Foam Board Projects

I have had several inquiries about the dimensions and directions for my foam board projects.  Since I am a computer dodo, and can't figure out how to respond to the anonymous inquisitors, I am answering them here.

All of my foam board projects are linked to the "foam board" label on the left side of my blog.  If you click on that label, it will pull up all my foam board posts.  I have dimensions and detailed assembly directions for both the ink pad holder and the Copic cubbies posted seperately.

If you still can't find what you are looking for, let me know, and I will try to help you find it.

Thanks for your interest, and I'm happy to help in any way I can.

Karen

Foam Board Copic Storage

I'm back with the dimensions and directions for my Copic marker cubbies.

Supplies - foam board (1) 20" x 30"
                craft knife and extra blades
                quilting ruler(s) and cutting mat
                pencil
                hot glue gun and glue sticks (high temp)

outside dimensions - 14"H x 4 1/4"W x 5 1/2"D
side panels - 5 1/2" x 14" (cut 2)
shelves - 4 1/4" x 5" (cut 6)
top - 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" (cut 1)
bottom trim strip 1/2" x 4 1/8" (cut 1)

In order for the shelves to tilt back so the markers will stay in place, I offset the front and back measurements by 1/2".  The spacing between the shelves is 2 1/4".

Cut slots a little less than 3/16" wide and 5" long for the shelves to fit into on each side panel.  Remember to make the slots mirror images of each other.  Trim 3/16" of foam off the top edge for the top to fit into.

This is the right side panel.  The left side will be a mirror image.

Once all your slots are cut out, you can begin assembling.  Glue one shelf at a time onto one of the side panels.

This is the left side panel with the shelves in place.  Notice the top edge with the foam removed on the left side of the picture.  Doing this gives a nice finished look to the corners.

To attach the second side panel, I started each shelf about an inch into its slot, then ran a bead of glue in the remainder of each slot, and quickly slid the panel into place.  You must act quickly when glueing several edges at once.

Glue the top on, and if you want a finished look, a little trim strip on the bottom shelf.

Here are the finished cubbies.  (You can stop counting my Copics now.  heehee!  How do you know I don't have more?) 

I made two of these to hold all my Copics.  (As soon as I finished these, I ordered more.  Yes, I have a problem.)  Each shelf will hold 26 (maybe 27) sketch markers.  You could easily make it just a touch wider (1/2" wider would let you store 4 more markers on each shelf) to customize it to your marker collection.  I'm thinking I should have made mine bigger!

You may be able to make both cubbies out of one piece of foam board.  I used some scraps from my ink pad holder, and almost a whole new piece, so I'm not sure if it equals out.  I would buy 2 pieces to begin with, because I know you will want to make more projects!

Please see my foam board ink pad holder post for more details and tips.  If you make either one of these, or any other foam board projects, let me know.  I would love to see what you make!

And just because...  The content of this post is copyrighted by Karen Church, 2010.  Please feel free to use it to make your own projects, but please don't copy or sell it for your own profit.  Thanks.

Have fun!  Once you make one foam board project, you are sure to make more!

K

Foam Board Project Dimensions

Ok, ladies, here are my dimensions.

Ink Pad Holder

supplies needed - foam board (4 pieces) 20" x 30", 3/16" thick
                           craft knife and several extra blades
                           quilting ruler(s) and cutting pad
                           pencil
                           hot glue gun and glue sticks (high temp)
                           lots of patience!

outer dimensions -  15"H x 24"W x 5"D
shelves - 3 3/4"D x 24" L (cut 12 (or 13 if you don't need a taller space at the bottom for daubers))
vertical supports - 1 1/4" x 13 3/4" (cut 5)  This is the right measurement.  I didn't cut channels in the bottom of the top shelf, so they don't need to be 14" unless you cut the channels.
left and right sides - 5" x 15" (cut 2)
top and bottom - 5" x 24" (cut 2)
back - 15" x 24" (cut 1)

You can obviously customize this to make it bigger or smaller.  For each horizontal row, add or subtract 1"; for each vertical column, add or subtract 4".  All other measurements should stay the same.

The shelves aren't as deep as the outer sides because I wanted the edge of the ink pad to stick out a little from the shelf.  This leaves a little space between the pads and I think it makes it easier to remove them.

Using my quilting ruler, I drew pencil lines starting from one edge 3 3/4" long and 1" apart on each side panel.  (If you want to make the shelf on top to hold reinkers, cut the top slot all the way from the front to the back.  This is where the 'top' piece goes.  If you don't want the top shelf, make your sides 1" shorter.)  Then I cut a slot with a craft knife a little less than 3/16" wide centered over each line.  This allows for a snug fit, and in my opinion, requires less glue to hold it together.  You can 'feel' how deep you make the cut, and just don't want to go through the back side of the foamboard.    Once my slots were cut, I used a jewelry tweezer to slide along the bottom of the foam to remove it from the back side of the paper.  You could use a small flat head screwdriver to do this, but I was lazy and didn't want to go to the garage to find one.  Anything that is dull and about 3/16" wide will work.  You can test your first slot by sticking the shelf in it to see how snug the fit is.  Then adjust your slot width if necessary.  Also make sure you mark your lines as mirror images on each end panel.  I made the mistake of marking them the same and had to re-do it.


