This week's tip is an organizational one for your inks.
It will accomplish several things:
1-Allow you to see your ink colors without taking them out of their storage area or applying them on a test surface.
2-Keep track of your color inventory.
3-Makes it easy to add colors to the list by simply adding another index card & repeating the process.
4-Will assist you in replacing the colors in your inventory that you love by allowing you quick visual reference.
5-Allow you to categorize them by manufacturer, color family or type- that part depends on how you craft.
You will need the following supplies:
1-A pack of 3x5 index cards
2-A Binder Ring (or ribbon)
3-A hole punch (or crop-a-dile)
4-A small punch (any shape)
5-White cardstock or paper
Lastly & this is totally optional- a label maker.
Your computer would work just fine or you could just rely on your own handwriting.
Gather up your ink stash & supplies as indicated above.
1- Decide how you want to categorize your inks & use your label maker to label the top center of your index card with either the manufacturer, color family or type of ink.
2- Swipe your ink pads, one by one on your cardstock.
3- Punch out the inked cardstock with the small punch you have chosen. Do so one at a time.
4-Glue the punched, inked shape on to your index card and label accordingly by using your label maker, computer or handwriting.
5- Do this for all your ink colors. Once you are done, punch a hole in the upper left hand corner of all your index cards & thread through the binder ring.
If you do not have a binder ring, you can easily use ribbon or string.
You can use the space on the back of the cards to make special notations for your ink colors, reference them for specific projects or just to say best type for specific applications.
HERE IS MINE...
It's a little time consuming but worth taking the time to do it.
You can easily throw this into your purse when shopping for craft supplies if you need to refill on certain inks or don't want to buy duplicates of a certain color. You can also take it with you to crops for a quick guide. You can select which inks you will take to the crop & take that card with those inks listed only. In the long run, it will save you time & money. Who doesn't need more of both?
Happy Crafting!
That's a great idea. I used a piece of 8.5 x 11 cardstock and had made a page of squares and basically did the same thing and put them in a binder (1 page per brand) All the Stazon are on one page, all the Distress inks on one page, etc. I did the same thing with my Tim Holtz Dabbers and I need to still do it for my Stickles. Instead of a punch though I used a stamp. Thanks for sharing your idea, if I hadn't already done this I probably would have considered doing it! Keep the ideas coming!
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