Posted by Tori on 7/11/2015 to
We get asked all the time "How do you store your stencils?" We actually have a solution!
I used to do this long ago when I was stenciling and had an abundance of stencils that I needed to keep safely stored away. Oh and just a little FYI, we don't keep stencils in stock. ALL of our stencils are cut as they are ordered. However, we do goof up, and because of those "scatter brain" moments, we do have some stencils that we have posted on our site that are already cut and ready to go; as well as a few slightly damaged stencils and a some used stencils too. We don't carry stock stencils because it would be too much of a risk for them to end up damaged somehow before they made it to their new homes. Plus, I wouldn't even know where to put them all!! :)
Our idea is a real easy one. You can do this in a day or at the most, as a weekend project. We bought a vinyl coated wire shelf from "Lowe's Home Improvement Store". The cost was less than $12 for the shelf. It measures 12" deep and is 36" from left to right. The shelf can be mounted in a closet or on a wall, that is completely up to you. We mounted our shelf on a wall in our stencil cutting room. Here is a link to view the details of the shelf we purchased at our local Lowe's store
Below is a picture of our shelf mounted on the wall.
Now, for this next step we popped holes in the tops of our stencil sleeves. If you do NOT have sleeves to place your stencils in, that's ok too. Using a hole puncher, pop a little hole in a spot on your stencil. I did this ALL the time when I was stenciling and had no plastic sleeves to store my stencils in.
Next we took a box of JUMBO paper clips
... and twisted them outward giving them an S shape.
We then inserted one end of the opened S shaped paper clip into the hole we made in the plastic sleeve.
We popped holes in ALL the stencils that needed hanging and slipped the paper clip hangers into each one. We then hung them on our shelf.
We used cardboard to separate and help organize the different size stencils
For our 4x4 or smaller Art Square stencils, we used a Rubbermaid Plastic Food Storage Container to keep them stored.
For our smaller, longer 9" shelf sitter stencils we used a little plastic desk drawer organizer bin we purchased at The Dollar Store.
We then used the shelf to set the smaller container stored stencils on top.
So far this inexpensive system has been the simplest solution for us to store our stencils, keeping them organized and safe from damage.
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