See how the side panels are mirror images of each other?  The top slot goes all the way from front to back for the top to fit into.  I also trimmed 3/16" of foam from the bottom edge of each panel for the bottom to fit into.

I used my quilting ruler as a guide when cutting with the craft knife which makes it really easy to line everything up.  I tried a rotary cutter, and it didn't work, so craft knife it was.  You will go through several blades as they tend to dull quickly.  If you find that the foam pulls a little, and you aren't getting a clean cut, it's time to get a new blade.  I used at least 3 blades for this project.

Now it is time to cut holes in the shelves for the vertical supports to fit through.  The supports are a little less than 4" apart.  (This is because the end of each shelf goes into slots on the side panels 3/16" on each end.)  I measured my center line first - 12" from one end, then measured a tiny bit less than 4" for each of the other supports.  Each slot is 1 1/4" long and a little less than 3/16" wide and centered in the shelf (1 1/4" from both the front and back).  This time you will want to cut all the way through the foam board to make a hole.  This is where the first dose of patience comes in.  It takes a long time to cut those 60 little holes!

You will need to cut holes in the bottom panel in the same way.  Just start the slot 1 1/4" from the back edge, and they will all line up.

The holes are centered on each shelf, but are 1 1/4" from the back edge of the bottom panel.  See how they will all line up when assembled?

Now summon up some courage and patience, because it is time to start assembling.  This is the most rewarding part, though, and you will be so excited when you see it start to take shape!

I did a dry run first, without hot glue, just to make sure it was going to fit together.  Once I was satisfied with a few shelves in place, I disassembled it and started over with hot glue.  I used a high heat glue gun.  You have to act quickly, and have a few fractions of a second more to work with when you use high heat vs. low heat.  You could try a low heat gun if you already have it, but even the high heat started to set before I was ready toward the end of assembly.

Working one at a time, place a small bead of glue around the very bottom of each vertical support strip, and place into the slots on the bottom panel.  (Be sure to lift it up after every time to make sure you don't glue your project to the table.  Don't ask me how I know to do that!)

This is what you should have at this point.

Now it is time to slide each shelf onto the supports.  I tested most of the slots in the shelf, but if they are a little tight, just take it slow and easy pushing them down.  After you get each shelf in place, measure all the way around to make sure it is level.  Making sure they are evenly spaced is very important!  I used the end panels as a guide for placement. Then run a small bead of glue around the vertical support/shelf junction.  Add one shelf at a time, making sure it is spaced correctly before glueing.

Here, I have used the end panels as a spacing guide.  Do not glue the end panels in place yet.  You will do that after all the shelves are in place.

Continue adding shelves until they are all on the vertical supports.  Here is where you will need your second dose of patience.  You are going to glue each end panel on the shelves, and you must act very quickly once you apply the hot glue.  I started each shelf about an inch or so into its corresponding slot, quickly ran a bead of glue in all the remaining slot areas, then carefully slid the panel the rest of the way onto the shelves.  Do this for both end panels.

Now you will be ready to attach the top.  I put glue in each end panel slot and on the top of each vertical support, and set the top in place.  The front strip on the little top shelf measures 7/8" x 23 5/8".  Glue it in place, and all that is left is the back panel.

I glued the back on in two steps by running glue on one side edge and only halfway across the top and bottom edges before putting the back in place.  Then I ran glue on the remaining edges to attach the remaining half.

Ta-da!  Wasn't that fun?  You should be proud of yourself.  I know I was!

If you run into any problems, or can't make sense of my directions, please let me know and I will try to help.

And just because, I have to say this...  This is my own original design, including the measurements and directions.  Please feel free to use it to make your own projects, but please don't copy or sell it for your own profit.  Thank you.

I will be posting directions for my Copic marker cubbies next, and they are a lot less complicated.  If you are going to make both, I would start with the Copic cubby, then tackle the ink pad holder.

Guess I should have posted directions for them first.  What was I thinking?!  Sheesh!

Thanks again for your interest, and I'll be back soon with Copic cubby directions.

K

Foam Board Dimensions are Coming

Thanks for the overwhelming response and interest in my foam board projects!  I am humbled.  I will try to get all the dimensions and assembly directions posted later today, but it may not happen until Saturday evening.  We have an extremely busy weekend coming up and I have a million and one things to do, and a million and two places to be.

I'm sure you can relate.

Thanks for your patience.

