Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Ink Storage: It Isn't Hoarding if You Use It

As a neat-and-tidy organizer of stuff, I have always been stymied by ink pads. They share the same flaw that stamps have: there is no standard size, shape, or form to make storage easy. Some pads are shaped like dew drops, some like cat's eyes, some like cubes, some like ovoids, and some like whatever you call 3D rectangles. Blocks? I don't know and haven't had enough coffee to look the answer up on that Google thing, but some pads come in different sizes of rectangle with different features like flip lids or detachable lids or grooves to make holding them easier. And then there are Ancient Page inks. Good grief. Why did they put curves on the sides of the rectangles?!?

It's an OCD nightmare.

Anyway, there are very expensive and very beautiful, wooden ink pad holders that I would love to buy, but DANG. The money! I would rather buy ink pads. So with my low-cost, low-class solution to the problem of ink pad storage, I've found a way to have my ink pads and use them, too.

Sterilite storage drawers. The drawers slide out easily (no pesky catches), fit in two towers on my desk, and allow me to organize my inks by 1) type of ink, and 2) color.

Pictures are better than words.

A. Water-resistant Dye Inks




B. Shimmery Pigment Inks of the Fast-Drying Variety


C. Fast-drying Pigment Inks That Don't Shimmer but Look Great Anyway



D. Spectrum Ink Pads

E. Odd Inks I Don't Use Very Often for Various Reasons But Still Need


F. StampinUp Colors I Can't Part With



I pull out drawers as needed and stack them on my desk. It's so easy to move the light-weight drawers around, slide them back into place, and keep track of everything. Sorting by ink type means I never have more than three drawers out at once because I don't generally mix inks.

I DO USE all my inks. As with everything else in my stash, I cull periodically and get rid of whatever isn't working for me. This keeps my ink collection fresh and useful, not to mention so very pretty. Don't you just enjoy staring at all those wonderful colors!!??!

If you want to know more about types of inks and which brands I prefer (and why), check out my tabbed page on Favorite Products. Always remember that one person's experience may not be the same as another's. If you're thinking about trying a new kind of ink, I recommend buying just a couple of colors and experimenting. That's what I did with distress inks, which turned out not to be for me. I was only out a few dollars and learned my lesson the easy way!

Now it's your turn. How do you store your inks? Have you invested in an expensive wooden storage, or do you use cheap baskets? How do you sort your inks...by brand, color, type? Inquiring minds, and all that.

32 comments:

  1. I do use the 48 wooden storage for distress inks (and stains), as well as a 60 ink holder that is nearly full of hero arts shadow inks. I have a stampin up spinning caddy for us inks but would like to get another wooden one. Also have 15 Jenni bowlin inks stacked on to of each other.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Posted too soon, the storage is by organize more. I love it as a person with organizational ocd type tendencies.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We are so blessed to have this issue. It sometimes makes me feel pretty guilty. Anyway, I have the round SU! storage unit and the similar CTMH round storage unit. I store them alphabetically by name.
    I wanted to put the markers and re-inkers with the pads in one unit instead of having some in a drawer. So before Christmas I bought one of the wooden storage racks to fit all of my CTMH inks. I have more of CTMH than any other brand. It is nice but there are a couple of flaws. Even though it was made for CTMH inks, the physical whole for the markers is a little small. You sometimes have to fidget to get the marker in or out.
    Additionally, CTMH decided to move to alcohol markers that come in twos. So when I need to replace a marker, I cannot get the original markers anymore but I get two shades of the same color and only one fits in the storage unit.
    Anyway, the rest of my various ink pads are in the drawer next to my desk.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Susan. I have done something similar. I have lightweight plastic office intrays that came in a fixed stack with easy to slide out drawers. I can fit two layers of ink pads per drawer. I organise mine mainly by colour, but my distress inks are in a couple of drawers of their own, mainly because I use different colours of these together whereas the others I tend to use one or more of a similar colour, if you follow me. If you thought you had a lot, I've just done a quick count, I have 26 pads or varying sizes shades and types, just in the purple drawer. The green drawer is fuller still :-) You never know when you will want a light sponging of a dried up old shade that you hung onto for years!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have a shallow wooden Hot Wheels storage piece I have mounted on the wall. It has slots that hold 100 ink pads. They are visible and easy to reach. I had a second one mounted to the end of my table but out of sight meant out of mind. So it is gone. I did store spools of ribbon in that one for awhile but again, out of sight..... I didn't just toss it; it broke from age.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My inks are stacked on a wooden shelf holder thingy that I got at Michael's. I have Close to My Heart, some Distress inks, about 8 sets of various Memento Dew Drop inks, 2 sets of Brillance inks, 1 black Archival, 1 black Stazon and 1 Versamark ink. Since I have relatively few inks, I don't have a need for any more storage. I would love some new inks. Maybe I'll have a storage issue down the road :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I do the same as you. It's great being able to see all the inks together. Except that I store together by brand instead of color because for some reason I've noticed that I stamp with only one brand of ink at a time. The clear sterilite drawers are so versatile and I use them for most other craft supplies too. I think it makes sense to store items of unequal size into equal size storage bins. Even if the items are random sizes, by storing them this way, you solve the problem of the uneven size but still can see everything together.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I use roughly the same system as you, keeping my 6-drawer unit under my desk. But I have all my pads upside down (except SU!) to keep the ink at the top of the pad. Do I NOT need to do that? It would be easier and faster if I didn't have to keep turning pads over until I find the one I want.
    Kegbo

