Scraps Of Mind

Scrapbook Organization on a Budget

Today I want to talk about budget ways to store and organize your scrapbook supplies.

Once you start scrapbooking your scrapbook supplies seem to increase like rabbits and storing them can become a challenge. Erika from Scrapbook Obsession wrote a great guest post on scrapbook organization tips a few months ago and I’ve also written about organizing your digital scrapbook supplies.

But scrapbook storage products can be pricey, especially when you need so many of them. Fortunately there are many budget alternatives which you can use to store your supplies and have fun with personalizing them as well. After all, we are scrapbookers aren’t we?

Stamp, Punches and Equipment Storage

You really can’t go past the humble shoe box for this. there is always someone in the family buying shoes so you’ll have a constant supply to work with.

Now you can just bang a label on the end to tell you what the contents are and then stack them on a shelf or a cupboard. Or you can choose to personalize them by covering them with paper (I suggest pretty gift wrapping paper as the sheets are larger than scrapbooking paper) and adding a few scrapbook embellishments. Make your labels all the same design to keep a level of consistency. A good idea is to design them on your computer (a graphics editing program like Photoshop Elements is perfect for this or you can even come up with a good design using Word) and then print them out.

If you keep your boxes on an open shelf you might like to give them a colour theme that will coordinate with your room. In fact an overall colour theme for all your scrapbook organization solutions can be a great look.

Flowers

The jam jar is your friend here.

Using similar jars creates a unified look that is very pleasing to the eye. Sort your flowers into however you want to theme them: it might be by colour or by size. And have a jar for each category.

And your decorating skills come into play here too. Paint the lids of your jars a matching colour and use your left-over scrapbooking supplies to dress them up. A set of matching decorated jars on a shell can look just stunning.

Ribbons and Fibres

Ribbons and fibres can easily get out of hand. Especially if you collect them from gifts and other sources where they don’t have a spool to keep them neat.

Well don’t ignore the used toilet rolls in your house. Now there’s always a constant supply of these, and they are brilliant to wind ribbon around and hold in place with a piece of tape or a pin. If you don’t like the cardboard colour then painting them a fresh white is a great option. Just make sure they are totally dry before you wind the ribbon on them.

And you can store all your new ribbon spools in one of your newly decorated boxes.

What about ribbon offcuts? Well, I refer you to the above section on jam jars.

Try storing off cuts of similar colours in the same jar. then when you need that little ribbon bow accent for your layout, you’ll easily be able to find a piece in the colour range you’re looking for.

Brads and Beads

Small compartmentalized boxes are very inexpensive and can be readily purchased from chain stores for a few dollars. they make great storage for your tiny embellishments such as brads and beads.

But if you don’t want to buy your storage then an old ice cube tray is a great compartmentalized box for your tiny bits. Just remember, unless you can craft a lid for it you will need to be careful where you store it as picking up a squillion beads is not a fun way to spend an evening.

Also smaller jars can make great storage for your tiny elements. And what about the small plastic containers that dips from the supermarket come in. Nothing should escape your beady eye when it comes to scrapbook organization possibilities.

Paper and Cardstock

Finding storage for your paper and cardstock can be a challenge. 12×12 is not a size that fits seamlessly into the world outside scrapbooking. If you scrapbook in a smaller size then a 3-ring binder filled with plastic pockets is a great and compact scrapbook organization solution for your papers.

But for the rest of us we need another solution.

For a long time I used an office file rack (like a giant toast rack) with all my papers and cardstock in office folders, sorted by colour. And I found that worked pretty well.

Another alternative is to try to get hold of some clean pizza boxes. Cut the lids off and stack them on top of each other, holding them firmly in place with tape. Then cover the outside with gift wrapping paper and you have an attractive set of 12×12 shelves for your paper and cardstock.

Paper off-cuts and flat embellishments

I mentioned the 3-ring binder in the previous section. This is perfect for your paper off-cuts and flat embellishments.

Fill it with plastic pockets and store all your flat leftover bits there. If you keep them organized by colour it becomes easy to find that coordinating piece of paper to accent your layout.

And before I go…

This doesn’t really come under the heading of scrapbook storage solutions but I think it’s a vital part of scrapbook organization. Keep a container of baby wipes handy to your scrapbook area. They are a boon for fixing those scrapbooking mishaps with the over-eager glue applicator or the just-to-far ink smudge.

I know I’ve not covered all the budget scrapbook organization solutions here. Do you have any favourite ideas? Let’s hear about them in the comments below.