Stamp Storage Organization

The organization of my clear stamp collection has been a project a few years in the making. I’ve intended a certain outcome for quite some time and keep working on it little by little. I think now is the time to finish it up.

After seeing Jennifer McGuire‘s system a few years back I decided to use the Avery Elle storage pockets and purchased them about 3 years ago. I never got around to setting it up until last year when I was refreshing my studio.

Most of my stamp sets were from Papertrey Ink and stored in the CD cases. This worked fine for me, but as I’ve collected other manufacturers, I want one place to store them and less of a footprint than the CD cases took.

So I decided on the Avery Elle pockets and Fridge Binz for storage.

I purchased badge holders to place the stamps on and slide into the pockets. I wanted something clear and sturdy, the idea came to me when I was sorting through some memorabilia and came across large badge holders from a concert. I ordered a large amount through Amazon here.

I know there is a lot of info about different type of acrylics and polymer and what is “safe” to store stamps on, etc. I am not particularly concerned about my stamps lasting forever, so it is working for now and I have not had any melting or warping issues.

One of the challenges for me with stamping/cardmaking is I can never remember what sentiments I have and where to find them. I have a lot of stamp sets that have multiple purpose sentiments. So I developed a symbol system using Web Dings in word software and set up labels to identify the stamp set.

On the label is the name of the set and the manufacturer. Then there are symbols included on the label that identify types of sentiments or graphics included in the set. This has helped me immensely because I can flip through quickly and recognize what sets have a sympathy sentiment or some type of encouraging sentiment.

After getting all the sets labeled, it was time to decide how to sort them.

I purchased plastic folders from the Dollar Tree (they have a few different designs) and cut them into 4 pieces to use as dividers. I rounded the corners at the top and used my Dymo LetraTag labelmaker to add labels to the dividers.

I divided the sets into the following categories:

Scrapbook/Journal

Food

Home/DIY

Flourish

Backgrounds/Pattern

Labels/Tags

Travel

Birthday/Celebrate

Sentiments

Alphas/123

Flowers/Nature

Animals

Christmas/Winter

Autumn/Halloween

Masculine/Boy

Feminine/Girl

Love/Wedding

Baby

It may seem like a lot, but I basically just started organically making piles of stamp collections and then decided on the categories.

So far this system has worked well for me. The bins with my stamp sets sit on the bottom of my cart facing the space where I primarily stand to create.

Due to all the clear components and labeling, everything is easy to spot, and I feel like I’m using more stamps now that I can find them easier.

For a quick video walk through, check out my YouTube channel:

Any questions? Leave a comment.

 

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Roller Stamp Storage – Magnetic Solution

I recently revamped my studio a bit. I had to get rid of some furniture that just wasn’t working. Even though it was good storage, my old computer chest was taking up too much room. Getting rid of that helped me purge a lot of supplies. I replaced it was a wall cabinet. I will do a studio tour soon.

But as I was moving things around, I needed somewhere new for my roller stamps. I have too many to keep them in my Harbor Freight revolving tray.

I read somewhere that they are magnetic, so I thought I would try to find some heavy duty magnets to attach them to the side of my drawers. My drawers are actually a rustic (think industrial farmhouse) sideboard I purchased from World Market that is no longer available.

I ordered some magnets from Amazon that were small and round. Then on Zulily one day I saw the square cube magnets and order them as well. It ended up working better with the cube magnets and I didn’t need to glue them or anything. They are strong enough to adhere the stamps to the sideboard just by the positioning of the cube.

The cube magnets can be found at alaboard.com and I’ve also seen them in Paper Source.

I have a few extra I am using on the fridge.

Happy Stamping!

December 2016 // Field Notes

‘Tis the season. I have to admit, I am not a huge Christmas lover, but I am actually feeling good about it this year. I think I’ve gotten better at cutting out the stress and just enjoying it. I feel ahead of the game as far as gift buying goes and once I finish decorating (hopefully this weekend) the house will feel more content.

I’ve skipped doing any sort of December Daily or scrapbooking project this year, but am participating in the photo challenge with Susannah Conway for #DecemberReflections2016. I like the bit of getting outside of what I normally photograph and being creative.

There are a few decorations I want to work on making, but I am just doing it as I go and I don’t really care if I actually finish by Christmas or not. Going to just use the time sitting by the fire & watching my fav classic movies to do a little crafting.

I know which cookies I am baking and will probably start next week. I start with shortbread and sugar cookies because those freeze well. I am excited to use my new oven. The old one was not keeping temperature and Home Depot had the right deal around Black Friday. Hoping I can get my baking times figured out without too many fails.

Listening: Joni Mitchell, Polar Express soundtrack, Pentatonix

Reading: Pretty Paper by Willie Nelson (I like to read a seasonal story – so far so good, I recommend it if you like music!)

Eating: Chocolate Chip Dunkers from Trader Joe’s

Watching: Elf, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, White Christmas & the Flyers!

Thankful: for B, who keeps me sane & on target all times of the year, but especially this one where I sometimes lose my mind.