Creative Chat - Organizing Die-namics

MFT has come up with a new monthly feature and we think it's something you'll really enjoy. The My Favorite Things Design Team Creative Chat is a new monthly feature, where we are challenged to explore our creative spaces and share valuable organizational methods, tools, and shopping strategies with you. You'll be able to peek into our creative spaces, ask questions, and share your own ideas in the MFT forum.  This month, we were asked the following questions:  

How do you store and organize your Die-namics?  

Any fun or helpful Die-namics purchasing strategies you'd like to share?  

How do you store extra Die-namics die-cuts? 

Visit Kim's Blog for a full list of designers that have taken up the challenge and get ready to delve into the minds of our creative team!

This challenge was great because it made me clean up my die-cutting station, which is ALWAYS a disaster, and it gave me a chance to organize which is ALWAYS fun to me.  

This is how I store my Die-namics.  I had some glass-topped trays I had purchased a long time ago with the intention of altering them, and thought they would be a nice way to organize in style.  I wanted to be able to separate my Die-namics as much as possible, so I looked through the stuff I had on hand and found some inexpensive wedding favor treat boxes I had purchased at Michaels.  They are small, rectangular, and have a removable lid, which also has some depth to it.  I laid those on the trays until I ran out, putting the larger halves to the back, and the lids toward the front.  I had some space leftover, so I found another clear container I had in my stash and put each piece in the tray to hold my larger dies.  There was very little wiggle room, and I had plenty of little open spaces to start sorting all my dies.

I went for the "open" approach for my dies, because it is very important that I be able to SEE them and FIND them easily.  If I'm not quite sure what die to use, I can see everything I have at a glance, with very little digging.  

Here is a view of my die-cutting table.  It's very important to me to have my Vagabond accessible.  It makes it easier and more convenient to die-cut, and keeps everything in one area and off my stamping space.  

Here are the two largest clear containers in my trays.  In one, I have all my larger dies that don't fit in my small containers.  In the other, is the complete Doily Die-namics collection.  Propped up next to them, is the High Tea Doily and Pop-Out Tool.

This is my "Scalloped Section".  I put all of my Scalloped dies in one area, so I can choose the one I want.  You'll notice I have 2 each of the Simply Scallops, Simply Scallops Medium, and Simply Scallops Large.  I usually layer those over one another and that cuts down on my number of passes through the die-cutting machine.  Love that.  LOL

These are all my "outdoors/flower" dies.  I group them all in the same general vicinity for convenience.

Here is a closer shot of the rear, left section.  I have my banner dies all in the same general area, my doily borders, and my Sweet Stack dies here.

Speaking of banner dies... let's take a look at my banner die collection.  It's a little OCD hoarder-style excessive expanded because I truly enjoy the ease of being able to use the banners to spell out words without cutting a zillion times.  Let me use some examples to illustrate my point.  Let's say you want to spell out the word Christmas using the Rounded Banner Die-namics die, and you plan to use 3 different colors for the banner (how it is designed).  You would need to cut the die 27 times.  One time per color X the number of letters in the word you are spelling out.  Me?  I have to run my dies through only 6 times (2 runs each per color).  That is a lot less cutting.  LOL  You'll notice I have 5 Rounded Banner Die-namics, 6 Banner Day Die-namics and a whopping 7 Fishtail Banner Die-namics (my favorite LOL).  Crazy, but oh so convenient.  I highly recommend it.  ;)

Speaking of multiples... I also have multiple Sweet Stack Die-namics, First Place Award Ribbon Die-namics, and Bracket Tab and File Tab Die-namics.  I love being able to run through several at once and throw them on my desk to stamp sentiments on.  Necessary?  Nope.  Convenient?  OH YES!  LOL   As a disclaimer, the Sweet Stack dies and the First Place Award Ribbon die multiples were purchased to make prep easier for CHA.  

Here are some tools I use when die-cutting.  These help me pop the die-cuts out of the Die-namics dies if they get stuck in there.

Also on table is extra cutting plates, the super-thin embossing mat, and metal adapters in two sizes for the more intricate dies like Let it Snowflake Die-namics.

I like to keep my extra die-cuts in this little storage unit I purchased at Walmart.  I toss them in there and when I need a cloud or something I know I have extras of, I dig in and find it in there.  I have this setting on my work space (which I wasn't about to show you because it is SO messy LOL).  I have the drawers labeled for you:

Here is a peek inside each drawer:

That's about it for my Die-namics organization.  :)  Be sure to head on over to Kim's blog to see how the rest of the team organizes their Die-namics, and then on over to the MFT Forum to share YOUR organizational tips and tricks and to the answer the questions posed above!


Thanks for stopping by and I will see you TOMORROW for the start of MFT Teaser Time.  *SO excited*