serving pieces as scrapbook supply storage

I've been on the lookout for the last few weeks for a tiered serving tray or cupcake stand to use as open storage for some of my most-reached-for scrapbooking supplies (especially after reading this post by Maggie Holmes). I originally considered this one from Williams Sonoma, but my local store doesn't have it in stock and I'm too cheap to pay almost $10 just for shipping to get it to me.

I'm really, really glad that they didn't have it in stock, though, because a couple of weekends ago when I was visiting my family for Father's Day I had the chance to wander through HomeGoods for a bit (insert pouty face here because we don't have one in Huntsville), and I found two smaller pieces that are working out better than one large one ever would have.

These two new guys were about $16 each, and they're a perfect fit for my Cricut table (not to mention really easily moved for times when I want to, you know, actually use the Cricut).

I love, love, love the turquoise color on this guy, and he holds so much!! All of my baker's twines fit nicely (I ended up winding my stuff from The Twinery around manila tags because the skeins knotted up so easily) in rainbow order with room for a couple of bigger spools and my I-Rock stuff in the back.

I also love that this piece has raised sides to keep my color mist bottles from tipping over and falling off (especially when I move it to, you know, actually use the Cricut). I plan to adhere some white dot stickers to the tops and spray then with the color in each bottle so it's easier to locate the one I need by just looking at the lids.

There's plenty of room for my mist collection to expand, and on the backside of the bottom tray I've also tossed in my stamping stuff (what little of it I have). I prefer to stick to smaller ink pads so they take up less space.

I love the shape of this two-tiered basket (originally for serving bread, maybe?).

The top basket is perfect for all of my decorative tapes. Some of them are small enough to fall through the bottom of the basket, though, so I'm going to cut a piece of chipboard to fit (when I have time) and prevent that in the future.

The bottom corrals my most-used punches. The Martha Stewart butterfly and Fiskars cloud punches will pretty much be permanent residents, and I also have some beachy-themed stuff in there because I'm working on so many vacation pages at the moment. Those will get changed out from time to time.

In the end this setup has two great advantages- it keeps my most-used supplies within easy reach, and the supplies themselves are so pretty that they make great decorations!

I've also got another solution rolling around in my head to keep buttons handy. I might have time to implement it this weekend and will be back to share it super soon if I do!