Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
I either stamp the set on a sheet of paper or cut that page from a catalog of all my SU stamps and keep them on 8.5x11" paper in a page protector. Each set is labeled and I group them according to backgrounds, wheels, text only, holidays, etc.
For the boxes, I use the tiny circular stickers you can buy at Staples and code my boxes (red=retired, yellow=text only, blue=holiday...) Then I organize the stamps in their categories. Makes finding things much easier.
I have been stamping for over 10 years and have so many SU stamp sets that I can't remember where a stamp is that I want. I do not want to get rid of stamps, I just want a good way to quickly remind myself what set a particular stamp is in. I would like to hear your suggestions.
Check out my youtube video TC's Paper Blessings.Hope this helps
Wavejumper, I don't have a master index. I don't think of my sets by name very often, so I didn't put them in alpha order. My older SU sets are in the front of the Image ring binder and other brands have been fitted in by category. Same with my Sentiments ring binder.
I enjoy strolling through the binders and getting ideas. The sets have been in the same order for so long I don't have any trouble finding what I want.
I get so frustrated with computer stuff, I don't think I would ever try Evernote.
Sorry, I had not seen this before..
I am old school and low tech...so I have stamped off all my stamps on copy paper and put them in 3 ring binders by subject. I was told to do this by my first stamping teacher. I dont know if she knew about Evernote.
-It lets me know the stamp stamps cleanly for one thing.
-It primes the stamp for when I am ready to make a card by inking and cleaning it
-I work by subject not brand. Like I want to make a birthday card-I dont care whose it is, just that it fits the person.
-Sadly I didnt write down the brand/stamp name in the beginning.
I am with you. I like flipping the pages. I think of it as my own personal "catalogue". I didnt do the page protectors though. If I had colored them I would have. Sometimes I wish I had. Just all the black images can get lost...
Wavejumper, I also have all my stamps on copy paper stored in 3 ring binders and they have the stamp's name and manufacturer and I've colored them in. I have 2 binders, one is for holidays:Valentine's, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas and the other is for everything else by categories. I started doing this when I first started stamping 30 years ago. My first catalogue was a spiral bound notebook and I outgrew that after 10 years and started over on copy paper. I spend time going through it for ideas and to find stamps that I've never used or not used in a long time. New stamps don't get put away until they're stamped in the binders.
I try to keep all the stamps "in my brain" but it is difficult with so many. I have notebooks with printed images of the sets (filed alphabetically) but that doesn't really help with a certain Stampin Up set has a variety of images that fit into multiple categories. I do keep my Stampin Up sets in their original cases and, like others, have drawers labeled with things like: "Christmas & Winter"; "Nature & Floral"; "Sentiments"; etc.
When I am at home I like flipping the pages so I am working on an index binder of my stamp sets. The current ones have been so easy to do and I feel so confident in knowing what I have and what coordinates with each set as I have noted coordinating punches, dies, papers, and embossing folders on each stamp set's index page (I do 2 sets per page).
So now I've completed the easy part and am preparing to index the older sets I have. Is there an electronic way to capture the images of the old stamp sets at their true size? I'd love to think there would be a way to copy and paste the old sets into my format. I have found old catalogs online but have had problems copying them at their true size. Can anyone give me some advice?
If I remember right the Stampin Up catalog shows stamps actual size (unless they note it in the catalog..."Shown 80% size"). If you have a scanner or copier, you could grab their images.
For non-catalog stamps, I stamp them on copy paper for my notebook.
I have one notebook for Sentiments and one for Images. There is some mix and some are in both notebooks. I use the notebooks A LOT when searching for the right sized Happy Birthday, or whatever.
Wish I had known about this app last weekend!! I spent the good part of a day categorising my stamps on an excel spreadsheet with key words for the image and sentiments. So now I can extract those stamps with sentiments that say hi, for example. I also have an indicator for whether the stamp was used or not. The exercise of categorising them made me realise how many stamps I have already collected and not used!!!
I have a composition book, split up into the alphabet, ink colors, big shot, markers and punches. Every time I buy a stamp set, I enter the name of it under the appropriate tab and record the company. I had thought about stamping the index cards with each image, but decided that's a lot of work. I have my stamps stored in the SU boxes in tubs or totes according to subject. Also, in that comp book, I also write in what each set's subjects are, like birthday, balloons, happy, etc. This seems to work quite well for me, and I can take the book to parties, plus it doesn't take up storage on my phone. thanks so much for all the ideas!
