Best Scrapbook Shelf

**Warning** This is a really long post! :) Sit back and relax a spell...

I love, love, love my Best Scrapbook Shelf. I had lots of Sterilite drawer units for the longest time and discovered that I really like things in drawers. I like having all similar items together and the easy access but I also like the neat & clean look that drawers provide. I researched my options and after considering my space and dollars available I decided that the BSS Triple Large unit was going to be the best solution for me. Now, granted, this unit is not cheap. But I saved and saved and saved - well over a year and a half - to get the unit and the drawers. And I love it. It's perfect! It's a very efficient use of space and the quality is wonderful. I opted to buy the cabinet separately from the drawers, that is, I did NOT buy a kit because I wanted to customize the drawers for my use. There was no price break to buy the kit so I didn't lose any money doing it this way.

You can just see my Ribbon Ring hanging there on the right side of my cabinet. This is where all my non-PTI ribbon goes. I have several rings that are hanging on some 3M removable hangers.


The entire left side is filled with paper shelves to hold my 12 x 12 cardstock and some patterned paper. It's organized by ROYGBIV. Most colors have two shelves - the top one holds misc patterned paper that is generally all one color and not part of a specific mfr. and then the second shelf holds the cardstock. For mfr where I have a lot of their patterned paper - My Minds Eye, for example - I have those filed on the bottom of the middle section. For some reason I have lots, and I mean lots, of blue cardstock. I think it takes up at least three shelves.


All the drawers are labeled with my handy, dandy label maker. Gosh, I love that thing. I label my drawers for several reasons: 1) so my kids know where everything is and more importantly know where to put things back; 2) so I know where everything is and know where to put it back; and 3) because I'm an organization freak and like to label things.

Do you want to see what's in all my drawers? Alright, I'll show you. But only because you asked so nicely. :)


Let's start with the middle section - it essentially holds all my "colorants." Here's the top drawer. It's a 1" drawer and it holds my PTI inks and my mostest favorite brown ink in the whole world - Van Dyke Brown by Nick Bantok. Did you see how I punched a small circle of coordinating cardstock and adhered it to the lid of the ink cube? Makes it much easier to tell some of the colors apart.



The second drawer has my misc dye inks - Ranger Distress, some SU!, Memento, Adirondack, and Memories.



Drawer 3 (another 1" drawer) holds misc pigment and chalk inks.



A few more misc inks and stamping stuff.



Drawer 5 is a 3" drawer and I used this tall size so that I could put my refills and Stickles in here standing upside down. Works beautifully. Do you see that white container that is holding the refills and the Stickles? I forget what that is called but I bought it at my LSS and it's wonderful. I could almost use one more. It was just a tad too tall but my handy DH filed it down for me. This drawer also holds my Versamark and my embossing powders. See those plastic boxes in the back of the drawer? Those are called Lock & Lock multi-use storage containers. They are 2.5 cup size and about 6" square and I can stack two together. I use one for clear embossing powder and one for white - my two most used colors. I keep a plastic spoon in each container and then just pour the powder on to my project right over the container - really reduces the mess factor!



Next up is my paint. This is a 2" tall drawer and there are 27 bottles in here.



A catch-all drawer for those things that didn't fit elsewhere and are seldom used. This is another 2" drawer.



Paper scraps. It seems everyone is always on a neverending quest for the best way to store (and remember to use!) their paper scraps. This is what works for me. I have eight of the 1" drawers for my scraps and they are divided out like this: Red/Pink, Orange/Yellow, Green, Blue/Purple, White, Brown/Gray/Black, Misc Patterns, PTI.



And on the very bottom of the middle section is where I have my patterned paper by manufacturer -
American Crafts, Basic Grey, Chatterbox (old stuff), Cosmo Cricket etc. Each mfr is separated by a Cropper Hopper divider. Here I also have just a few Cropper Hopper pockets that are separated by type of paper i.e. Christmas/Winter, Fall/Halloween, Birthday, School. I think there is only about five of these packets. The paper is so specific to that holiday that it made sense to keep them together.

Okay, how about the third column of the cabinet - the one on the right? Still want to see what's in those drawers? Be forewarned that I've been at this crafting business a long time and have lots of old stuff in there. You never know what you might find in there...



Brads separated by color. I used a plastic drawer insert, purchased from BSS.



Eyelets separated by color and by size. Does anyone else remember when eyelets were all the rage? I was involved in several swaps 8-10 years ago and I still have some of those eyelets! I use so few of them nowadays. I thought about using a drawer insert for the eyelets like I did for the brads but I already had these pill box type containers and I've picked up spilled eyelets one too many times.



Metals and lots of it. Lots that I rarely use. But it's there "just in case". Again, I purchased a drawer insert for this drawer.



Embellishments. Lots of odds and ends, bits and baubles. In this drawer is the other type of drawer insert - it's longer and deeper.



Another drawer of embellishments. Hmmm...maybe I should start using this stuff up? The thing is, I've used at least one or two of each of these items but the rest of the package just sits here waiting.



Bling and some smaller odds and ends.



Tags. Remember when tags were all the rage? See those Rebecca Sower pre-made tags there in the back underneath the other stuff? I told you I've been at this for quite a while...



My Coluzzle. This is the best tool, IMO, for creating larger circles. So easy to use and takes up such little room. It's made by Provo Craft and I don't even know if they still make it.



Making Memories alpha rub-ons. Got quite a few to choose from...



Most of my wood mounted, red rubber stamps. I culled most of my stamps this spring and gave a whole bag full to my kids' school. The counselor there does scrapbooking and cardmaking with the kids and she was so appreciative. And so was I that someone would take them off my hands! Along with some larger background stamps that are on another shelf, this is all I have left.



Just a few more stamps. The blue boxes you see are ammunition boxes and they hold the (very old) PSX alpha stamps. They fit perfectly!



Chalk and watercolor pencils some other colorant stuff that I rarely, rarely use. Truth be told, I almost put this in the "give away" box. Just couldn't pull the trigger yet.



Zig markers, Prismas colored pencils, and misc pens. In the back of this drawer is my very small stash of Copics. I have four of them and am resisting buying more until I know how to make them work.



PTI felt! Look at all those yummy colors.



And in the very bottom drawer is my Big Bite. See that book to the left of the Big Bite? It's called "The Sun Shines Bright" and that's what I use for my vintage text. Fun little book.

I have two 2" drawers and one 1" drawer that are empty. Also, there is space below the bottom drawer (where my Big Bite is) that could house one 3" drawer. Right now that empty space holds two binders - an idea binder and a binder showing each of the stamp sets I own. I kind of like having the binders here so I may not order a 3" drawer to go in there. We'll see. ;)

Whew! What a long post. Thanks for reading all the way to the end. I couldn't be more pleased with how my Best Scrapbook Shelf functions in my room and I'm not shilling for them but I hope that if you're seeking a more organized craft space that you'll consider the Best Scrapbook Shelf.