Stencil Wrangling

Thanks for all of your input on my Practice Art post! I can see that this topic resonated with a lot of you. I'm thinking about what the next step could be. Thoughts? Art Practitioner sounds a bit over the top. "I Practice Art" ? 

In the meantime, I'm moving back into the studio and it was a big mess! Hubs cleaned the floors for me over the weekend and I did a bit of a tidy up. I got these spice racks from Ikea. Heck yeah. I can organize. It's just a bit of a challenge

 I wound up wrangling my stencils into a box - also from Ikea. Have a look here ... 

I'm really making an effort to stay tidy lately. It really does save on time. How do you keep your stencils organized? Let us know in the comments. 

Comments

[Bambi S Mayer]

I found some plastic portfolio binders in two sizes at a big box hobby store. They have sleeves that hold even my large stencils. Wish I had a great way and the space to hang them so that they are more visible but this was a good alternative for me.
Bambi

[Donna]

Hi Diana,
I just got through the great stencil caper myself. I sprung for some plastic, self adhesive J-hooks I bought from Amazon (got the idea from Carolyn Dube) and adapted an old herb drying rack by putting in metal dowels and hung them there. That took up a lot of room but I snagged a Simply Renee Clip It Up Jumbo on ebay. It was a splurge (an early birthday present) but holds a ton of stencils. They're easy on and off with the J hooks. If I'd had wall space I would have hung a rod and used that but my studio space is fondly referred to as my Art Cave because it's in the basement -- cement walls, plumbing, etc. Donna Downey built a terrific rack for holding her stencils, all mobile on wheels!
Good luck!
Donna

[Denise Spillane]

I like your idea. The sheet protectors keep the stencils from getting tangled too!

[Pam]

I have a 12 x 12" folder with transparent sleeves from scrap book shop for my larger stencils. Works fine.

[muriel]

I, too, have a folder with transparent sleeves, but that's for the smaller stencils. For the large ones I also use transparent folder sleeves that I keep together with two "opening/closing rings" -don't know the exact word in English. I hung the lot to a metal rod fixed under my working table, just at the edge of it. When I want a stencil I needn't open the rings, I just have to slip the stencil out of the sleeve. I put two tencils in each sleeve, separated by a coloured paper.

[Kate Burroughs]

Inquiring minds want to know: what categories did you come up with for the storage dividers? I have all my stencils now in a 12" x 12" Iris scrapbooking storage tote, which is a flat box, not vertical like what you got at IKEA. TFS
Aloha, Kate

[Cynthia]

I use photo albums/binders I got at Micheals, just slip the stencils into the sleeves. Easy to flip through and they already have black or white paper in the pages so you can see the stencils. Got a large and small size, I think they are the Reflections brand. Got the idea from Julie Balzer.

[Diana Trout]

That’s a great idea! Julie Balzer is a a gem and so are you. Thanks for sharing a great tip

[Diana Trout]

Hi Kate, The categories I came up with were : Pattern, Texture, Circles/Squares, Nature, Birds, People, Critters, Words/Letters.
Hope that helps!

[Diana Trout]

Ohh! That’s a very good system. We call them Binding Rings and your description was excellent!

[Diana Trout]

I was using one of those too, Pam. But I just wound up cutting up my 12x12’s since I don’t use them. Previously I was using a scrapbook case which worked well too!
Lots of options :)

[Diana Trout]

Yes, the tangling is one of the reasons I changed from envelopes and scrapbook cases. Glad it helped!

[Diana Trout]

That’s a great idea! I saw MaryBeths Carolyn’s vids too. It’s a good solution.

[Diana Trout]

Good find and re-purpose. I would have liked to hang too.

[SusanJane]

I have mine in those super thin 12x12" plastic scrapbooking boxes. They are meant for single scrapbooking projects (paper, ephemera, photos, etc.). I've found several brands that average about 2" deep. Most stencils come with backing sheets, many with dark colors, that I trim to act as slip sheets between different stencils (solid scrapbooking paper works, too). I'm one of those that like to paw through my stencils, papers, etc. I'm more inspired by variety then categories. I also go by compost organizing -- what I keep using stays on the top, everything that filters to the bottom will eventually be purged in a year or two. I keep my 6x6 in one box and my 12x12 in another. I do not like fussy sheet protectors, binders and clips… just not my style.

[Diana Trout]

Thats a good idea! I wish I’d thought to keep those sheets the stencils came on ! But this system is working really well for me.