Hi everyone, Mou Saha here with some ideas for scrapbookers on organizing mixed media supplies.
After chatting with quite a few Creating Keepsakes readers at various venues, I learned that some of you are nervous about trying mixed media techniques for several reasons, the most prominent being space restrictions and how to accommodate more supplies. Well, while I can’t expand your space, I might be able to give you some ideas about how to make the most of the space you already have.
Truth is: I have space restrictions too. So, I’ve organized my mixed media supplies in an 12″ x 18″ space that is also quite mobile. Here it is.
A 12" x 18" tray holds one scrapbooker's mixed media supplies.
It’s a simple tray in which I put my mixed media supplies in various containers. That way not only do they stay in one place (and I don’t need to scramble to find all the stuff, thus saving time) but it also allows me to move the tray around very easily (making cleanup simpler).
One organization item I find very convenient is the plastic picnic caddy. While originally it was intended for carrying silverware around, I use it to group my watercolor pencils by color. I use the remaining space to stand my medium tubes: texture paste, coarse gel medium, modeling paste, etc. Since my focus is primarily on scrapbooking, I don’t use huge quantities of mediums, and so I bought tubes instead of jars. This saves me money, space, and also the frustration of mediums drying up.
A silverware tray meant for picnics neatly corrals colored pencils and tubes of mediums.
I found these little felt buckets at Target. I keep my pigment sticks in them. The bucket’s wide mouth helps me see all my colors at a glance, making selecting and returning them to the bucket easy.
A small felt bucket holds pigment sticks.
These mini locker bins, also from Target, are not only cute, but also very handy for storing smaller items like Twinkling H20, Perfect Pearls, Moon Sand, and other products that come in tiny pots. I can easily fit three of these bins along a 12″ edge of my tray.
Tuck smaller medium jars inside mini locker boxes.
Of course, I also need my brushes and palette knives to be easily accessible. I keep my brushes in a coffee mug and palette knives in a clay pitcher, both found at a local thrift store.
Brushes are easily stored in and accessed from this coffee mug.
A small pitcher keeps palette knives viewable and within reach.
After all the individual bins, buckets, and the caddy are in place, there’s still enough room in my tray for me to store bottles and jars of Mod Podge, gesso, fiber paste, etc.— items that I use more often and find it economical to buy in greater quantities. I can also fit some bottles of India ink, Glimmer Glaze, and other liquid mediums along with rolls of masking tape, seam binding tape, and other stuff that I use frequently.
I hope these organization tips help you find some storage solutions to fit your space. Once that concern’s out of the way, you can venture into the fascinating world of mixed media scrapbooking! Be sure to check out the CK special issue Mixed Media Scrapbooking for more ideas, how-tos, and inspiration for scrapbookers who use—or are thinking about using—mixed media.
—Mou Saha, CK contributing writer
It all looks so neatly organized. Thank you for sharing.