K

Copic Marker Storage

Edited:  For more detailed directions regarding my foam board projects, please see my post here.  It gives some general tips for cutting, etc.  If you want to see all my posts regarding foam board projects, click on the "foam board" label on the left sidebar of my blog.  Thanks!

After I posted my last entry, I was sitting there feeling sorry for myself, and was trying to think of something I could do to make myself feel better.  Then I remembered Patter's post last Friday about her new Copic storage that she purchased from Studio 3 Solutions.  I love her organizational ideas, and thought this would be a great foam board project for me to make.

I have been using a photo box that I put cardboard dividers in to store my Copic markers.  It was inexpensive, and works pretty well, but every time I want to use a marker, I have to drag the whole box down off the shelf, find a place to put it on my work table (which is next to impossible), then put it back when I am done.  I almost always find a stray marker after I'm done and have to get the box down and put it back again.

My cheap storage wasn't working for me any more, and was in need of a makeover.

Foam board to the rescue!!!

After making my ink pad holder, I had a better idea of what I was doing, and this project only took a couple of hours.  I angled the shelves down toward the back so the markers would stay in place.  Like before, I made channels for the shelves to fit into.

I hot glued the shelves to one side, then put hot glue in all the channels of the second side and quickly attached it to the shelves that were already in place.  I added top and back pieces, and my project was finished.

Doesn't this look much better?  I love how all my markers will be at my finger tips instead of lugging that box off the shelf every time.  And when I reorganize my room, I can stack them vertically if I want.

I have 26 markers in one of the shelves, and could possibly fit one more in there if I needed to.  These two cubbies could hold over 300 sketch markers.  I doubt I will ever have that many, but I still have a lot of room to grow.

Patter's storage cubbies cost $16.95 each.  I was able to use some of the left over foam board from my ink pad storage, plus most of a whole new 20" x 30" piece.  I figured mine cost less than $2.00 for both cubbies since I bought the foam board when it was 50% off.  That is a savings of  $31.90 plus S&H.

I'll add that to my piggy bank for the Scrap 'n Cube storage I am pining for!

I'm not feeling so bad about losing my mojo after all!

K

Foam Board Ink Pad Holder

I am on a reorganizing kick in my craft room.  I have 5 of the acrylic Dzyntec storage cubes that I have been using for many years.  I really like them because they store 12 ink pads, and there are three little drawers that are divided into 12 compartments.  I store my reinkers, daubers, and matching brads in them.  There is also a drawer to hold markers.  Basically, every color family has it's own little container, and I love having it all together.  But they take up a lot of room.

I was looking through the SCS galleries for a new way to store my ink pads, and I came across wenchie's gallery.  She has a variety of holders and storage items that she has made out of foam board, and I thought I would give it a try.  I really liked the clean lines of them, and it would be really cheap.

If you're wondering why I haven't been stamping lately, it's because I have spent days making my ink pad holder.  Being a perfectionist has its drawbacks, but it also pays off with a project like this.  Figuring out the dimensions probably took as long as it did to make it, but now that I know what I am doing, I can see myself making other projects in the future.

I cut all the pieces using my quilting rulers and a craft knife. Then I cut the end pieces where the shelves will go.  I was careful to not cut all the way through the back paper so the foam could be removed, creating the slots.

I also cut holes in each shelf and the bottom for the vertical supports.  Measure four times, cut once.  That's why it took me so long, but I never made a mistake!

I started the assembly by hot gluing the vertical supports into the base.  If you do this, make sure you lift it off of your work surface before the glue sets so it doesn't get stuck!

I checked the shelf height with the end pieces temporarily in place.  Then I put a little line of hot glue around the vertical supports.  Most of the slots were cut to fit pretty snug, so a lot of gluing wasn't necessary.

Starting the next shelf.

Shelf pushed all the way down the supports.  My shelves were spaced 1" on center, so it was easy to line them up using my quilt ruler.  As soon as I got the shelf in place and level, I ran a little bead of hot glue around the vertical support.  (No, I did not use a carpenter's level, I just eyeballed it with the ruler!)  Each shelf was done in this manner.

Ta-da!  After all the shelves were in place, I glued on the ends, top, and back.  The top is a shelf to hold all my reinkers.

Here it is with some of my SU! ink pads.  The reinkers are all on top, my markers will fit in one of the slots, and my daubers fit perfectly on the bottom shelf in the Dzyntec acrylic holders.  I still have room for the 10 In Colors, and any extra ink pads I want to hold on to.  The best thing is that this has a much smaller footprint than the 4 Dzyntec holders everything was in before.  Only the brads need a new home, and I'm working on that one. 

I am really pleased with how this turned out.  Now I just need to make another one for all my Staz-on and various other ink pads.

I think I'll stamp something first, though!

K

ETA:  For more detailed directions and the dimensions I used, see my other post here.  To see all of my foam board projects, you can click on the "foam board" label on the left side of my blog.