How should I store my quilling strips?
This is a question that comes up frequently. When I first started quilling, I tried keeping my papers in a big box. I kept the unused portions in the plastic bags they came in. When I just started, I would buy multi packs, you know, lots of colors in one package. Unfortunately when I tried separating the colors, I often made a mess of the pack. I ended up with what looked like spaghetti! Once I started buying individual packages of colors, I decided to hang them. I bought a couple of bulletin boards, (about 2’x3’), and put T-pins along the long side of the board. (T-pins are the ones shaped like the letter “T”, they are nice and long and the “t” prevents the strips from sliding off. You can buy them wherever they 
sell straight pins.) It helped to keep the strips nice and straight. I put each of the different sizes of the same color on one pin. For example; if I had narrow, 1/8’ and 3/8” of the same color, they went on one pin. Once I had all of the strips hung, I could tell at a glance which colors I had and which I was running low on. The other thing I liked about this storage system was its portability. I could take my “bulletin board’ full of strips anywhere, in any room. When it was time to put it away, I would cover it with a trash bag and slide it behind the sofa or into a closet. I still keep my whites/ivories on a bulletin board since I use them so much.
Of course, you don’t use a whole strip for each quilled coil. There are always leftover pieces. I started keeping my leftover pieces and any extra coils in the little chests they sell in hardware stores. Once again I arranged them by color. This worked out well for me; if I needed just a couple of small pieces to make a flower for a gift card; I almost always had exactly what I needed in these drawers. I use a lot of 6”, 3”, and 1 ½” strips. These fit perfectly in the drawers which are just about six inches deep. I also use some punched flowers in my floral pieces, so any extra “punches” also get stored in these drawers.
This is a question that comes up frequently. When I first started quilling, I tried keeping my papers in a big box. I kept the unused portions in the plastic bags they came in. When I just started, I would buy multi packs, you know, lots of colors in one package. Unfortunately when I tried separating the colors, I often made a mess of the pack. I ended up with what looked like spaghetti! Once I started buying individual packages of colors, I decided to hang them. I bought a couple of bulletin boards, (about 2’x3’), and put T-pins along the long side of the board. (T-pins are the ones shaped like the letter “T”, they are nice and long and the “t” prevents the strips from sliding off. You can buy them wherever they 
sell straight pins.) It helped to keep the strips nice and straight. I put each of the different sizes of the same color on one pin. For example; if I had narrow, 1/8’ and 3/8” of the same color, they went on one pin. Once I had all of the strips hung, I could tell at a glance which colors I had and which I was running low on. The other thing I liked about this storage system was its portability. I could take my “bulletin board’ full of strips anywhere, in any room. When it was time to put it away, I would cover it with a trash bag and slide it behind the sofa or into a closet. I still keep my whites/ivories on a bulletin board since I use them so much.
Of course, you don’t use a whole strip for each quilled coil. There are always leftover pieces. I started keeping my leftover pieces and any extra coils in the little chests they sell in hardware stores. Once again I arranged them by color. This worked out well for me; if I needed just a couple of small pieces to make a flower for a gift card; I almost always had exactly what I needed in these drawers. I use a lot of 6”, 3”, and 1 ½” strips. These fit perfectly in the drawers which are just about six inches deep. I also use some punched flowers in my floral pieces, so any extra “punches” also get stored in these drawers.
Once my hobby became “Whimsiquills the business”, (and after my children left home), I set about making what we all call the ‘Whimsiquills room”. Now I have a whole room dedicated to my work I had a huge window put in to give me natural light, I use an Ott light at night. I hang all of my papers on a strip my husband put up for me that goes halfway around the room.
If you are lucky enough to have a work or craft room you can use the back of the door for storage as well. I have all of my 1/6’ and 1/8” Paplin papers stored on the back of the Whimsiquills room door and on a closet door. We simply put up some strips and then measure and put in nails so we could hang the packages. If you store your papers in packages, this might be an option for you. Then you also have the color number right on the package. I usually write the color number on the outside of one of the strips.
This is my not so neat work table which is right by a window, lots of natural day light.
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