Organizational {Friday} Markers on the Go

As I shared my Copic Marker articles yesterday, I thought today I would share how I plan on traveling with my markers now that I have found the amazing Snapware pieces. If you missed the Snapware post, look here. If you missed the Copic Marker articles, look here. :)

Even though I absolutely LOVE my Copics, I rarely travel with them. I think the expense keeps me from wanting to take them anywhere. :) Anyway, when I do take them, I take them in the super cute wallets I posted about here. Unfortnately, those wallets are no longer available as far as I know. Anyway, I will continue to use the wallets for my Copics.

Now, that being said, I just purchased the Tombow Dual Brush Pens. I did not have any water-based markers, and I really wanted a set to use for my classes since the store carries them also. I also want to color directly onto my stamps, and you cannot do that with Copics. So, now that my Tombows are here, and I will be traveling with them a lot, I wanted to share with you how I will store and travel with them.

Storage
I am going to store these markers in this piece of Snapware. The top tray holds marker numbers 0-600's. The second tray holds marker numbers 700-N's, and the bottom tray holds several other goodies we will go over separately in a moment. Here is how my container looks:

Now, let's look specificially at the bottom tray. This tray contains my waterbrush, a Mist-It filled with water, a blender pen, scrap computer paper for scribbles and such (in the pink binder clip), and a copy of my swatches (secured with the metal ring). There is also plenty of room for a few stamps and ink pads.
Keeping everything stored liked this makes it easy for me to carry around the house and use or to "grab & go" to class! Also, the swatch sheets are invaluable to me! We will look at why below. So far, I am loving this!

Swatch Sheets
Swatch sheets are invaluable. I use my swatch book for EVERYTHING! I have shared many of my swatches here for other crafting items before. I think a future "Organizational {Friday}" post will go into detail each swatch contained in my book! But for now, let's look at what I did with this particular swatch sheet.

First, Tombow does not have the marker color name on the barrel of the pen. It only contains the color number thus my swatch sheet is in numerical order. Next to the number, I noted the color name, then a swatch of the marker, and a swatch of the marker blended with a bit of water. Note, I just used regular computer cardstock so the "water swatches" do not look that great. Anyway, here is what I now have in my swatch book:

I always refer to the swatches first when choosing what markers I will use for a creation. Then when I choose which colors I will use, it's easy to find them by the barrel number on the pen. That is why I have them stored by number in each tray. It's really quick and easy to find the pen(s) I am looking for.

Next, I made a photocopy of each swatch page. I just let the copy print on regular computer paper. I put the copies in page protectors, clipped them together with a metal ring, and I keep that in the bottom tray of my container. This makes it very easy to have swatches with me without taking my entire swatch book. I also don't have to create a second set. The photocopy was really true to color. Also, if I lose this set or it gets messed up in any way, it will be easy to copy the original again. I was quite impressed with the photocopy. Keeping it on the ring keeps them together yet makes it easy to flip through the pages. Compare the photocopies below with the originals in the photo above. Can you tell a difference?
So, I hope you find today's post helpful. The Snapware and swatch sheets can be done used for ANY markers you have. Enjoy, and happy coloring!