Hi everyone! A while back I posted photos of an ink pad storage unit that I made out of foam board to fit into my Expedit shelving from IKEA. A lot of you asked me to post details on how it was made. Well, I was finally in need of another one so as promised, I snapped a few pictures (ok...a LOT of pictures) of the process and jotted down some measurements for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
As you can see this fits perfectly into my shelving unit. It houses 32 standard sized ink pads such as ones from Hero Arts, Simon Says Stamp, My Favorite Things, The Ton, etc.
Tools needed for cutting:
t-square ruler
craft knife or utility knife
measuring tape
pencil.
Tools needed for assembly:
glue gun
glue sticks
2 sheets of Foam Board:
20 x 30 x 3/16 in
First I cut all of my pieces out. I have to say my t-square ruler was the key tool to making this task quick and easy. I don't think I would attempt this without one. There is a lot of cutting involved but it only took me a little over an hour to complete this task. Here are my measurements:
1 back piece: 13 x 12 1/2"
2 sides and 1 middle piece: 4 1/2 x 12 1/2"
1 top and 1 bottom piece: 13 x 4 5/8"
16 shelves: 4 x 6 1/8"
32 shelf glides: 4 x 1 1/4"
front moulding piece: 13 x 1 1/16"
First thing to do is fire up that glue gun and get it nice and hot. Then, start with laying out your pieces where they're going to go, starting with the back, the bottom, the two sides and the middle piece.
Begin by gluing the back piece to the top of the bottom piece. This is the tricky part that can throw off your whole project so make sure you put the glue on the side of the back piece and then butt the bottom piece up to it. DO NOT put the bottom piece on top of the back piece. I hope that makes sense. But if you look closely at this picture you'll see that the side piece is sitting on top of the back piece and the bottom piece is not..
I then measured and marked the center of the back piece and glued the middle piece in following the marked guide. Then the other side piece was glued on. This picture shows better that both side pieces and the middle piece are glued to the top of the back piece and also to the bottom piece.
Now to start building the shelves you start with a shelf glide.
Start by gluing two in place
Then I just set the shelf in next to the glides but DO NOT GLUE! None of the shelves will be glued into this shelf. They will all be removable. This makes it adjustable but also makes it a lot easier to assemble. Now glue in two more glides.
See how easy it slides in and out of place?
Keep gluing on the glides until all of the shelving is in place.
Standing the shelf upright, you'll be amazed at how sturdy it is. I needed to make this unit fit into my shelving cubby so there will be a small area at the top that will be empty space. You could totally make adjustments to the sizes to fit your own needs though. I just chose to cover up the space and call it a day.
Now you can glue the top onto the shelf. To cover up the small gap at the top I added a piece to act as moulding. I actually kind of like the finished look that the moulding piece gives it. Check out those sliding shelves!
And here are my matching ink pad storage units side by side. I slide mine to the back of my shelf to leave areas to display my cards and other things. This shelf was really an easy project that took about 2 hours to make and cost under $20.
I hope this tutorial was helpful and that I've assisted in a lot of little ink pads finding a new home.
I have another free tutorial up over at StampNation this week. If you're a member stop on over and check it out. If you're not a member yet......what the heck are you waiting for? Come on over and join the fun ---->HERE<-----. Things are heating up over there at StampNation with our summer Heat It Up event. There will be tutorials up all through July and part of August on different, unique ways to heat emboss. Hope to see you there!
I also wanted to let you know that winners from the Stamp of Approval Blog hop have been chosen and listed over on ---->Catherine Pooler's blog<---- . Congratulations ladies!! If you haven't ordered your
Stamp of Approval Lovely Notes Collection yet there's still time! Go ----->HERE<----- to place your order now!
Have a great day!
Wow this is amazing I had no idea that foam board was so strong♥
ReplyDeleteHow do you get your peices so smooth on the ends.. when I cut foam board the foam sort of crumbles and looks terrible. is there a trick? I've tried a hot knife and it's not much better than a regular craft knife.
ReplyDeletethanks!
I use a T-square ruler as a guide and a sharp craft knife. It doesn't cut through completely on the first pass, you may have to slide the knife down the cut two or three times because of the thickness of the foam. I noticed when my blade gets dull the cut is not as smooth. You may need to change your blade.
DeleteUse several (like maybe 5) light passes with the blade rather than trying to do it with 1 or 2 passes. That's the trick!
DeleteI know this is late but new blades are a must!
Deletei have looked at a million of these examples and have yet to find one as simple and straightforward as this one! thanks so much for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI agree!!
DeleteWonderful! Now if I could just talk IKEA into opening up a store near me so I can get the outside part, I'd try out your great instructions! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI made the ink pad storage unit! Your instructions are clear and easy to follow. I am very happy with the result and surprised at how sturdy it is. And thrilled that it cost me only $3.39 for the two foam boards plus the few glue sticks that I had on hand.
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm happy to hear it worked out for you. You sure can't beat that price can you? Thanks for the feedback!
DeleteThis is fantastic. I have been searching the web and found some expensive ink holders.
ReplyDeleteDid you find any?
DeleteI just built my own shelf using your idea! My craft knife was a little bit duller than I thought it would be, and I altered the dimensions to fit my Stampin Up ink pads. I'm so happy with the results! Thank you for the great, detailed tutorial! :-)
ReplyDeleteDo you have the dimensions to cut for the Stampin' Up pads?
DeleteI just built one for the Stampin Up ink pads but will have to re-do it, as I accidentally used 5/16" foam core, which really threw me off! I also need to put some finger holes, any ideas would be appreciated!!! Still need to do another one for the regular size stamp pads, too.
Delete@Cre8iv1- would love to have the dimensions for your ink holders for the SU Ink Pads!
DeleteWould love to have the dimensions for the SU pads as well!!
DeleteThis is such a great idea! I've looked at many do-it-yourself ideas for holding ink, but this is the best. I'll be making mine soon. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks this is si easy to follow even a cluts like yself can follow
ReplyDeleteAwesome thanks for sharing looks pretty easy per your instructions thanks again
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ReplyDeleteI love how well you explained the process. The pictures are also perfect and extremely helpful. You make it look easy! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love how well you explained the process. The pictures are also perfect and extremely helpful. You make it look easy! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI am going to make one for my stamps.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tutorial. I purchased one before finding this! I will make several to hold all the inks that I have.
ReplyDeleteI just made one of these for my distress inks and adjusted the measurements a bit. Thanks for sharing this tutorial! You did a great job explaining the process and nice outcome!!
ReplyDelete