Sponge Dauber Storage and Vacation Photos

Hello! I've had a few questions lately about how I store my Jumbo Sponge Daubers, so I thought I would post a picture. I found this plastic storage bin at Joann's and the daubers fit in it just perfectly. It came with a lid, but that just got in the way, so I removed it. I have two of them stacked one on top of the other, that I keep in the drawer right next to me. I use my daubers on almost every card, so having them easily accessible is very handy. The top tray of daubers in my drawer is dedicated to Memento inks, and the bottom tray is for inks I use less often.

I also get asked a lot if I have a dauber for each ink color. The answer is almost. Since I use Memento inks most of the time, I have a dedicated sponge dauber for almost every color, with the only exceptions being the few colors I don't use often. Cottage Ivy, for example, I don't use very often, so when I do, I just use my Bamboo Leaves sponge dauber.

Another question I get asked is do I wash the sponge daubers. Nope, too lazy. But they can be washed with a tiny bit of soap and water. Although, darker inks will stain the sponge, as long as you wash it (and let it dry), you can use lighter inks with the same dauber. If you are just starting to collect Jumbo Sponge Daubers, maybe just get one or two for each color family. One for yellows, one for blues, one for reds, etc. Or maybe two per colors, one light and one dark. I think I ordered around 5-7 and got by with that many for a several months without having to wash them. Just keep in mind if you have been sponging dark blue and want to switch to light blue, sponge off on scratch paper to get most of the dark ink off, before inking up the lighter color. But don't go from one color to a completely different color or your colors might get muddy.

Lately, I have started adding the smaller sponge daubers to my collection and there is just enough room beside each Jumbo Sponge Dauber to fit the coordinating color.

Tip - if you have a label machine, you can print up labels for each color and place them inside the handles of the Jumbo Sponge Daubers. That way they don't wear off from repeated use. I used to have mine labeled back when I used SU inks, but I haven't gotten around to making new ones. 

Edited to add - Someone asked if I prefer Memento Inks to SU and the answer is yes. I find Memento Inks to be more saturated in color and better at blending. I also find don't have to re-ink my Memento pads nearly as often as I did the SU ink pads. That said, I used SU with no problem for a long time before I tried Memento, so I don't think it is necessary to go out and buy an entire collection of new ink pads.  (But I definitely love Memento!) The same commenter also asked what my top 10 favorite Memento colors are. They are Cantaloupe, Bamboo Leaves, Grape Jelly, Danube Blue, Tangelo, Rich Cocoa, Rose Bud, Potter's Clay, New Sprout and, of course, Tuxedo Black.

That is all that is crafty in this post. I made a card today, but still need to edit some photos, I'll get it posted earlyish on Tuesday. Below are a few photos from our vacation if you are interested…

When Mike and I went to the Riviera Maya in Mexico last year, we had such a great time, we knew we wanted to go back and take our daughter along. So since it is her school break, we decided to go just after the holidays. This is the entrance to a cenote (a natural underground pool) near the Mayan ruins of Coba. There was just a small opening with stairs going down.

It was like another world below. Just like being in a cave, with the stalactites and stalagmites, but filled with a pool of water. It was beautiful and so tranquil to swim in. There were even some fish.

I loved the little spider monkey from our last visit so much, we decided to visit a local monkey rescue sanctuary. Even though they are an endangered animal, many people keep them as pets when they are babies, but find they don't make good pets as adults. Since they were raised as pets, they cannot be returned to the wild, so this rescue group takes in abandoned (and sometimes abused or injured) monkeys. To raise money for food and veterinary care, they offer a few private tours a week and we were lucky enough to get to visit while we were there.

They were so fun. They climbed all over us, looking for treats. Some of them were very greedy and pried our fingers open to see if we were holding any food. The younger ones especially wanted to be cuddled.

After all the food was gone, this one decided I needed a new hairdo. She spent a long time grooming me. By the time she finished I looked like Cousin It from The Adams Family.

I can never get enough snorkeling. We found this little guy at a lagoon called Yal Ku.

Another fish at Yal Ku. Most of our underwater photos were murky, but these few turned out great.

Just a pretty flower from the gardens at our resort.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope your day is fantastic!