Foam Core ink pad storage – Part 1

Last year I made a trash receptacle out of Foam Core.  In theory it would work wonders.  In reality not so much.  It ended up falling on the floor and would not remain attached to the bottom of my table.  Some additional thought will need to be used to make that one work better.

First thing to do is PICK YOUR SPOT.  Depending on how much space you have available AND the amount of ink pads you have this type of construction can be adapted for any size space.  Even a small closet area.

The good thing about Foam Core is it is sturdy when constructed well.  You won’t be able to stand on it but it will hold the weight of your ink pads, reinkers, and other stamping related items without caving in on you.  It is portable and can be moved from one location to another if you have a penchant for rearranging your area as I seem to have.

This can be adapted to your needs.  Just because I’m doing mine as you will see does not mean it is “Gospel” and has to be done my way.  Do you need a place to store your stamp cleaner pad?  That funnel type tray for your embossing powder over spill and/or glitter?   Do you have those large Archival Ink Pads?  How about the long and narrow multi colored ink pads?

If you purchase a ready made ink pad holder to our specifications it can cost up to $100.  Make your own for $6 plus the personal time to create and construct one specific to your personal needs.

You can spray paint the pieces as you get them made or cover them in the paper(s) of your choice.  This is a project that will take a while to create so don’t imagine having this done in a couple  hours.  Depending on how difficult you want to make this, it CAN be put together in just a couple hours if you only make a top, bottom, and two sides.  Slap that puppy together and call it good.

Here is a link to a blog writer who made one of the more complicated ones for her Stampin’ Up! ink pads and reinkers.  Syzygy of Me.  Mine is not going to be quite so complicated but it will involve some of the same steps.

First – Where to purchase Foam Core – if you don’t already have some.  I purchase mine from Hobby Lobby – found near the framing section – and from Michaels – found near the children’s art section.  I’ve read you can find Foam Core at the variety of Dollar Stores, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Big Lots, and other thrifty places like that.  The sizes and prices range from $1 to $6 and from 12″ x 24″ to 36″ x 42″.  The larger sizes are found at the craft/hobby stores.

Foam Core is light weight and the thicknesses range from 3/16″ to 1/2″.  The inner foam is sandwiched between thick paper.  This allows you to use hot glue or a good strong tape – such as duct tape to assemble your pieces together.

Now on to what I’ve accomplished so far.  I ran out of my stash of Foam Core and will need to make a trip to the craft store to get more today.

STEP 1.  Measure your area.

My designated spot

I have 18″ of clearance from the top of my work table to just below the radio/cd player thing.

Under the radio/cd player thing

I have a width of about 36″ to build my creations.  I’m going to be making these in sections then joining each section.  That is the plan right now and subject to change at any time during construction :-(.

Width of 36 inches

The base, or bottom, and the top is only going to be 5″ wide.  This is about 1/2″ wider than the Stampin’ Up! ink pads I have.  You can make yours to be 4-1/2 inches if you wish.

STEP 2 – Cutting the Foam Core.

I am making this section 18″ tall, 12-1/2″ wide.  This will be the back panel of my box.  Measure and draw lines on your Foam Core Board and use a craft knife to cut through the layers of paper and foam.  Make sure to do this part on something other than your work surface so you don’t cut through your table top.

Cut your bottom, top, and two sides as well.  My top and bottom will be 18″ long and 5″ wide.  The sides will be 12-1/2″ long, and 5″ deep.  I’m already confused 😦  Top and bottom will be 12-1/2″ wide by 5″ deep.  The sides will be 18″ tall by 5″ deep.

Measure, mark, and cut your pieces

STEP 3.  Decisions.

Now is the time to decide if you want to go the easy route.  Do you have only Stampin’ Up! ink pads?  See My Paper Passion for an example to stack the Stampin’ Up! pads.  They stack on top of each other pretty well and don’t topple over or cascade down.  You can cut Foam Core to the length, top to bottom, and attach them with hot glue at this point and call it done.  That is after you have put your top, bottom, and two sides together.

I’m going to make shelves spaced 1″ apart.  The next step is going to be tedious.

STEP 4.  Mark the shelf spacing.

Around the center of my 5″ by 18″ shelf support I made 1″ marks then used my Big Bite Cropadile to make the holes.  It is so much easier to do it this way than to draw a rectangle and make the two small corner cuts at the center.

Mark at 1" increments and use the Big Bite Cropadile to cut holes

This is how I used my Cropadile.

Using the Cropadile

Draw even lines with your ruler from the hole you made down to the end of the side.  Cut the Foam Core out of this area.

Cut the spaces out

These two will be standing to divide my box into four sections.  The shelf parts I will construct today after I get back from purchasing more Foam Core.

The principle of this type of design is to make the box stronger and less likely to warp and bow as time passes.

Think of the last time you purchased a box of stem ware or glasses.  The cardboard inserts that separated the glass ware into individual compartments.  That is what I’m going for in this construction.

I’ll have more for you tomorrow on the creation of this box.  So stay tuned.