Tips for Using and Storing Thin Dies

I made these cute cards using the Stitched Shapes dies and the Layering Ovals dies from Stampin' Up!  I posted a video on Monday showing how easy it easy to make these sweet cards.  You can see the video and close up photos of each card BY CLICKING HERE.

Today I wanted to explain how I store my dies and label them for easy use.  Below are photos of the dies.  Before I use them, I make a copy of them on regular (or colored) copy paper.  The main reason I make a copy is to make sure all the dies get back in place when I am done using them.  This is especially important when using dies with lots of small pieces.

I glue the copy paper to a magnetic sheet and glue that to the thin cardboard piece that the dies were originally taped to.  I get my magnetic sheets at Lowe's - they are really vent covers.  I keep everything in the original package. I add Velcro dots to make the plastic envelope easier to close.  I also add a larger label with the names of the dies - which just makes it easier for me to find when looking through all my dies.




If you look carefully at the dies in the photo below, you will see that I have numbered each of the dies.  The smallest oval is #1, the next one (which is in the group on the left) is #2, and I continue numbering them from smallest to largest.  This helps me when I write notes and tutorials - I can just tell you which number die I used to cut the piece - instead of measuring the dies each time.

I store all the dies in their original plastic envelopes in a basket that sits near my die cutting machine.  The basket on the right are the dies that are current - which means the dies on the left are all retired.  Believe it or not, I have sold quite a few retired dies - but these are ones that I still use and love - and can't part with - yet!

I hope this has been helpful to you.  I know everyone has their own way of storing their supplies - but this works well for me.  Some people like to keep the dies with a coordinating stamp set - but I find that I often use the dies alone or with other stamp sets.  If they were tucked away in a case with the stamp set, I would be less likely to use them.  This way I can quickly look through the dies to find something that might work for a project I am trying to complete,

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Thanks for stopping by!

Kathy