Creative Chat … MFT Die-namics!

Hi everyone,

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!

Let’s start with the first question …. How do you store and organise your Die-namics? I love my Die-namic dies they are one of my most used tools I use when I am creating so I like too keep them handy. When MFT first started releasing these I just stored them on a clear box on my desk, but after a month or two it became apparent that I had to find a new way of storing my die-namic dies.

It just so happened that I had recently been doing some cleaning out of one of my cupboards and came across this Photo Album which my mother had given to me for my 25th Wedding Anniversary … now my DH and I will be celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary this December so this poor thing had been sitting unused for at least 13 years! That is a silver frame on the outside and because it is a solid frame it is able to stand like that one my desk within easy reach when I want to use any of my die-namic dies.

In the centre of the silver frame is a space to place a photo, which I must confess until this challenge has been blank! I have been wanting to do something to decorate this space ever since I started using it for my die-namics, but you know how it is …. other things take over and you just don’t get around to it. That is one reason I like challenges, they make you do things whether it is something you have been meaning to do/try or something completely new!

You can see what I made to decorate my folder a little better in the top photo, I used a number of die-namics on this piece which include Die-namics Pretty Pocket Die & Stamp Set; Die-namics Bracket Tab; Die-namics Butterflies; Die-namics Simply Scallops Medium; Die-namics Upsy-Daisy.

The pockets inside the album fit a standard photo so this is ideal for the majority of my die-namic dies.

I use a sheet of magnet which I cut to fit inside each pocket, this helps keep my Die-namics in order and not having them moving all over the place.

For the Die-namics that are sets … eg: The Doily Dies; Doily Duos & Borders that match I place them in a pocket together without the magnet sheet. This way I know exactly where the dies are that match each other without having to search for them.

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

As I said earlier in this blog post, I love my die-namics so I have to have them all, and NOW! So if you see one you must have during MFTeaser week, make sure you get in early to order like when the release becomes available. Some of the most popular ones go early, but have no fear MFT keep restocking them as soon as they can! If one of the die-namics you are after is out of stock, make sure you are subscribed to the MFT newsletter &/or MFT on Facebook as that is where you will be notified when dies are back in stock.

One thing I do like to do when I receive my new dies is to write the name of the die-namic on the back of it, so I know what it is called.

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

To be honest I don’t really bother too much about storing too many of the Die-namic die-cuts. At one stage I was saving them in a box, but I found that the colors I wanted weren’t necessarily the colors I needed for the next project. As my youngest daughter is a Kindergarten Teacher I now save them in a plastic zip lock bag and she takes them in for the kids to use and they LOVE them!

I do keep some of my extra die-namic die-cuts especially if I have cut them from felt or in colors I know I can use for any project. That brings us back to my photo album I use to store my die-namics! The inside cover has a door so you can put in your photo, when there is still some space once you have done that to store a few extras. I did do a little clean up before I took my photos (and some I used on my cover I created for this blog post). But I kept all my white clouds in both card and felt and my also my clouds I use if I want to create a cloudy sky using the die-namic dies and my copic airbrush which can be another fun way to use your die-namic dies.

Well that is about it from me today, I hope you enjoyed my take on how I store my die-namic dies. It works for me which is what is important. I will be back tomorrow with the start of the MFTeasers for September!