Getting Organized August Chat - Ink Pads

[Craft Nerd]

The supply we are going to work on getting organized in August is:

Ink Pads

To get the chat started:

1) Are you happy with how you store your ink pads?

2) How do you currently store them?

3) What is your storage goals for them?

4) Do you have some type of index or swatches of your colors?


 Please share any tips or ideas for storing ink pads.

[Craft Nerd]

1) I am mostly happy with how I have my ink pads organized.  The only problem is that I'm just about at storage capacity. So I don't really have room to grow.  Course I probably shouldn't be increasing my ink pad stash.

2) All of my ink pads are in drawers in my new desk and wheeled little cabinet.  My distress inks and all of the pad that are the general size of a versamark pad are in a single layer in the 1 inch drawers.  Then I have a couple of 2 inch drawers with my Colorbox petal point pads and my dew drops and Colorbox cat eye stacks.  On all of my dew drops, I inked a label, wrote the name on it and stuck it to the top edge.  That way when I look in the drawer I see what the colors are. They are also in a plastic drawer organizer container to keep them neat and tidy.

3) To create a swatch ring of all my inks. See #4.

4) I currently have several sheets of cardstock with color charts on them.  I went online looking for blank color charts for the various inks that I have.  Here are the ones I found:
VersaMagic

Distress Ink

Memento

The same page with the Memento color chart has a generic blank one as well.

I like my color charts and I have a notation on them regarding whether I have a reinker for that color, but I recently saw a swatch ring on the Hero Arts blog that I really want to do.  Ink Swatch Ring

I will try and post some pics of my ink storage tomorrow.
 

[howdyheidi]

1) Are you happy with how you store your ink pads?
Yes and no.  I got a set of Avery Elle pigment inks recently, and they dont fit.  I had no room to expand so it is not working anymore.  Although I need an ink pad like a hole in my head, the reality is that I will probably continue to try new ones.


2) How do you currently store them?
I currently store them in a steralite three-drawer container - filing two of the drawers stacked two and three high.  I also have quite a few of the small Hero Arts and Versafine ink pad cubes and a couple Tsukaniko Dew Drops.  I keep tim holtz ink sponge tools, perfect pearls and brushes, etc in the top drawer.  

The container is on the top layer of my work space, and I can easily access the inks.

I really appreciate ink pads that stack well, like distress inks and all the Tsukaneko ones.  

3) What is your storage goals for them?
To get them all to fit somewhere while still having easy access.  This might be by getting a new container for inks OR for getting some other place for all the stuff in the top drawer.

4) Do you have some type of index or swatches of your colors?
NO, but I think I am at the point I really need to.  For example, like I said I have a set of Avery Elle Pigment inks, but I also have 3 Memento Luxe pads.  Those work really well together, but I might not think to mix and match the colors if I didn't have swatches.  Good idea about marking if you have the reinker or not.  I have many reinkers, but not all of them.  

Avery Elle Blank ink chart

[Far North]

) Are you happy with how you store your ink pads? For the momemt...if I don't buy any more LOL!

2) How do you currently store them? I keep all my distress inkpads in 2 containers within hands reach of my working space, 2 drawers in an iris cart hold misc inking tools inks that I frequently use-and other ink I want at my fingertips-archival inks, white ink, gold...etc.  In my more distant storage I use sterilite drawers that I often pull out by single drawer to take to my work space.  These drawers hold mostly smaller pads and markers.  

3) What is your storage goals for them? Tidy the arrangement of all my colorants...stains, paints ect.

4) Do you have some type of index or swatches of your colors?  Yes, for me I have learned I like working with half sheets-8.5x5/5 best...I get the full sheet buried and crumpled on my desk. But now I go to a colorwheel more often than I do the swatches.

[yellowcherrios]

1) Are you happy with how you store your ink pads? ~Kinda~  I spent last weekend trying to make some of my storage containers work with my dew drops. 

2) How do you currently store them?
I finally ended up with a stacked plastic container that has hinges on the edges connecting each stack---so I have dew drops on 2 of the stacks and watercolor tubes on another stack.  I have my larger pads in a sterlite drawer.  All my distress inks are stacked three high according to color family in another sterlite drawer. 

3) What is your storage goals for them?
I'd love to have them all together in ~something~….except the distress inks I am happy with how I have them and have always thought of them separately from my inks for some reason (which is why I never think to stamp with them! and am amazed when I see others do that--I think "why didn't I think of that?!").

4) Do you have some type of index or swatches of your colors?  Yes and No.  I do have a color swatch of all my distress inks ---BUT it has another purpose---I store my sponges on it: I have all my distress inks colored and named on computer paper like they do on the Ranger's website (except I made mine using tables with Word b/c I wanted larger sections for each color), but I put a little piece of sticky-backed velcro on each color square and I stick the corresponding inked sponge to the velcro.  I have those color swatch sheets then taped up on the back of the door to my craft closet and I just grab the sponge I need for the color I am using then replace it back on the velcro piece when I am finished.     

As for my other inks, I did have some swatches of those inks (nothing fancy; just the ink stamped from the pad onto a piece of paper), but I rarely looked at them.  I wonder if I had swatches if I'd use the colored inks for sentiments more instead of black…. 