For I think 9 years of having found stamps/stamping online. I went online in 2004 when DD started school. Just a small collection of stamps here so I keep them in a plastic 3 tier mini chest size of the drawers would fit a pair of 3 year old toddlers shoes.One drawer has all my Christmas stamps and its full. Second drawer has all my herbal/floral/nature stamps and its 2/3 full. The third is everything else plus 3 sets of inchies stamps. The woodblock rubberstamps I only have 11 one of which is Xmas and very big so those I keep on display in my craft area. Save for a few that came in a goodybox I remember like 98% of what I have in stamps and most get used.When I had way less and just few year of stamps I had an icecream plastic tub square sectioned with index cards and the stamps upright in sections.
I use my smart phone with an app called My Stuff Pro. It's a pretty cheap and easy to use database program. It allows you to save photos and links for each entry, tags like Wverbote but it is much more functional even allowing you to add a count feature (scary!!) and last used date. I didn't used to use that last feature but I'm diligent about adding the info now so I can see what I'm using and what I'm not. You can have categories like stamps, paints, inks, tools etc. I'd be lost without it. I've only logged about 60% of my stamps and I'm up to 6200! Ahh!! With the tags I can always find all of my thank you sentiments, little tiny heart stamps and with the location added, I can always find them too! I highly recommend it. NAYY
I'm trying MyStuff Lite to test it out. I don't see the barcode scanning so maybe that comes with the Pro version. When you say you have 6200 so far, do you mean you are logging each individual stamp or each stamp set? Does the Barcode system work for all brands of stamps? Thanks.
Since your post was a while ago, I want to ask you if you still use Evernote for cataloging your stamping supplies. If not, what have you gone to?Thanks.
Evernote wouldn't be my thing. I don't like putting apps and things on my phone nor do I want to boot up my computer to look for images. One of these days I should sit down and stamp out all my stamps. That will be quite the task. But I do store most of all my stamps by theme rather than manu. and/or set.
I have a lot of the silicone sets like Studio G and other $1 ones and inkandinkado and always took those apart and redid them in themes on laminate sheets. Thinking back, I should've done it a bit different so it was easier to add new stamps or move some around but I thought my system was pretty great and liked it. And I put so much into it I won't change it now. LOL I still quite like it - it's the not being able to change/move things that's the down side.
While I have a pretty good idea of many of the stamps, it's hard to remember them all. And also since I have them in multiple places because they are different types (clear, rubber cling, wood mount) it would be helpful to have a binder to see what I have for a particular category rather than look in 3 places for, for example, a Christmas themed stamp. And I could do separate pages for images and sentiments.
I keep thinking about this but the idea of actually doing it is rather daunting at this point. I know I should just 'eat the elephant a bite at a time'. But man, it's still an elephant! LOL
I do have a small binder that I've got images of all my embossing folders (and I have a LOT) and that works really well. But that was easier as I just found images online with exception of some I ended up having to take pics of, put them in folders and then used adobe's contact sheet command to arrange them on a page and print them off. I do keep those in a sort of theme order so I occasionally have to move images around and print off new sheets if I get new folders. As a matter of fact, I have to do it again. I hit the mother lode at a Goodwill. LOL
Never occurred to me to check Goodwill for stamping supplies.
Hmmmmm........
I actually have better luck at the Salvation Army store for craft stuff but occasionally I've come across some good things at GW. I got super lucky that day. I don't go regularly and that wasn't even a local one.
In my area GoodWill, Salvation Army, etc. don't take crafting supplies - or so their websites say.
That would be a shame. Never hurts to go in and poke around though.
I just checked a couple Goodwill sites by a quick google - a couple not in my region and the one that is. None of them mention crafts either way.
It was harder to find info for Salvation Army. I found an article about it, but not by the organization, that says you can't donate magazines. I know my local Salvation Army takes them, I've seen them in the store. I'm not sure about other titles but they definitely have craft ones. (It was also quite an old article.)
The rules probably vary by area, etc. Like I said, I couldn't find any mention of crafts either way. I would also find it odd if they didn't take ANY. I'd go in and poke around. Also because I've gotten things to use in my scraproom for storage, too.
My stamp sets are sorted into categories, so finding trees, geometrics, sentiments, etc., is easy, and I remember most. Or many - sometimes I see one that surprises me.
But I don't remember enough stamps that can be used outside of sets - sentiments, little random shapes, or oddballs. For example I have a housekeeping set but it includes my favorite wonky cat stamp. I remember it because I've used it a lot, but there are other stamp misfits I don't remember offhand.