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kegbo,

    I stored my dye inks upside down for years and finally gave up on it about a year ago. I've not noticed any problems. The thicker inks like Colorbox, Brilliance, and Memento Luxe don't need to be upside down anyway, or at least that is what I read years ago.

    Hope that helps!
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  10. How are those Hero Art inks? I so don't need any, but am curious as to how they work.
    I have to share this -- wooden, 100 ink pad holder $20 [cheap! Awesome product too]
    http://www.kingdom.com/100-capacity-wooden-cassette-rack-unfinished-wood.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. Long ago I had the SU expanded ink pad holder! Was too claustrophobic in the stamp room so decluttered most of the pads with the holder. Now I have one drawer of odd ink pads that I seldom use, when I pull it out it tips over the bin such that the paper trimmer and 3 inks pads on top tip over...

    I got rid of the colors because I don't know how to stamp on one layer...suppose I could remedy that and buy some more ink colors?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Long ago I had the SU expanded ink pad holder! Was too claustrophobic in the stamp room so decluttered most of the pads with the holder. Now I have one drawer of odd ink pads that I seldom use, when I pull it out it tips over the bin such that the paper trimmer and 3 inks pads on top tip over...

    I got rid of the colors because I don't know how to stamp on one layer...suppose I could remedy that and buy some more ink colors?

    ReplyDelete
  13. I built my own wooden 48 place rack for my SU pads. The others (mostly PTI) are just stacked ontop of the rack until I figure out if I should design another rack of some sort, or what? It's always in the back of my mind, but nothing has sparked yet.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I admit that to save space, I have SU spots which fit perfectly in a large Ferrero Rocher gift box. I can store it upside down in my craft bin - an ottoman in my Living Room. My Distress Inks stack neatly on the windowsill in my pantry. I only have 3 other odd ink pads so ink storage hasn't been a problem but I've been admiring your Brilliance pads recently and that may cause a problem. Where would I put them? Dining Room as a stamp space limits storage options.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I NEVER thought about storing them by color!! What a brilliant idea! Right now I use the old wooden cassette holders and a few plastic containers for the small ones.

    ReplyDelete
  16. As this seems to be my norm I have way too many ink pads. When I find an ink I like I seem to buy the whole spectrum of inks that that producer makes. Anyway, I store mine in drawers but sorted by the company as I tend to use the same type of ink on a project. I also agree with a previous comment that it would be so much easier to use an ink if my pads were not upside down. Maybe I will give this a try.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I store my inks in a cassette rack....you can find them at www.kingdon.com for $19.97.

    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  18. I store my inks in a cassette rack....you can find them at www.kingdon.com for $19.97.

