Creative Containers For Crafting Chaos

Have your craft materials run amok? Flea markets are loaded with clever (and cheap) storage solutions. Just get creative!
©2007-2008 The O’Neil Sisters, All Rights Reserved
As seen in
Crafts 'n Things
magazine
Do you have yarn fuzz on your double-stick tape and sequins stuck in your craft punches? You’re not alone! Our studios are so jammed with stamps, stencils, and stickers, we sometimes spend more time looking for supplies than crafting! So we hit the flea market to find ingenious ways to store everything––from tiny brads to bulky batting. And once you see our favorite finds, you’ll want to drop your bead sorting and get thee to a swap meet!

Click each picture to see our favorites.
Can The Chaos Nothing adds comical color to a craft corner like a vintage Crisco can! Quirky printed tins are a swap meet staple, and at $3 to $10 apiece they are a steal. Look for fun containers like “Marshmallow Fluff,” “Pik-Nik Potato Chips,” and “Yummy Malted Milk.”Jump For Jars Do your crafting doo-dads resemble your junk drawer? Then start a collection of Mason jars to store them all. At just $5 each, Ball Jars keep your buttons separate from your bottle caps, while adding an artsy look to your space.Coop Up Your Clutter We love a kooky find like this chicken coop. For around $125, you can bring a little whimsy into your workspace while getting your provisions in proper pecking order. Use large storage bins like these to hold chunky materials like candle molds and beeswax bricks.Get a Clear Vision Hatboxes are tops for storing faux flowers, paint tubes, and fabric. These classy containers stack nicely and lend an air of sophistication to your studio––an admirable feat at only $10 to $20. Solid ones from the 40s are trés chic, but clear ones eliminate the need for labels.Put Your Junk in a Trunk Steamer trunks are abundant at the flea market and cost as little as $50. Pack one with bulky items like batting and pillow inserts, then use the lid as an extra surface. Or display a handsome one open to show off the handcrafted drawers. Then fill it with oceans of notions!Get a Great Crate If you only buy one item at the swap meet, make it a five-dollar wooden crate. You can hang it on the wall to hold small bottles of glitter, sequins, and rhinestones. Or stack crates to create a virtual set of drawers. The compartments will keep your pom pom from your rickrack.Galvanize Your Projects If you have multiple knitting projects going at once, you know how hard it is to keep them all separate. So snatch up a few buckets the next time you’re at the flea market. These handy containers keep yarns from getting tangled, they’re portable, and they're easy to put away!Be a Cubby Scout An old post office box is a born organizer with all those cubbies! For $100 to $150, you can have the ultimate cabinet for your craft tools. Store your glue gun in one slot and your soldering iron in another.Stop The Presses! If you’ve yearned for the perfect bead organizer—one with a hundred small compartments—let us introduce you to the vintage printer’s tray. These large, wooden trays were designed to hold printing press letters so they are divided into dozens of nooks and crannies.
Turn a boring chest of drawers into a celebration of arts and crafts with our
Flea Market Makeover!
©The O’Neil Sisters 2008