[howdyheidi]

Although i was away for a while, I still plan to tackle this. 

[SWLady]

I haven't participated in one of these threads yet, but here goes!

1) Are you happy with how you store your ink pads?
           I guess. If I had more then I would need another system.
2) How do you currently store them?
            I have them in a 3 drawer container on my desk. I don't have a ton so it's not bad.
3) What is your storage goals for them?
            So far it's fine. Again, if I were to get lots more, I would need something else.
4) Do you have some type of index or swatches of your colors?
            Not yet but have been thinking about it.

A question for you all... do you store your ink pads upside down? I have so far.

[howdyheidi]

I store my ink right side up.   I know a few people say to turn them upside down, and I do try that if one is running low on ink, but I really don't see much difference. 

[yellowcherrios]

I store mine right side up.  I used to store them upside down but I too didn't noticed any difference.  I have some chalk inks that are stores on their side….and I am thinking right now that maybe I should rethink that…. 

[howdyheidi]

One thing I have been considering with my distress ink pads, is to have an ink applicator (the foam part) velcroed to the bottom of each pad, so that I can easily find them when needed. I am NOT sure if this will make it so the pads no longer stack as nicely and possibly won't fit in the drawer anymore.  However, not having to search for the correct color of foam will save time and it will save the space in the other drawer where I keep them.  

I also am thinking of changing to the smaller round applicator anyhow.

I really have not come up with an alternate storage idea for my ink pads other than the drawers I have now.  

How are you guys doing?.

[yellowcherrios]

Heidi, that is how I first stored my foam applicators when I first got my distressed inks----I put a little velcro on the underside of the ink pad.  I ended up not liking it b/c:

1. The pads do stack ~sorta~-----the foam being underneath cause some to fall a little to the right and the next a little to the left…..but really it made the whole stack higher and thus I only was able to put 2 ink pads high in each stack in my drawer.

2.  I had to let the foam applicator dry out before storing under the ink pad, b/c if not, the ink still left in the foam would color the ink pad lid below it that it was stacked on top of and I didn't like that. 

After this I decided to try storing them on the back of my craft closet door (see my #4 response in my posting for the questionnaire).  I have loved it!  It's fast and easy and I don't have to worry about wet foam (it can dry on the velcro on the door) and I can stack my ink pads nice and neat and 3 high.  And if I really want a color reference sheet, then there it is on the door and it makes a colorful spot on the door.   

I forgot to mention in my #4 response that even though I made my "foam holder/swatch chart" on the computer, I did still keep the color families grouped together and I made each color row have three columns (thus the chart is 3 columns across and 4 rows down)---then when I store my distress inks in their drawer, they are stacked 3 high with the colors in that color family matching the chart on the door.  This makes it easy when I want the reds for example to just take out the red stack.  Is that confusing anyone what I am saying? 

[liannallama]

Ugh!  my inks are a mess.  Each brand is stored differently and they are kind of haphazard. 

• My SU pads (most of them) are in the double-decker spinner thing.  I love/hate it.  I think it's rickety but it holds them well.   
  The rest of my SU are jumbled in a drawer with my archival pads
  Then I have one of those awesome boxes for my TH distress inks (the kind they don't sell anymore) but I only have one (I got it when they only sold that many and now they have more colors.
  The rest of my TH Distress are kind of wedged in a cabinet.
  My mementos are in a wall shelf where I store my Copics.  It was a thing with squares above a drawer, but I turned it on the side and took out the drawer.  The remaining space is perfect to stack Memento and they are handy when I am coloring.
  My Amuse Studio inks are nicely stored and labeled  in the cabinet with 9 inks per mini shoebox.  But now they have more colors and I don't have more shoeboxes/space!  (Aaaargh!)
  I have some more shoeboxes with random inks in them; stazon brilliance, whit ink (yes, a whole box of white, LOL!) 
  In another cabinet I have some more random inks in a box (those rainbow pad things) and some SU clamshells with cats' eyes in them.
  Oh, and I have a lunchbox case that is filled with Nick Bantok inks.  They don't have reinkers and some of them have turned color--the reds are now brownish--yuck.  Thinking of this, I need to get rid of them--they are just taking up space.  Does anyone want them?  I don't know if I should give them to goodwill or toss them otherwise.  UGH!  I'm such a clutter bug!

[howdyheidi]

liannalaama, I think that if the stamp pads still stamp, it would be fine to give them to goodwill.  If they truly are difficult to work with or are dried out, it might be best to throw them out.  If you need permission to throw them out, I will give it to you.

[Craft Nerd]

I'm with Heidi, liannallama, you can throw away any ink pads that don't work for you anymore.  Which points out one of the toughest part of getting organized, letting go of those items that you no longer need/ want/ use.  I know I'm guilty of being a pack rat and not letting things go when it is time.

I haven't even started on the new set of swatches I want to make like in the Hero Arts link I shared. 

I've finally posted the promised pictures of my ink storage:

[howdyheidi]

Great photos!  It makes me happy to see all those colors.  It also is making me rethink a little. I love how you are able to see all the colors like that.  For me, I just see the color ink pad on top....