Organize Your Thick Dies and Packaged Stamp Sets!

 A reader asked for more storage ideas, so here goes!  A few years ago I realized that I had a potential storage problem when it came to my larger dies--the thick ones that cut all kinds of materials.  So I began looking for something that would house them without taking up precious space in my already over-crowded studio.  I realized there was some unused space behind open doors.  Since I had already installed a nice bookcase with the door barely clearing it when open, I took some measurements and  went shopping.  I discovered narrow media storage cabinets at Wal-Mart in the electronics department.  They wound up being the perfect size for my purpose.  So I bought two and stacked them, anchoring them together and also to the wall behind them.  They are narrow enough for the door to remain open without obstructing the traffic flow through this walk-through room.  

The photo above shows the cabinets installed between the bookcase and an old painted Coke crate I have had for years (it also holds some dies and ink pad overflow).  The door is not shown, but is on the right, and it is closed. Note that the bookcase next to the media cabinets holds some of the Sizzix alphabets and Sizzlets in cases on the bottom shelf.  I am also storing my stamping wheels in this great media storage case.  The shelves are adjustable in inch increments, allowing for many storage combinations.  So the bottom of the cabinet houses the BigZ longer dies.  The Tim Holtz's Movers and Shapers dies are stored inside some of the dies that will hold them, as well as the empty tray, but these are stored horizontally.  The next step is to buy a metal storage board and mount it beneath the Coke crate for the magnetic dies.  See a close up of the stacked cabinets in the photo on the right.

Like most stamp artists, stamp storage has also become a nightmare for me.  I love Stampin' Up stamps in their nice storage containers, and the collection acquired from belonging to a monthly card club for years has outgrown the regular wood stamp storage cabinets. To free up more room for other brands of stamps, I decided to go back to Wal-Mart a couple of years later to see if the cabinets were still available.  They were, but they came in a different wood tone.  That was okay, since I have an eclectic studio.  So I bought two more to put side-by-side behind the door to the half bath and adjacent to my workspace area.  This has become a very convenient storage space for the cased stamps.  Now that these last two cabinets are full, buying unmounted Stampin' Up stamps is top priority.  Since they are marketed in DVD cases, they are going to be perfect in media storage.  Unfortunately, I can't find the same cases, and I am pretty much out of behind-the-door storage, so I am on the lookout for another style of media storage.  The next photo (above and left) shows the stamp storage in the cabinets.

So where can you find similar cabinets?  Check your  local Wal-Mart first, and then just go online for a ton of ideas.  I briefly Googled "media storage shelves", and lots of hits came up.  Garage sales, thrift stores, and other second hand stores might yield a bargain for those wishing to play sleuth.   

Coming next:  Punch storage and more!