I don't break up sets and Evernote or other computer programs aren't my cuppa. So I think I need to go through each set and stamp the versatile and misfit stamps on category pages, noting which set they're in. IOW, I don't need to keep track of the main sets - the major players - just the minor ones - the misfits or "versatiles."
They're mostly sentiments and little shapes so maybe it would be less burdensome than I think. Ha.
I am not doing well at all lately in finding stamp sets. I have tried to sort them by category, but now they don't seem to be in the category that I expected. Oh my. bjeans, can you give me your complete list of categories, please.
I stamp all my stamps on an "index page", and mark what CD case # drawer # or Stuff-tainers # the stamps are in. I then stamp a second time if there is different categories that the stamps can be used in - i.e. sewing, wing things, etc. I do have 8 binders - one binder is just Christmas focal image stamps, and use binder dividers for Santa, Reindeers, Greens, etc. Then one binder is Christmas Sentiments and has binder index tabs in the front for Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - the type of stamps used on the front of cards. Then I have the inside message type stamps and binder tabs for Religious, Our family to yours, etc. Binders for scenic - all trees, mountains, etc. The biggest binder is General and has divider tabs for Ladies, Men, Kids (which is anything kid related), Baby, Pets which is pet sympathy and new pet welcomes, etc. There is a separate binder for birthdays. Some stamps only get stamped once if it only pertains to one section of the binders. A lot of work to set up, but has saved me so many headaches and so much time over the years. And I never put a new stamp or stamp set away until after the index page has been stamped and its location marked. All stamped images have the CD case # identified. I can find any of my cazillion stamps in a very short time.
I just got so tired of not being able to find the stamps I knew I had somewhere. And with the index pages stamped, it also helps you to remember what stamps you have. I also like having the stamped images instead of a digital image so that I can see the actual size of the stamp and know if it will work on the card/project I am working on.
Anyone who's been around SCS for a bit knows that I have a...fetish?...obsession?...proclivity? for re-inventing the wheel periodically on both organizing and indexing my stamps. Whatever label you want to slap on my weirdness (I can recognize), I have to keep TWEAKING the system until it is actually FUNCTIONAL for the way I think/work! That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Here's what I'm doing now, and hoping that I'm finally DONE:
All IMAGES are stamped full size on ATC-sized cards (2 1/2" x 3 1/2" - if the image is larger, I just stamp the most pertinent part) and tucked into trading card pages by category (flowers, hearts, bunnies, etc.) in binders. This is the index I go to when I know exactly what I'm looking for.
All FULL STAMP SETS are scanned and reduced to ATC size and tucked into trading card pages by manufacturer (roughly alphabetical, but not obsessively so). This is the index I go to when I want to peruse possibilities. NOTE: I give away stamps that I know I will not use - or use again - so sometimes I have only one or two stamps from a set, or I'm missing a few, or whatever. You will notice this in the first thumbnail of "full sets" - that's as "full" as they currently are...
All SENTIMENTS are stamped full size on ATC cards and tucked into trading card pages by category (sympathy, birthday, etc. - if they can cross categories, I just put it in the one I'm most likely to use it for. I have plenty of stamps for whatever the "other" could possibly be.)
All images and over-sized sentiments are on laminated sheets in sleeves and stored by manufacturer in the same order as the index. All sentiments are on slightly-smaller-than-ATC laminated cards and tucked behind the appropriate stamped card in the sentiment binders.
Why I'm doing it this way: I tend to approach things from multiple angles, and so multiple binders works for me. I gave Evernote a try, but it's just not for me. (I still prefer actual books to my Kindle, too, although I have a lot of books on that portable device) There are multiple ways to store images and they all pretty much work, but I had issues tracking down sentiments and/or keeping them on larger laminated sheets. It just made sense to follow Shazsilverwolf's lead and tuck them right in the pockets of the pages where they were indexed. I've added a few photos for reference, if they're helpful. (Yes, I know my stamps are stained - that just means they're USED!) Sorry this turned into such a long post...
__________________ ~ Sue Happy for no reason...
Last edited by gregzgurl; 03-29-2018 at 03:11 PM..
Reason: Add a note for clarification
I am not doing well at all lately in finding stamp sets. I have tried to sort them by category, but now they don't seem to be in the category that I expected. Oh my. bjeans, can you give me your complete list of categories, please.
Hi, and I'm sorry I missed your post. I'd be glad to - and hope others do too - but think that your categories and mine will be different with some overlap.
I think categories would reflect the kinds of stamps we have, how many of different types we have, and most of all how we think.