    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  19. I totally lucked out - my father got rid of all of his old cassette tapes and gave me his wooden cassette rack. It holds all my ColorBox, Memento, Brilliance, and Distress inks perfectly - pigment all together arranged by colour and dye all together arranged by colour. I have a few that don't fit (Versamark and SU - which I don't buy but someone gave me a couple) and they just sit on top. My tiny spots and dew drops are in a plastic basket nearby.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I keep my Distress Inks stacked by colour in front of my work space; made my own Stacked shelves for my Hero Arts inks; have to keep my colourbox in a tupperware as the high humidity here causes mold to get into them and then the colour and oil separates, and you can't get them to remix. My Memento dewdrops are in the closest drawer.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm in love with your drawer labels: Fast-drying Pigment Inks That Don't Shimmer but Look Great Anyway and Odd Inks I Don't Use Very Often for Various Reasons But Still Need.

    I have the colored inks I use most in a shallow drawer right next to my desk. The black is on my desk it its special place. Other inks are in one of those wooden holders--a former cassette tape holder across the room on the wall. Those rainbow inkpads... yeah, I have them stashed someplace. In a drawer. In my house. I can't be more specific than that.

    ReplyDelete
  22. The shallow drawer I mentioned is in one of those MDF cubes with drawers that Michael's sells. Since I craft in the living room I am trying to eliminate the plastic storage and use stuff that looks more like furniture. That way, maybe someday I'll feel grown up.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I actually "inherited" the library's card catalogue from the high school our kids attended. I took out all of the index cards (I'm re-using them) and now use one drawer for each colour family. I have mostly SU inks, but some drawers have 3 or 4 different ink types. I can get about 9 SU inks in a drawer, as well as the odd re-inker and some random inks too! There are 9 drawers in all - 5 of them currently hold SU ink pads; one holds my Adironadack inks; one is for my Versafine inks, and the last one has my embossing and Versamark pads.

    ReplyDelete
  24. my husband built a shelf; so lucky there. Any ink pads that do not have ink refills; from about 10 years ago; go into storage for sponging effects. I have small lock tight storage for the ink refills.

    ReplyDelete
  25. my husband built a shelf; so lucky there. Any ink pads that do not have ink refills; from about 10 years ago; go into storage for sponging effects. I have small lock tight storage for the ink refills.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I also use the sterilite drawers for my inks except for my Stampin Up pads. Those are stacked in 3 old sewing machine drawers that are standing upright on top of a bookshelf. I can see the color name & pull out the ones I need easily. I see that you have been clearing out some of your inks 7 I need to do that also. I have some really old ones in there!! Love your blog!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I might have too many inks. I've sold most of my SU inks and moved on to Hero Arts and Simon Says Stamp. I have all my HA inks and Memento Luxe inks in my two SU color caddies, for now. All my Distress inks are on a shelf by themselves, and I have a drawer of "every other ink" that I only use when I need something specific. I keep my frequently-used blacks and browns next to my desk for easy access. And yes, I have it all memorized.

    I am still in organization mode, having just moved in recently, and I have two wooden CD storage units I could use for my inks, but I haven't decided yet. I also enter every give-away I can to see if can win one of those big storage units for my HA inks. I'd lose one of the color caddies if that ever happens.

    But for now, this works for me.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I am doing exactly what you are doing! And for the same reasons... I would love to have the storage made just for stamp pads but would rather spend my money on what goes in it. I moved into the plastic drawers about a year ago and it has worked pretty well. Like you I like being able to pull out a drawer and slap it down on the desk top and not have a pile of stamp pads to put away when I'm finished. I probably have the cheapest storage solutions on the planet and they aren't pretty but they serve the purpose and allow me to keep on spending my money on product. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  29. PS: your drawers are a LOT neater than mine...

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi Susan,
    As a stamper with limited budget - but badly needs to buy some more inks - how do you rate HeroArts inks against Memento dye inks? I currently own only the dew drops - but have the need to pick up some more new inks.
    Thanks much

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the Hero Arts inks (although I don't like the cubes...the felt frays in my experience). The colors are gorgeous, and the pads are juicy.

      If you primarily stamp with photopolymer, know that many of the colors WILL stain the stamps. I also find that if I use a dark color and clean a stamp only with a wet cloth, some of the ink stays on the stamp so that when I use the same stamp for a lighter color, the color is contaminated. I now clean my stamps inked with Hero Arts ink with a good stamp cleaning solution, which solves the problem.

      Hope that helps!

      Delete

Thank you so much for taking time to comment!