I wanted to create some die storage that would be easily accessible for dies I use often, which are mainly my sentiment dies.

Stampin’ Up Wood Stamp Empty Case- You need a specific kind of Stampin’ Up case, not the older ones that has the opening at the front of the case, the opening is in the middle. If you are looking for these, you can find them on ebay, here’s a link to one that has cases, https://tinyurl.com/8tsedxrd Here’s another single stamp and case: https://tinyurl.com/2jj8vft3

If you don’t want to buy a case like this, you can also use a zipped 3 ring binder. I buy mine at thrift stores and garage sales, but here’s some links to ones I found online. Amazon- https://tinyurl.com/yc5nzuuj and Ebay -https://tinyurl.com/mw7dm4pe

Magnetic vent covers: Amazon : https://tinyurl.com/ywde8b52 I checked Home Depot and their price is the same as Amazons.

Hole Punch- Most 3 ring binders require 1/4″ hole punches, but some can require a larger hole. I found a 10 mm hole punch that will work great. https://tinyurl.com/38cs6kdp You need a bigger hole punch when you are using the magnetic sheets, as you need to push a key ring through the magnetic sheets and they can be tricky if your holes are too small. You can try a smaller hole punch, but be prepared to go bigger for easier usage.

I liked the idea of using the Stampin’ Up case I had on hand because I could decorate the cover easily, by sliding papers under the plastic packaging. But even though I’ve seen people use Tim Holtz Idea-Ology ring binders, I couldn’t close my case once I put them inside. I’m not sure if it was because of the magnets I attached inside the case, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t close the case….until, I took the rings out from Tim Holtz, and instead used two individual rings that are 1″ or 1 1/4″ across…Dollar Tree sells them, link: https://www.dollartree.com/book-rings-in-assorted-sizes/188668

To cover the Stampin’ Up case, you’ll need three pieces of decorated papers, one for the end that’s 1 1/4″ by 7 1/8″ and two pieces for the front and back that are 5″ wide by 7 1/8″ tall. You’ll need to cut the magnetic sheets to 5″ wide by 7″ tall to fit in the case, and you’ll need a piece of heavy cardstock to layer between two magnetic sheets that is also 5 x 7″. I used tear tape to attach them to each other.

If you are using a 3 ring zipped binder, cut your magnetic sheets to 11″ long and leave them their normal width, which is 8″. You’ll cut your heavy weight cardstock to 8″ by 11″ to fit inside the zipped binder. Put tear tape on both sides of the cardstock to adhere the magnetic sheets to them and make the magnetic sheets more stable. The normal size of magnetic sheets are 8″ x 15″, so when you cut them to 11″ long, you’ll have 4″ of sheet leftover. Put these pieces together in a pile and then you can attach them to 8″ x 11″ cardstock and cut one of them from 4″ to 3″ so you can fit three pieces on one piece of cardstock butted up to each other like I did on the back of my case. You can find somewhere to use the 1″ leftovers as well.

When using a 2 or 3 ring binder, you’ll want to lay the magnetic sheet so it is centered top and bottom in the binder (after you’ve cut it to the length you need for your particular binder or stamp case) and make a mark with a pencil next to the rings, making sure the marks are long enough to push your punch in as far as it will go and still be able to see the marks through the hole of your punch. Punch the holes on one magnetic sheet, then use this as a template and lay it over the cardstock and draw a circle through the holes you punched and do the same for the rest of the magnetic sheets then adhere them with the white side of the sheet facing the cardstock and the black or dark gray side facing out.

If you’re using the Stampin’ Up cases, use the book rings you’d buy at Dollar Tree and decide where you want the holes. I suggest 2″ from the top and 2″ from the bottom and pushing your hole punch as far as you can so your holes aren’t close to the edge of the sheets. Once you’ve punched one magnetic sheet, use that as a template and laying it over the cardstock, mark where the holes are, and do the same with the other magnetic sheets. Once all of your papers and sheets are punched, put them together with the white sides of the magnets facing the cardstock and the dark gray side facing out. Open your rings and put the sheets in, close the rings, then lay your dies on the sheets. Whatever you use to hold your dies, make sure it has an enclosure for the entire surround, so you don’t lose any dies. It can be a zipper or a case, but it has to enclose the sheets entirely.

I wish my original plan had worked, but in the end, I was happy with using the rings from Dollar Tree and leaving the sheets loose in the case. I think I’d try the 1″ rings first, as they will stand up in the Stampin’ Up case vs the 1 1/4″ that I used that had to lay flat.

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