Tic Tac Boxes to the Rescue

Being a frugal crafter provides opportunities to reuse items most people would toss in the trash. I also desire that uniform look that comes from having the same size and color container for items. With both of these criteria I have designed a way to store my small beads and pre-punched shapes.

In a previous post Printers Trays for Small Item Storage I showed you how I keep my small seed beads divided and stored. Using the small Tick Tac boxes has made this very functional. But now they have made larger Tic Tac boxes. Oh, the dilemma of what I could do with these. As usual this became a Pink Lemonade Idea.

I have several paper punches that I use on a regular basis for all sorts of crafts. When I am creating a card, decorating a paper bag etc. I try to use up the paper scraps. One way I do this is to use the paper punches and pre-punch items. This allows for a quick embellishment at any time. This created a problem of storing the pre-punched shapes. At first I stored them in a plastic bag along with the rest of the small paper scraps in that color family. (Remember I store everything by color groups) The problem with this solution was I would lose the small punches in the bottom of the bag and I was not able to quickly find them. Then the pink lemonade idea burst in my head – the larger Tic Tac boxes would be perfect.

Now the pre-punched shapes are stored in larger Tic Tac boxes separated by shape. (I will eventually separate by color I am sure but I do not have enough boxes yet) The larger boxes would not fit in my printers trays so I keep them lined up in a desk caddy. They fit nicely in the sections and are easily pulled out when I need a quick embellishment.



The Tic Tac boxes are a perfect size and

I love the fact that they are clear.

 

I only have a few boxes now, but working on getting more.

They look nice and neat in the desk caddy. 

When I get enough the whole tray will be full of boxes.

These are the pre-punched paper shapes.

Each box holds a bunch of shapes.

 

Also stored with the pre-punched shapes are some words I cut out of books, stamps and small paper scraps that I use for my collage jewelry. Since the boxes are clear it is easy to see what each box contains. Fortunately, I have several friends and family members that keep me supplied with boxes. My kids get several in their stockings each year and are happy to eat the Tic Tacs and give me the box.

These boxes have other small items I needed to

organize for my collage jewelry projects.

So the next time you need a storage solution that won't break the bank head down the candy isle.  Who knows what sweet idea will be formed.

Danna