When I was trying to figure out a die storage system that would work best for me, I knew I wanted it to be easily expandable, inexpensive and take up a small amount of space. I needed it to be easy to use and maintain as well.
I ended up finding these CD/DVD storage boxes at Wal-Mart of all places. It's less than $10 and it's made from a high quality, sturdy mat board. The hinged lid allows for easy access, which was one of my needs in regards to die storage. The box comes with a few divider inserts you can choose to utilize if you like, which makes it convenient to organize your dies by category.
Almost all of my dies are stored in CD envelopes that feature a clear circular window on the front. These envelopes are extremely inexpensive (I paid only $5 for a package of 100) and they fit perfectly in the storage box since they are sized for CD's to begin with. I love the clear window that they feature which allows me to see what's inside if need be.
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The envelopes are easy to keep on hand which makes it convenient to maintain the system when I get new dies each month. I designed very simple labels for each envelope using clear return address labels. I simply used a text box to type in the name of each die/die collection then copy & pasted the image of the die from our website. It took a bit of time to get the initial batch set up in this way, but now that everything is established I know it will be easy to continue in the future in small installments.
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As a special treat for you today, I have formatted all of the labels I created for the Papertrey Die Collection to date into pdf files that you can print from home onto Avery 5160 address labels. You can download them below...
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For the dies that do not fit in the envelopes, as well as the impression plates, I keep them in a second CD storage box filed in sections that I created with the dividers. The back portion holds impression plates, then all of the larger dies, followed by a front section dedicated to the Favor It dies. It is so easy to flip through the impression plates to find exactly what I need and I find myself using a greater variety because of that!
I have utilized magnetic strips (that are designed for knife storage in the kitchen) to store all my border-style dies. These strips were simply attached to the wall near the die-cutting area of my stamping table, making it easy and convenient to grab exactly what I need.
I love working in my new space, especially the die-cutting area I established. It is so easy to find everything and maintain organization. I hope you were able to take away a few things from my die storage system today that you can apply in your own personal space!
