Happy Thursday! Let’s celebrate the fact that tomorrow is Friday with the start of a little series! This series is called Print & Pray Q & A. Doesn’t that just have the BEST ring to it!? I love things that rhyme. :) Periodically, I want to write articles that answer specific questions I hear from you all in the community regarding the Print & Pray Shop and digital products. Since we’ve launched the shop, one of the questions I’ve been asked over & over again is:
Q: “How do you store & organize your printables?”
My answer to that storage question is organizing them in individual packs in a basket on my IKEA Raskog cart. Everyone’s workflow & optimal organization method is going to be different! For me, I am more likely to use my printable elements if they’re already cut out & ready to go. I hate having to stop the creative process just to cut something out or find my circle punch. So pre-cutting & clear storage are key.
So I cut an entire kit out in one go when I receive it & store all the elements in their own little clear packs or baggies. You can get these at your local craft store, often in the bead & jewelry-making section. I bought a pack of 100 3″x4″ bags for under $4.00. Once you cut a printable kit & put it in its own pack, it becomes just like a die cut pack you buy from a scrapbooking company!
I use an electronic label maker to label the pack with the kit’s title & the artist’s name. If you’re doing this with printables from different brands, you could add another line that reflects which company it’s from (i.e.: “You’re Beautiful” by Valerie Wieners; Illustrated Faith).
Now when I need a little element, I grab this basket & everything is organized, clearly labeled, & ready to use! Storage success!
Another thing you can do is purchase a divided acrylic organizer & make use of more “open storage” on your workspace itself. These little containers are great for sitting out on your craft table & keeping different sets in one place. Again, I pre-cut each element, & then assign a compartment to each kit. This is a great way to keep your current favorites within arm’s reach!
I hope this helps those of you who are struggling with how to store your digital products from the Print & Pray Shop. There are a million ways to organize your favorite Illustrated Faith products, but these are the ways I’ve found that work for me. :)
Please share YOUR storage ideas for printables in the comments below! We would love to hear them & maybe your system will inspire someone else! Also, share photos of your printable organization on Instagram with the hashtag #printprayshop !
<3 Elaine
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been trying to figure out how to store my printables and this looks perfect!
I have a very basic question (as if I live under a rock). :) if I buy a set of print & pray does it come to me in an email or how do I receive it? Is it something I can have printed at a print shop easily? Is it something I can then print repeatedly if I wanted too? Sorry, this part is new to me and I really would like purchase some.
Michelle– when you purchase it, it prompts you to download it. I believe it’s also stored on your account as well so if you lose the file you can re-download it. (Go to the Illustrated Faith YouTube channel & you’ll find a website tour video that explains that.) They will be PDF files, so they can be opened on any computer. Yes you can easily save them on a flash drive or attach them to an email to print them easily at a print shop. You will have the file, so you will be able to print them as much as you want. :)
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to get started with this new element.
Genius!! Thanks Elaine!
I love this idea, Elaine! I never would have thought of this. WIN.
Thank you, I was just thinking my little ziplock baggies are not working out! Great idea.
Love those little green baskets. Where’d they come from?
What great ideas! I can now be even more organized!
Tried Ziplocs but they were too big. This is a neat little product to look for! Thank you!