, I might consider having them professionally sharpened.

Using punched pieces
I think that punches can be an excellent source of shapes especially if using them for a swap.  
When it comes to making flowers, I personally feel that the punches need to be enhanced with both shaping and with color.  For example, a double ball stylus can be used either wet or dry to shape and markers or paint can be used to accent the shapes to look more life-like with color variations.
Of course punches can also be used for things like frames, clocks, signs and more.

Sequins
Sequins are pre-punched things that can also be used particularly for mirrors, plates, vinyl records - all depending on the color, shape and size.  Don't throw away those sequin holes as I use those as well for buttons and such.
Storing these is super simple in my studio - a plastic bag in a drawer.  I have bought mixed colors and so far haven't taken time to sort them out.  When I use them, I dump them on a paper plastic sort to find what I want, then re-bag using the plate as a funnel of sorts.
I have even used my sequins and punches together - taking a shape that is one thing to another shape with the punch.  I have purposefully bought larger round ones so that I could punch them into other shapes.

Come back tomorrow for another idea on organizing for my 31 days of Organizing in January.

Happy Miniature Organizing!
Preble

Day 25 of 31 Days of Organizing - Landscape supplies

Landscaping supplies

I have a variety of supplies I have collected over the years.  I really enjoy using the ones developed for train enthusiasts to use.  For what I have collected I have separated by color.  (My favorite way to sort.)

I most everything in a three drawer cart.

A drawer for greens

A drawer for flower colors

A drawer for browns, black and whites - which includes various sands that might be used for dirt and ground

For all of these I use a lot of zip bags.  I have found these to be the best option.  To avoid dealing with the materials getting in the zip part, I use a metal bead scoop to dip out of the bags. I rarely use it for beads as I have mine sorted so am not typically dealing with larger quantities of beads.  But for landscaping, I like dipping versus pouring.  I do use a paper plate or something under my project to capture the excess and pour back into the bags.

Another bunch of landscaping I have is dried materials.  These have a tendency to be larger packages, so keep them in a large box in my closet.  

I do take a smaller amount of the dried items and put in a small bag to keep in with the three drawers of landscaping supplies.

Come back tomorrow for another organizing idea during my 31 days of organizing.

Happy Miniature Organizing!

Preble

Packaging - Day 24 of 31 Days of Organizing

Packaging
Zip bags are something I can't do without.  I found this box in yet another laptop box.  But it could be easily set up.

As you can it has four sections that were built in - but I am using checkbook boxes to divide the one section further.  I could see taking a pizza box type box and just adding more boxes that I made to hold the bags.  I like having different sizes on hand.  I do use these for swaps, holding punches, and leftover bits.  I buy them and I save them when I get something.  
My larger zip bags go in a drawer with other packaging.

I also save any little containers because I need packaging up swaps and also for storing other miniatures and supplies.  I also store things like lids that I use for paint palettes and paper plates for recapturing excess landscaping, glitter, beads or whatever and also for holding items while painting.

Shipping supplies have drawers as well.  I have a box in the closet for packing peanuts. All this stuff needs contained somewhere so drawers are great, but boxes are great too. Labels are important if can't see in the drawer.

Boxes for shipping, they need a place too.  When I have more boxes than this, I make sure to store them flat like on the each side.  The ones on the left (in plastic wrap) are priority mail boxes.

Come back tomorrow for another organizing idea during my 31 days of organizing.

Happy Miniature Organizing!

Preble

Never a Dull Moment - Day 18 of 31 Days of Organizing

We've marked and measured and now comes the time to cut.
So today's organizing idea is around storing the sharp tools.

Sharp tools need to be kept sharp and also need to be stored to protect us from them.
Similar to my measuring tools, I have larger and smaller.  The larger ones are stored in a drawer

I added the divider in this drawer just so I could keep this drawer more orderly.  
That green and silver thing in the back - that is my new sharpening tool.  It was recommended by another miniaturist.  It is now two-sided to do two-step sharpening.  
That handle on the left is a cutting tool to use with a grooved ruler for cutting things like mat board and poster board.  
The rest are spare cutting tools that either aren't needed or don't fit in my toolbox.

Here is that toolbox divided box

My toolbox is the tools I need that work with making minis in smaller scales.  These tools are necessarly smaller they just all happen to fit.
In the middle front section is a small plastic box that I place used blades in.  In the past, I threw these away.  One way I did that was to insert the used blade into a scrap of foam core board or other scraps that kept the blade from coming out.  
I do keep spare blades in with these tools.
This divided box has also been modified to allow me to fit larger tool.  But I use the dividers in the back to contain the tweezers.  This corrals them and keeps me from grabbing the wrong end.

