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There are many awesome advantages to practicing the art of quilling paper.
One of the best parts of practicing quilling is how little space the actual paper takes. Even so, the question of how to store quilling paper may all be a question of personal choice.
I know that I am guilty of the simplest and most straight-forward way of storing my paper and that is by keeping them in the packaging that they were shipped in. Most of my packs of paper arrive in one of two different types of bags.
The longer sheets are packaged in resealable cellophane bags. These are the sheets I prefer. They feel slightly thinner, but they are much longer and, for my purposes, I get more bang for my buck with these.
The shorter quilling paper strips are also in a small cellophane bag, but this type doesn’t seal again. In fact, the recommendation on the enclosed instructions suggest keeping the paper inside the bag, but snipping off one end for easy access. I’ve found that its also a good idea to write the name of the color on the bag for easy reference when reordering.
Keeping your quilling paper in the cellophane packages they were shipped in allows for easy storage and stacking. I keep all my strips in sturdy, pretty boxes that are available at all craft stores. I have great dreams of organizing my strips by color, but that probably will never happen. Usually, the box on the top is filled with the colors that I use the most. (Ok, usually the colors that I use the most are left out on my work space, but when I straighten up, they get put back in the top box.)
The arguments against storing quilling paper that way is the paper is kept bent in their bags, and this could affect the quality of your quilling. But, the designs I quill are on a smaller scale, so these minor bends don’t seem to have much of an impact on the finished product.
On her site, Crafting Creatures, Cecelia Louie shows how she repurposed old camera negative sleeves in a binder to store her shorter, half-used quilling strips. She also has a great idea to use a fishing tackle box to store tiny bits and coils, which is great if you’re continuously quilling the same designs or shapes. I’ve found that empty baby food containers do this job nicely, as well.
Jamie from Curly Quills uses a simliar type of binder storage, but she’s able to use whole sheets in hers!
If you have a little more space in your crafting area, try using clips and a round dowel to keep your paper hanging straight, like Lady Rain Buzz.
And the award for the most organized and awe-inspiring quilling paper storage solution was found on the Quilling Creations forum page with photos attributed to an unknown quiller. Using metal washers and a spring-loaded curtain rod, the artist is able to see every color and strip while working on her latest project.
There is probably as many ways to store quilling paper as there are quillers. Your method may depend on your space, how much time you can devote to quilling, or just your imagination.
I’d love to hear your technique for storing quilling paper strips. Leave a comment below and tell us all about it!
Lovely ideas. I store my quilling papers in recycled paper towel tubes I assembled in a large box. Here’s a picture of how it looks, on my blog:
http://kagitlik.blogspot.com.tr/2014/07/kutu-kutu-pense-elmam-yerse.html
I was looking for ideas on how to store the longer ones, so this post is really helpful, thank you. 🙂
That’s a great idea! Pretty and functional, too. Thanks so much for sharing!
Presently, I keep my completed shapes & flowers in prescription pill bottles. The labels come off easily & they are simple to store & label with painters tape & a sharpie. I keep my strips of paper in ziplock baggies – by similar colors. If they get bent it doesn’t affect my final results!
I love that you’re reusing bottles! Ive been known to keep some coils on stackable baby food jars. Thanks so much for visiting and sharing!
I’ve been looking for a better way of storing my quilling papers. Currently I keep them in an accordian book I made. An attached
ribbon wraps around the book to tie it closed. Each page is actually one piece of paper folded long ways in half and sewn up each side leaving the top open to create a pocket. The only downfalls are that it needs to be opened carefully as there are so many pages that one cover of the book tends to fall back\forward onto the ground spilling papers. Also my papers tend to leak into other pockets due to a wide stitch used in the sewing process. If I had the hinesite (probably a spelling error), to see these problems, they could have easily been solved many ways. Such as making an envelope book or creating several long pockets on each page with a shorter stitch.
Thanks for your ideas, I like the one using a dowel and clips.
I’m so impressed that you made your own book!
I have accumulated many strips and I keep mine all in the package they came in so I know what brand and color they are so I can replace them as needed. On Amazon I found stackable containers that are the perfect width for the packages of strips. 2 of them come clipped together but you can clip a whole stack together also! I organize them by width and color. It makes it so simple. On the outside of each box I write what width is in that box so I don’t have to open them all. If I knew how to post the link to them on Amazon I would but they are easy enough to find if you do a search for stackable containers. They are clear with blue clips.
Thanks for sharing Cindy! That sounds like a great find!
We threaded picture hooks on picture hanging wire that is strung between two supports. Punched a hole in the top of the quilling paper storage bags and hung them on the hooks – three to a hook fit nicely. Easy on, easy off!
Great idea! And it sounds like you can see all your colors at once!
I use 3 inch book rings and I hang them on the rod in the open closet of my craft room. Each ring holds a different color.
That is very organized! I’m so impressed!!
I stuck drapery hooks into a corkboard. I then clip my leftover paper strips and hang them on a hook. The board hangs right beside where I quill so it is quite convenient.
I took a ruler and glued mini clothes pins along it at 1 inch intravals and clip my strips in the mini clothes pins. Attached a cord to each end of ruler which then hangs from a nail. This works for me.
I love those mini clothes pins. They come in handy! Great idea to use them for strips.
I store mine in their packaging if they’re unused, and in stackable plastic containers if they’re partially used. I also have a storage box with compartments that I store all my tools in, as well as my unfinished projects. This post was really helpful! Thanks for writing it.
I use the black paper clips and a hanger. I can fit 6 clips on the hanger. It keeps the strips straight and I can see exactly what I have.
I use fishing tackle boxes with dividers. They are clear so you can see what is in each box, and the dividers keep paper strips separated. The boxes are only about 4 inches tall so they stack easily.
Sounds like a good solution to me!