My Secret Must-Have for the Craft Room

In one of my very first blog posts, I shared that stamping is made up of three hobbies:

• Collecting.  We love stamps and paper and inks and dies and punches and tools.  We love to collect these things – almost as much as we love using them.  It’s important for us to have them should we ever need them.
• Creating.  It’s fun to make beautiful things with the supplies we love.  This is the KEY – if you are going to collect (which is fun!), I want you to use the items to create beautiful things you can share with others.
• Organizing.  If you collect and use your stamping supplies, then you have to make sure everything is well-organized so you know where everything is and so that everything looks nice in your space.  Cleaning and organizing can be very therapeutic and can sometimes be more fun that collecting and creating.

In a series of posts I shared last year, I showed some of my tips for organizing paper and supplies.  Most of those rules still apply.  In case you missed them, here are links to my posts about organizing my Fungeon:

• Cardstock Storage in the Fungeon – Part 1
• Cardstock Storage in the Fungeon – Part 2
• Designer Series Paper Storage in the Fungeon
• Punch and Ink Storage in the Fungeon
• Storing my Sponges and Sponge Daubers

My Secret Must-Have for the Craft Room

Today I’m sharing one of my must-haves for my craft space.  It’s a common, everyday product, and it’s super-cheap – if you don’t have them around the house already, you can pick up a box at the drug store for under $5.  I’m not one to withhold information, so I think, “I should share this on my blog” every time I reach for this product.  Everyone should have them on-hand.  What am I talking about?  Alcohol swabs.

Here’s what  these little alcohol prep swabs are good for:

• Cleaning Your Clear Blocks.  If you get Classic Stampin’ Ink on your clear blocks, you can easily wipe off that ink with a little Stampin’ Mist and a paper towel.  If your blocks get inked up with Archival inks, though, the ink can be a little harder to remove with Stampin’ Mist.  Rubbing alcohol is a decent solvent for permanent ink, so a little alcohol pad can be used to quickly and easily remove the ink.  There’s great joy in getting that permanent ink off my clear blocks.
• Un-inking Your Stamp-a-ma-jig Positioning Sheets.  If you use your Stamp-a-ma-jig as much as I do, you know how messy the positioning sheets can get.  Just like the clear blocks, the Classic Stampin’ Ink wipes right off, and the permanent inks dry to stay.  A quick swipe with an alcohol swab cleans those sheets with ease – OK, there might be a little elbow grease involved, but…
• Removing the Sticky Off Your Paper Snips.  If you cut through wet glue or tacky tape with your paper snips, then you know what it’s like to have sticky residue build up on your scissors.  I like shiny, clean scissors, so I periodically wipe my blades with an alcohols swab – be careful that you run the swab over the scissors and not the side of your finger.
• Creating Sterile Surfaces.  Sometimes we stare at a project and wonder how we’ll pull it all together.  That’s a good time to open up an alcohol swab and wipe the surfaces of your smartphone – there’s a lot of gross stuff on that.  If there’s a residue left over, you can simply wipe with a clean cloth and paper towel.  This doesn’t have everything to do with crafting, but it’s something you can do while you are thinking about crafting.

I open up one of those alcohol swabs almost every time I’m in the Fungeon.  If I drop ink on the table or find dried adhesive where it shouldn’t be, I remove it with an alcohol swap when the adhesive remover won’t get it.  AND things smell so clean after I’ve gone on a cleaning kick.  🙂

Don’t Forget about My Mystery Grab Bag Promotion.  During December, I’m giving away bundles of Designer Series Papers, ribbon and embellishments for every $50 you spend with me.  I’ve already sent out a bunch of great boxes of supplies and hope to send out a few more.  <3  What you receive is a mystery, but I know you’ll love it!  Click below to read more:

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian