Cindy uses a neat set of storage trays and boxes from Bead Storage Solutions, which she has been getting from Fire Mountain Gems. You can see one example here or all of what they have to offer here. They're really neat. The boxes are all the same width, so they stack in the trays nicely, but there are different heights to choose from, so you're not stuck with enormous boxes for 10 grams of 15/0 (really small) seed beads or using a bunch of small boxes for one color and size of crystal.
The one difficulty with having a bunch of trays, though, is where do you store them? You can organize the heck out of the insides, but if you have 10 trays stacked up, invariably the one that has what you want will be #10.
Cindy was going to have a cabinet built to just the right dimensions for these trays, but on a recent trip home to help with cleaning out her father's stuff (he passed away a while ago), they brought a letter sorter cabinet back that is just perfect for these trays:
The width is perfect, and each of the slots has room for two trays, so there's no more digging to find the right one. She labels the outsides of the trays to make that process easier, too. She has room to grow, which is ideal in any storage solution.
Here is one of her trays pulled out from the cabinet:
She labels each of the boxes, too. Oh - you can see in that picture that there are little ridges between the columns of boxes. That's really clever! You might have a few boxes askew like in this tray, but as a whole they're going to stay where you put them.
That got me thinking of all the great pieces I have in my studio and show displays that were wonderful finds:
A few years ago I was looking to make a Cricut station where I could leave my cutter out all the time. That was when I had the original Cricut, which is pretty small. My stepfather said he had two mail sorter cubbies in the basement that might help. They were perfect, so I put them on top of two plastic paper cabinets (the kind with boxes so dust doesn't get into the paper). You can see it in the first organization of my studio back in 2010 as written in Speaking of color:
I had a hard time finding that picture! It was in my third post. I'm now on #312.
When I got my new Cricut expression, this setup didn't work anymore. I stacked everything to make use of vertical space, and the tower has been moved around the room a few times. Right now it's between the china cabinet and the wall, so I don't have to worry about it toppling over. The cubbies are great for storing my Gypsy and Cricut supplies as well as a bunch of little things I don't really have a place for. Here's how they look today:
To give you an idea of how tall this tower is, I can reach about halfway up the topmost set of cubbies. :)
In Packing for the Retreat, I showed you this overnight case that I use for carrying projects to beading days and retreats as well as for putting my feet up while I bead:
We found that in our attic after we moved into this house in Milwaukee.
In Can't leave well enough alone, I wrote about my $25 garage sale china cabinet and how it's now in my studio. Here's a picture of it from today:
In Hidden treasure, I showed you how I found an old wooden box with dividers in our garage:
I looked through my blog but couldn't find if I showed you the other two boxes like this one that I found in my mother's basement. Here they are in use as kit displays:
They're slightly longer than the first one I found and are wonderfully beat up. I've had about five offers to buy all three boxes and two hints that they'll be stolen if my back is turned. These were great finds.
In A place for everything, part 2 I showed you a purple wall unit that was in my mother's garage. They had used it in their sun porch but took it out a few years ago. Part 2 shows it empty, and Part 4 shows it filled up. It's changed a little since then but not too much. Here it is today:
Those are just the "big" things. I've found a bunch of boxes or other cool items in my mother's basement or attic. It's more fun to find things for free, but I did see a lot of possibilities when we were antiquing.
Have you found something tucked away somewhere that you've cleaned up and are now using? I'd love to see it, and I'm sure my readers would, too! E-mail me at traci@creative-pursuits.org with your picture(s) and a description of where you found it and what you're doing with it now.
Does an old rusty garden bench count? We cleaned, sanded, painted and now it's a beauty in the backyard!
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