Innovative Craft Storage Ideas

[ruby_soho]

I'm moving soon, and need ideas on how to store my craft supplies.  Before, I divided them up by craft (i.e. thread and pins in one box, clay in another, adhesives in another) in photo boxes and stuck them on a shelf, but I'm looking for something a little more... pizazzy.  I want to see my supplies and be inspired by them! 

I have seen the fabric folded around comic book boards (genius!), a shower caddy hung above a sewing machine with thread on the shelves and scissors and measuring tape hanging from the hooks.  I am currently considering getting a spice rack to hold my thread and jars of buttons.  I'm also thinking about getting one of those shoe racks with the cubbies to hold skeins of yarn. 

How do YOU store your crafts?  I'm talking about anything... embroidery floss, glass, bias tape, etc...  Any fresh new ideas for us?

[Linnybelle]

At the moment, my crafting corner is in need of organization due to a move, but some if it is put together.  My fabric is all in a large trunk that my parents had and although it does create wrinkles, it works pretty well.  Later, once I get my dresser situation sorted out, it's going to be stored in mesh storage crates and I'm not sure if I'm going keep them outside my closet or not.  It might be too distracting to have all my fabric out in the open.

I used my embroidery hoop and my quilting hoop as a decoration on my wall with a little wooden "Dream" in the middle.  I really like the idea of framing pieces of fabric with the hoops as well, I think it looks really cool and I know I've seen it on here lots of times.  I also flipped an orange crate (a little wooden one) out towards the room and have my belts that are hoping to become purse handles draped over it.  It's going to hold something, probably ribbon or my little paints. 

Several suitcases were also rescued from a dreary life at a thrift store and are now storing my bigger pieces of fabric and my pattern pieces, trims, and a lot of my random bits of things.

I like to decorate with the things I use because then I get inspiration from just looking up.

[ruby_soho]

anyone else?  i know we can't be the only ones using weird things for craft storage....   

[ica171]

All of my fabric is on one of those plastic five-shelf storage units that would usually be in a garage.  Ribbon and tape is on a dowel in the closet, and I will someday be putting up a pegboard for my thread.  I have two pieces of foam core on the wall that I use as a cork board for pinning up inpsiration sheets or whatever.  I have a kitchen island with two drawers and a shelf underneath, the drawers hold stuff that I use a lot like my pin cushion, seam ripper, etc.  I use diaper boxes to store patterns, scrap paper, scrap fabric, unfinished projects, etc.

My MIL got this storage thing from somewhere a while ago.  It had three pieces, but I only use one of the smaller pieces in my sewing room.  It came with two shallow plastic boxes, maybe 5x8 or thereabouts.  Each box was separated into three sections across the width of the box.  The middle section was whole and the two side sections were separated into four smaller sections.  I use one box for really small stuff--buttons, hook and eyes, safety pins, etc.  Marking pens and extra seam rippers are in the middle. 

One thing that I don't like--but don't really have room to do differently--is the way my art supplies are stored.  They're just all in a big Rubbermaid storage box in the closet, and I hate it because inevitably it's messy in there, the thing I need is always on the bottom, and it's only a matter of time before there's a paint spill.

[nemaihne]

Most of my fabric is in fabric covered office file storage boxes and an upright dresser in that little girl's princess style that was so popular in the 60s and 70s. (Repainted and updated, of course.)
But I'm beginning to think that I'm through with all the nice looking stuff and I'm going to clear plastic like I did with my other crafts. I'm just sick of opening multiple boxes to find what I want.

[Wildfyre]

I'm desperate for ideas on fabric storage.. right now it's all in rubbermaid totes that are spread everywhere and any time I want one particular thing I have to look through all of them! 

[ruby_soho]

do you have enough closet space that you could put the fabric on hangers, maybe?  or a bookshelf to stack it on, or...  hmm.  even the top shelf of a closet would be decent space... but i think it would be helpful to organize by type or by color in the rubbermaid tubs, if nothing else.

[atomic mary]

i just started organizing my craft/mostly sewing room. i have been using the cardboard bolts that the fabric stores use for anything 2m or more (ask the fabric stores for them, they usually through them out when they are empty) and then i have those ivar                                     shelves from ikea and they hold the bolts perfectly! i can stack 8-12 bolts per shelf depending on how thick the fabric is. i can see everything i have and it's fairly neat and off the floor. i use both the 115 cm (45'')and the 150 cm (60") bolts. if i have under a meter then i use lighter pieces of cardboard, like off of a box top and cut it more to size.
 i use the edge of the shelves to hold rulers and french curves and some of my smaller cutting mats. i have pegboard up (sort of, it's not screwed into the wall i just used some 1x2's that i had around and made sure the base was behind my sewing table to hold it up. on the pegboard i use the spools that lace and bias tape and ribbon comes on (again ask your local fabric store) for mine as well as zippers and scissors.
under my sten shelfs i have been using small round laundry hampers that i got from a dollar store for yarn and needles.
i have drawers to hold my paints and pigments.
i'm not done yet but i found that by storing everything in totes and boxes i tend to think i don't have something and i would buy more! i also started recording how much is on a particular spool when i bought it and how much it cost. for elastic that's handy and i figure i can always be one of those old ladies that can look back and remember the good old days when i was able to buy lace at 3m/.99!  
i can't tell you how surprised i was  when i started organizing! i felt very rich (at least crafty rich). now i just need to stop buying crafty things and start making things to sell and then i will be money rich! hahaha! (laughed like the count)
it feels good once it's done! or it will.
good luck
atomic mary

[roses are red]

i have a spice rack (the plain old wooden wall kind) on my wall that is storing acrylic paints. its the perfect size!!!

i also use a corkboard over my craft desk with pushpins in it for storing special craft scissors and other papercraft related things...


you could also use a winerack to hold balls of yarn! (im not a knitter/crocheter - but it just might work!)

if you do any sort of paper craft with embellishments or even glitter, a magnetic spice rack on the wall works WONDERS for being able to see your goodies while having a purposeful use (the glitter sprinkles out nicely)

also if you do paper crafts, you could mount paper holders to the wall (ive seen metal 12 x 12 holders that screw nicely into the wall).

even if you had some sort of towel racks for the fabric, that might work... hmm let me see if i can find pics for anything that im thinking of here.

ooh this $2.99(canadian) towel rack from ikea could work nicely if you bought a few and lined them up the wall vertically... placing your favourite fabrics by colour on each rack tucking each behind the others...



well i dunno everyone! lol. hope some of my ideas were alright.. ill let you know if i think of more !

oh i just thought of another use... i reuse my glass pasta jars for craft storage. they're great for storing fun foam pieces, (larger) beads, paint brushes, rulers, scissors. and it's easy to customize them for your craft room! just peel the label, and craft them up any way you please. i have one on my desk for my rulers (being a paper crafter, i have some in different shapes/sizes, etc) and i just wrapped hemp around the middle and it looks twiney and neat!


these are a great size/shape! you can also either toss the lid or glue a whole bunch of them together side to side and onto some sort of support for a neat magnetic board-ish thing!

[polaris082411]