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Friday, January 11, 2013

My New Organization

Before I started the Crumpet Tart Challenge, there were a few days of silence from me.  I indicated that I was still doing nail stuff.  Thought I'd show you what I was busy doing.


Yes, those are nail swatch sticks.  I originally used nail wheels to swatch, but it was hard to coordinate colors and didn't leave much room to put names of the polish.  I kept my nail wheels organized by color and polishes by brand, so it made it difficult, for instance, to figure out if Ess on my wheel meant Essie or Essence.  Although this took quite a bit of time (even with my son helping...He asked to help and did a lot of the gluing) it makes my nail life so much easier.  Not only can I coordinate colors for manis better, it makes blogging easier as I don't have to have polish bottles sitting out to reference polish names.  Now I just group my swatch sticks by mani until I get them blogged, then they go back in my carousel of polish goodness (tee hee).  Each color group is in it's only little compartment and the whole thing spins around for easy access.  It's actually a kitchen utensil organizer, but I stole if for my new obsession.  The only problem is that I can no longer be in denial about how out of control this obsession is.  Look at all those sticks!

And since I am showing you this, I might as well show you more of my cozy polish desk.  Don't want to see it?  Just skip it!


 This is what I originally started out with for polish storage, an old wooden spice rack that had been sitting around unused with three shelves that held polish two deep.  But then I outgrew it and got this.



Mmmmm....this makes me happy.  If I had the room (and the money), all of my polishes would be stored like this, visible in all their shiny glory (tee hee)  This is where I keep all my OPI and China Glaze, but then I outgrew even this, so now I have a three drawer file under my desk.  Not my ideal storage system, but will have to do for now.  Want to see more?

 
 Next I need some storage solutions for my stamping plates.  And there are my old nail wheels.  I painted over with some white acrylic paint so I can use them for pattern practice.  And speaking of practice, want to see what I use to check stamping polishes?

 I don't remember where I saw the idea for this....somewhere on YouTube.  These are clear, flat glass pebbles about the size of a quarter.  I use these when I want to see what different colors look like on a base color.  This may use extra polish, but I love that I can make sure the stamp will look right before applying to my nails.  Plus these can be reused again and again.

Hope you enjoyed this little peek inside my polish space.  If not, why did you read this far?  See you tomorrow!

13 comments:

  1. Love this! Ialways like to snoop around other peoples polish collections!

    For stamp plate storage, Bundle Monster do a fantastic black zip up folder that stores like 165 plates it's the size of a diary and I love mine! It costs $15 and displays them all nicely. Hope that helps!

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    1. Thanks Cazzy! I have had my eye on one of those, but I have a nail related budget and polish always seems to come first. I'm once again trying to figure if I have something around the house I can use. I have this strange idea to use cardstock, page protectors and a sewing machine to create my own storage. Insanity I know!

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  2. I always enjoy these types of posts, I feel like I'm looking through your stuff. Let's be honest, who doesn't like that? :D Awesome idea with the sticks!! And how nice of your son to help you :)) You can update your storage solutions every time you want :D

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    1. My boy is definitely a teenage boy, but I think he is getting a little jealous of all the nail attention Bria gets. When I was doing her splatter nails, he was right there wanting to help. He really wanted to help with the sticks, and my A type personality wanted to be in control of the whole process, but I decided that I could let go for a bit so he could feel included/useful.

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  3. I wanna know what the hammer is for! lol I use single drawers from Walmart for my polish & I stack them under my desk. I like the stick idea! Where did that box of 1000 popsicle stix go...?

    Organization is a work in progress unless you stop accumilating & where's the fun in that?

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    1. I started with 100 popsicle stix and then had to go back for the 1000 box (tee hee)

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    2. I still want to know how you use the hammer for nail art! LOL

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    3. I originally used this as an art and craft tool organizer. The hammer was/is for eyelet setting etc. It and the screwdriver are still there for convenience sake. Now I need to find some longer sticks so I can use the next level in the carousel as the current ones don't stick up over the edge. Maybe I'll just stuff some newspaper in the bottom...

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    4. I think my craft hammer is still around here somewhere too! LOL Tho I prefer my Crop-a-dile for eyelet setting. Good idea, tho tin foil won't compact as much. Oh, just so you know...I spent hours, I say HOURS last night labeling popsicle sticks, popping painted nails off wheels & hot gluing till my eyes crossed & it's ALL YOUR FAULT, TINA! Good thing I have a big stash of sticks & glue. LMBBO

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    5. I had to go out to the craft store halfway through to purchase more hot glue! Once I got caught up, it makes it so easy to swatch all my new polishes. I am afraid I will soon run out of room in my carousel and then what will I do?

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  4. oh wow I love that stand with all of your china glazes in.....so jealous :) great post, cheers :)

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