Steel Die Storage Update for Spellbinders, Sizzix, etc.

Wafer Thin Die Storage

As my collection of tools grows, so does my need to find new ways to organize and store them.  Today's post is about using steel dies as artwork for the wall.  No, not really.  It is about the latest evolution of my storage system for dies that are used with die-cutting machines.

The video below explains this and shows examples of how I've stored dies in the past. I wrote about this in 2011 here and here. The first link has a video explaining my initial storage method at the time and the second one has some photos of the systems I used.

Here is a link to the magnetic sheeting that I hung on the wall which is shown in today's video:


   

Thanks for visiting!
Bev

Stencil Storage Ideas

My stencil collection has been growing and it was time to find a new storage system to keep up with it!

Here is a video that shows you the evolution of my storage system for stencils of all different sizes.

Several months ago, I bought self-adhesive hooks on ebay. Unfortunately, I can not locate the seller at this time. Here is a link to the same type of lightweight hooks that I bought to hang the stencils:



Here is a link to the 4-pocket page protectors that hold 6" stencils mentioned in the video:



And this link is for the single pocket pages. I stored 12 x 12 and 9 x 12 stencils back to back with a piece of cardstock in-between the stencils.



I'd love to hear how you store your stencils.
Thanks for stopping by!
Beverly

Creative Roundup - Lots of Photographs

For lack of a better post title, the following is some of what I have been doing the last few months.

Dyeing scarves

Chenilled a puppy quilt from hand dyed flannel

 The puppy quilt was for the little fellow pictured below.  We got him from a rescue and he turned out to be sick.  I spent several weeks tending to him and cleaning up the evidence of his tummy troubles.  I am happy to report that he is doing great, now. 

 

New Puppy

 It has been a long time since I dyed fabric, maybe more than a decade! The process is really fun.  It was nice to ease back into it with some scarves and a little bit of cotton yardage. Because of the dyeing success, I decided that I would like to try painting on fabric. This shirt was very plain and off-white is not a very flattering color for me. Jacquard paints to the rescue!

Fabric painting with Stencil Girl stencils

Front of shirt was done with a tiny stencil from the March Stencil Girl Club set that I moved around a lot to make it into a flower-like shape. The back was from another stencil from March's Club set.

Back of shirt painted with Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow

There isn't a lot of continuity in my workflow, but here is some more evidence of how I spent my time since the start of the year.

 

Art quilt bed topper for my mother's 80th birthday

 The bed topper pictured here was a work based upon what I thought were important moments or objects that formed part of my mother's life. Like so many things in life, it isn't the entire story, but hopefully part of a good story.

Freehand cut orchid applique for the quilt

3 dimensional aspects to the quilt include this little pillow

Photos printed on fabric make up part of the background

 

My helper needed to pre-fur it 

 For the most part, I feel the time was well spent.  It is nice to be able to spend time following creative pursuits.

And playing with animals.

 

Happy Puppy

House cat playing with daughter

 
Thank you for visiting!
Beverly

What I Do While Creating Art -

My number one thing I love to do while quilting or papercrafting or doing mixed-media work is listen to audio books.
If you are interested in subscribing to Audible, here is a link to get you started:

 Otherwise, I check out audiobooks on cds or through digital downloads with my local public library. I have used Overdrive and One Click with equal ease. I love that my family can listen to them together. We always get books for long car trips. Rick Riordan, Jonathan Stroud and Cornelia Funke are some of our favorite authors.  Let me know if you have any favorite family-friendly titles to share.

I hope to be back posting some art soon.
Bev