Look! See what I was doing! Oh man this has changed my life. Really, a roll of velcro sticky dots and an idea off several WOYWW desks and I'm a happy old gal. Page back through any number of work desk posts from me and that ceramic pot is on my desk filled with used pieces of Cut N Dry foam. Nice pot, once had a flowering plant of some variety in it. Naturally, I killed the plant and employed the pot by way of alleviating the guilt. But the foam is all springy and pingy and well, foamy, so it doesn't stack or behave properly and I have to spill the contents to find a suitable colour and they're all mixed up and cross contaminated and well, ARGH! So I've rescued the pieces that are obviously one colour use only, I've written on the edges with a fine tip marker and now stick it on the appropriate matching velcro dot after use. They're on a piece of mount board, so it's standing up to the handling pretty well...let's face it, I don't use these tools every day, these techniques are still outside my comfort zone really. Note: they're on a piece..not pieces..so the key here is that the tidying has a condensing result again. I fear my guilt will never end though. The ex flower-pot, ex sponge-pot - it's a gonner.
Oh how very organised of you Julia - I've only ever used those velcro dots as closures and have struggled a bit with them as they haven't stuck well to anything other than themselves. Perhaps this is a better use for them all round - thanks for sharing the idea.
ReplyDeleteToni xx
I admire your dedication to duty, sticking all those velcro dots down and getting so organised, a fabulous idea! I am a very lucky girl, I got an early birthday present this week - one of those roundy thingys to keep my blender tools on - now I just need a few (a lot) more tools to fill it up!! Anne x
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea Julia. I just might stick one to each twin so I will know where they are! :-)
ReplyDeleteHugs,
A x
An Excellent idea. Chris always says I enjoy doing things like that, even cataloging stamps, more than I enjoy using them. He's wrong of course, but it does give me a sense of satisfaction when the job's done. I don't use much cut and dry foam, so this one isn't for me, but I still think it is a useful idea. (Your dots look too close together for the size of your foam pieces?)Kate x
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and super organised. jenx
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Julia. TFS x
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever idea! TFS
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great idea ;)
ReplyDeletexoxo Sioux
Great idea :D
ReplyDeleteKeep the pot, we'll get you painting next and you can put your brushes in it :D
That's such a good idea - think I might do that some time because I keep mine all mixed up together in a pot x
ReplyDeleteJulia, I really love this idea. And it is the first time that I have seen it anywhere. I have had such a problem with how to store these form pieces. You don't want to throw them away after only one use. I am buying velcro dots when I go shopping this weekend. Thanks
ReplyDeleteOh Julia this is something I have been wanting to do for some time now, that as well as color swatches LOL Good on you for doing it.
ReplyDeleteEliza
Good old velcro - I've got mine on the lids of my DI's so I don't lose them! Great work Mrs D! Zo xx
ReplyDeleteCool! How organised! Such a brilliant idea xx
ReplyDeleteoooo, thats so cool!
ReplyDeleteWhat a very clever idea...so organised. ;D
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend and hopefully the sun will shine!
Smart gal! A great way to organize. I love multipurpose things. How awesome.
ReplyDeleteVery organised, Julia. I have the equivalent of your pot, well it's a basket really, and it's a mess! I should really take a page out of your book, and all the other organised WOYWWers, but it needs more thinking about :)) Elizabeth xx
ReplyDeleteI NEED to do this. And I need need foam pads, too.
ReplyDelete...I saw this on a desk 2 weeks back on woyww, I thought i'd died and gone to heaven at the shear genius of this idea...and once done you feel the bee's knee's at your own tidiness & organisation...and yes sometimes plants die (well alot in my house!) it's the circle of life for the pot holder, you'll up-cyle it again you see...Mel :)
ReplyDeletethis is a joke right?
ReplyDeleteyou cannot be serious?
a cut and dry foam tidier?????
Really
Really?
I cant even find the ex - chinese food container containing my messy ones....
always I cut a spankingly clean new piece thinking - hmmm perhaps one day I should try to recycle these things....
What a great idea! It would sure stop the cross colour ink bleeding through when they touch in the pot...
ReplyDeleteI keep my foam in one of my little drawers on my desk but they neve rbehave and 'ping' about. I am definately going to do this tomorrow..... maybe, see if I do by next wednesday! hee hee
ReplyDeletejanet
I'd love to say well done and hurrah for your organizing prowess, but honestly I have NO idea what you're talking about! I must be dense, it is early here and my head is not where it should be. I'll probably remember your post later in the day and smack my head when the light comes on! :^)Patsy from
ReplyDeleteHeARTworks
Ooh get you.....you'll be having a clear out next!
ReplyDeleteI store mine (by store....I mean chuck) in a plastic bag, loose it, cut more, then find said bag and add newly coloured foam only to go through the same rigmarole in a weeks time! :-p
Kyla
Well Well Well.... you? Organised? Have I come to the wrong blog? Of course I don't mean that at all - I've always thought of you as quite organised. I mean - you pull so much off in the week - crops, books, housewifey stuff, WOYWW, sending out badges (did you get my request btw)... so there - you have to be organised to be able to do all that each week...
ReplyDeleteGreat idea btw - I went as far as actually velcro-ing pieces of the cut dry foam to the lid of each of my stamp pads, but they wouldn't stack very well on my nice neat little shelf, so I took them all back off again when I couldn't live with wonky inks lol....
Anyway - you're on to a winner with that idea. That's what makes the crafting world go round; all the wonderful sharing of ideas etc...
big hugs
Paula x x x
That is a good idea Julia. Though shall I tell you mine? Similar to yours but I put the hookie bits on the bottom of the ink pad so that the foam pad sticks to the relevant ink pad! What works for one may not work for another though!
ReplyDeleteOhh, mine are organized (as you mentioned on my blog), but I like your idea. I think I might have to *borrow* it!
ReplyDeleteCool idea, Julia! If I used foam pads I'd probably borrow your idea and do the same, but I use Inkylicious Ink Dusters - one brush for blues, one for reds, etc. etc. I have got some little foam pads to go on the Tim Holtz tool, and each of these is in a little plastic bag in a drawer, but I rarely use them now.
ReplyDeleteDon't be too hasty throwing the pot away - I'm sure it will come in for something! Some things have at least 3 incarnations, in my experience!
Shoshi
Oh you are funny - don't forget you can wash your sponges and start again to save cross-contamination. BJ
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool idea! Sounds like that will work well.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, getting your ink foamies more organized. I think we all struggle with all these inky bits and bobs. My current semi-cunning solution is that I cut clear product packaging envelopes in half and put the foamy things in those around the periphery of the small bin that holds the ink pads. Since it's in a drawer, it doesn't matter how odd it looks. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea missus. Mine are stuck to the bottom of each pad and I have a little sticker on the side of each box giving the colour. I store them in my desk tote on their side so it makes it easier to pull out the right colour. Only problem is I get very inky pulling them out because of the exposed sponge!
ReplyDeleteLife changing may be going a bit far but I sure don't get in such a bad mood when I'm trying to to find a foam piece for my DI's since I did this!!
ReplyDelete