Everyone has their own system of storage for paper quilling strips, extra pieces, tools, etc.  I’ve had questions about what are some of the best ways to store these things, so I’ll share what I do.  My system of storing may not be best for everyone as it depends on personal preference, how much quilling paper you have, etc.  But it is one way and it is the way that works best for me!

First of all, I have a LOT of quilling strips.  I have an open pack of probably every color that is available from Lake City Crafts.  That’s a lot of paper!!  So what do I do with it all?  I store all of the strips still IN the original packs in these two sets of file drawers:

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I started with only one set of drawers, but I soon got another one and I have just the right amount of space.  I organize the drawers by color and/or type of paper.  Here are nine of the ten drawers with labels for what is in them.  In the tenth drawer I have a few mixed color packs of papers.  Mixed color packs are great when you don’t need a lot of each color and you are short on storage space.  But as you can see I prefer single color packs.

When I need to use a certain color I take out the pack and take the ends of the papers out of the bag.  Then you can take out as many strips as you need (undo the strip from one end , pull until the entire strip is out, and undo from the other end.  When I have enough strips I tuck the two ends back into the pack and then put it back into the drawer.  With some brands of paper you don’t have to untuck the ends and put them back in because the bags are longer.  But the new bags from Lake City Crafts are shorter, so you need to do this.  It’s not quite as convenient, but it does make the packs take up less room, so that is the payoff.  I don’t really mind.

Inevitably you will end up with strips of paper that you have not used up.  These come in handy for future projects, so of course you don’t want to throw them away!  I have a particular sectioned plastic container with lid that I use for these strips.

In the long section I put the 12″ pieces of paper.  In the medium sections I put 6″ strips of paper.  In the small sections I put 3″ strips of paper.  There is also a section that holds a few of my extra tools, and a section where I put the leftover specialty papers like gold and silver edge.  As you can see the container looks pretty messy, but ah well, crafting can be a messy business!  The ends of the papers sometimes get a little squashed when I shut the box.  This doesn’t matter since when you are quilling you twirl the paper and any bent pieces get smoothed out when you do that.  When I am doing a project and need just a couple shorter pieces of a certain color I always look through this box first.  When it seems to be getting pretty full (like now!) I will spend a day making gift cards to use up the little pieces.  I make hearts, twirls, gifts, etc. to glue onto little cards.  These cards always come in handy to put on gifts!

Sometimes you are in the middle of a project and you need to put it away for awhile, or you want to work on another project for awhile.  For this occasion I have boxes to store my semi-finished pieces in.  Some of these were extras for designs, some are for pieces I haven’t put together yet, some are scraps, etc.  I have 3 containers like this of various sizes to keep my semi-finished projects in.

Since I sell my paper quilled items in my etsy shop I have a lot of finished pieces around.  It would not be a good use of space if I put these each in gift boxes waiting to ship out.  That would also make it very difficult to find a particular piece! So I also have several containers to keep my finished jewelry, accessories, etc. in.

I group the finished pieces by style so that it’s fairly easy for me to find a piece when it gets sold.  Then I can put it in a cute gift box and get it sent off to its new home to be treasured!

Because I make jewelry and accessories from my paper quilling I have a lot of other findings, tools, etc. around.  I store them, and my quilling tools, in this:

There are many drawers in this, so it’s nice and easy to organize my things.  Some of the bottom drawers are bigger so they are perfect for all of my quilling tools.

Paper quilling can also be a great craft to do on-the-go.  Of course you can’t can’t carry everything with you, but if you have a certain project in mind you can carry with you just a few things to work on that project.  The travel box that I currently use and like is this one:

It is a double sided box.  On one side, the side you can see here, there are several compartments.  This is great for tools, glue, little pieces, and short strips of paper.  The other side of the box has no compartments, so it’s great for storing a few packs of quilling paper.  Love this box!

The travel box is sold by Quilled Creations.   You can find it in any well stocked quilling supply shop such as Custom Quilling.  All of the other boxes I bought locally here in Malaysia at department stores, Toyogo, etc.  They are not very expensive and they work well.

Here is a selection of similar products that I found on Amazon that would work well so you can see what is available. You can also browse your local office supply shops and craft shops for some great options!

This style of drawers is perfect for your quilling tools, beads, jewelry findings, quilling pieces in progress, etc.

This box would be awesome for taking your quilling with you on a trip. Plenty of room in the bottom for your papers, circle sizing board, and more, and plenty of room on the top for your quilling tools!

If you have a ton of paper plus other craft supplies, this would be amazing!

If you have fewer papers you can get away with a smaller stack of drawers like this
that will fit on your desk:

For a classier set of drawers this one would work nicely:

Here is another awesome looking one for not only all of your quilling paper, but all related items such as your quilling boards, bigger tools, frames, canvas, pretty much everything. Plus it has wheels so you can wheel it to a different room when needed!

Here is a good one for a medium amount of quilling paper and supplies:

Lastly here are a few partitioned boxes that are awesome for storing your work-in-progress pieces or your finished quilled jewelry, etc.

How do you store your paper quilling strips?

• Click HERE to view many more tips and tricks for paper quilling, divided into subjects!
• Click HERE to view free tutorials for paper quilling projects!
• Click HERE to find where you can purchase paper quilling supplies – many sources listed from around the globe!

*All of the products that are shown here that I myself use I purchased myself.

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