Accessibility is important to me and my sharp tools are no different.  But I also try to avoid any potential sharp point from hurting me or someone else who might borrow my tools. 
Having sharp tools to use when I cut is also important to me, so that is why I do change out blades.  And now I will be reusing them by using the new sharpening tool I have. From what I understand the blades can be even sharper than what they come to us from the factory.  

Come back tomorrow for another organizing idea during my 31 days of organizing.

Happy Miniature Organizing!

Preble

Measuring the Marks - Day 17 of 31 Days of Organizing

After we make the marks, now it is time to Measure the Marks

Measuring tools tend to be long and odd shaped.  So they don't lend themselves to toolboxes in general.
I have two strategies to manage these.  I have two sizes of most all of them.
The long and bigger ones I hang on the wall.  In the past, I have hung them on the end of a wood shelf that I had a hook or nail in place.  Working with 1:48 scale minis, I don't need them as often and I have the smaller ones easily accessible in my toolbox. 

 There are also cutting mats hung up here when not on a work desk.

I used my moto tool to modify the small divided box that fits in my toolbox.  This mod was to allow tools to fit in the open area.  The box has dividers and that keeps those pens in place.
Those tools in that  expanded area are a triangle and right angle.  Then in the back are a couple of 6 inch rulers.  All of these are great for working in smaller scale.

In that divided box is an important marking tool - a permanent marker (purple lid).  When I need make the same cut repeatedly, I use a permanent marker on my metal ruler to make the mark.  Then once I am done, I use isopropyl alcohol to remove the mark.

The main thing I think about organizing these tools is to keep them accessible as needed. Otherwise keeping them out of the way (on a wall sure is unless what is below will bump them too much.)  When I used to hang them on a nail at the end of a shelf, I would hang several on the same hook.  On the wall I have more space and I take advantage of that so I don't have to un-hang more than one ruler at a time.  But either way works and that is what I think is most important - whatever works for you.

Come back tomorrow for another organizing idea during my 31 days of organizing.

Happy Miniature Organizing!

Preble

Making a Mark - Day 16 of 31 Days of Organizing

Making a Mark - ideas for storing pencils, pens, markers and other drawing materials

When it comes to storing these I mostly have them in drawers.  

Nothing really special about this. I keep the colored pencils and my box of drawing pastels in one drawer, misc pens/markers in another, and my permanent markers in yet another.

In my toolbox I have one divider section that is for a pencil, pen and then other sections for erasers and extra leads. (Yes, I modified my divided box so I can fit other things into it.)

I also scrapbook and so I have a large collection of markers I use for that.  I do use them for minis whenever I feel the need.  For these I purchased a pen binder (it may have actually been for pencils as the loops are tight on the markers.)  I used to travel to crops a lot so I wanted them accessible hence the binder and not just a box, which is what I used before. 

Oh and yes, in the middle that is a miniature replica of this binder done in 1:12 scale.  I am working on a scrapbook dome and this will go on the table if I ever finish it.

The flap in the middle is two sided and so other pens and tools are held there.

One advantage for this binder and these type of pens which are double ended is to allow them to be stored flat.  So the binder either lays flat or stands on the end so they are kept horizontal.

Some pens do better when the point (usually where the lid is) is stored down.  So it depends on the pen.

Another type of pen I have is a stain pen or marker.  I really think these are great for miniatures in general but especially for 1:48 scale minis.  The smaller the scale the less stain we need.  I can say I have a small can of stain that isn't even half gone.  Partly because of using the markers, but just that the can lasts when you don't have as much staining surface.  The markers really make a difference to me for application and for that reason alone they are worth the cost.  There are some styles that allow one to remove the nib and refill.  I haven't tried that yet, but I may one day.  I keep these markers either in the top section of my toolbox or in the drawer with other stain and glue that I will show in a few days.  I have three colors - only because I do a lot more painting of furniture than staining so a light medium and dark works well for my needs.

When it comes to storing pens and markers, the thing most important to me is accessibility for the project at hand.  That's why I keep a variety in my toolbox divider box.  It doesn't mean there aren't other ones laying about my work desk, but I try to always keep one or more in the toolbox so I could travel to a mini class/club if I ever have one to go to again.

The second thing I think important is that pens and markers don't dry out.  So always recap them tightly.  But if they do dry up a bit or especially a lot then I throw them out. Now those stain pens, I might try refilling.  Granted some types of pens can be taken apart and parts reused for other purposes.  I have done that as well.

Come back tomorrow for another organizing idea during my 31 days of organizing.

Happy Miniature Organizing!

Preble