If someone doesn't make many cards with flowers, trees or leaves, maybe they'd put those few stamps in one category called Nature or Garden. I have lots of those stamps so have all three categories. And if I end up with tons more leaves, maybe I'd split that category into leaves, and leaves-funky or leaves-contemporary.
Sentiments is an obvious category, but mine are split into sentiments, sentiments - offbeat, and standard occasions.
A suggestion might be that every time you think about what type of stamp you want to use, jot down what first comes to mind. If you do that for a while you've got a good handle on some categories.
I have learned that having either too many or too few categories makes it difficult to find stamps. : )
I’m just in the process of organising my stamps. I’ve begun with my clear stamps, and if I live long enough (lol !!), I’ll then do my rubber unmounted, followed by wood mounted (which I plan to remove from the wood). My clear stamps were stored in Really Useful Boxes, and I must admit, when I got them out, the first thing I noticed was that 90% of them are unused and still in their original packaging. The second thing is that, yes, I had forgotten about many of them. I even found some which I have on my “wish list”, only to discover I actually already have them !! It has been like visiting my very own stamp store ! After reading posts on here, I decided Evernote was the way forward for me. So far, I have either found images on the web, or photographed them, and to date I have entered over 300 sets of stamps. Once they are entered I plan to put them in Avery Elle pockets, and in storage bins rather than back in the Really Useful Boxes with lids. I have a notebook where I write down any good Storage ideas I find on here/Pinterest etc. I also record where I buy my supplies from and the best prices. Still deciding on categories, but so far have Cute, Nature, Sentiments, Alphabets, Wedding, Vintage/collage, “winged things”, ladies\fashion, animals though these could change. Just reading what bjeans does, and I do also like the idea of indexing my stamps onto ATC cards. This could be a job for the future. At the moment I’m happy to persevere, but as there is no “one size fits all”, I may tweak it, especially when I read another good idea on here !!
So impressed at your hard work. It's odd how much I don't want to use Evernote, given my comfort level with computers, and even enjoyment. But as you say, one size does not fit all, especially if this "all" is weird.
And I think your "winged things" is my favorite category ever!
I found a big shot at Goodwill for $25. Have never seen stamps there, though.
I use Evernote, and I did pay the fee. I love it for a lot of different reasons, one being that it syncs between my computer and my phone so I have it with me everywhere. If I am at a store and see stamps on clearance I can look on my phone and see if I have it or if I have something so close to it that it would be redundant.
I have folders labeled dies, stamps, embossing, inks, markers, and so on. Everything is categorized by company and the order in which I purchased it, so SU-37 is We Must Celebrate, Hero-4 is Spoken Bird, etc. They are filed alphabetically and then by number. So if I want an image of a shoe I just type in "shoe" and it comes up with every shoe stamp I have.
Each note has the title, and then also how many pieces are in it, whether it is rubber, clear mount, or photopolymer, etc., and also a photo of the set. I have recently started putting the month/year I purchased it and how much I paid.
It has tags with keywords that cover each image and sentiment, and also ideas - for instance if I think a set would be good for a new baby card it says baby, it might also say birthday, anniversary, etc. Some sets have 30 tags, probably.
Then it has pictures. A picture of the stamp set and/or image, as well as pictures of things I have made using that stamp set, and images CASE'd off the internet for ideas (with attribution when available).
All in one convenient app that goes with me everywhere on my phone. I love Evernote. It replaced 4 binders and a lot of tedious page turning. And since I didn't take my binders with me everywhere I went I bought duplicates more than I care to admit!
bjeans, thanks for your helpful advice. I will start to think about my categories as you said. Maybe that will get me going in the right direction.
Keeping a pad and pen handy when thinking about what you want to stamp may help catch thoughts.
I forgot to list categories and again am not where the stamps are so here's what I remember: Alphas, Words, Sentiments, Offbeats (sentiments), Flowers, Trees, Leaves, Sky Stuff (clouds, suns, rainbows, moons), Critters, Occasions (birthday/anniversary/etc.), Holidays, Buildings, Geometric (my largest category except for Sentiments)... I'm likely missing a few.
Full coverage Background stamps are in a larger Interdesign bin so they don't need a category tab.
I have seen people mention here and in other threads when creating their index/inventory "how hard it is to decide which category to put a stamp in." Why not put a stamp in more than one place. When I look at a stamp and X Y & Z come to mind then I list it in all 3 categories. This way I am listening to my self and how my mind works.
I also tend to have sub-categories within my sub-categories but then I am a list kind of person.
I have seen people mention here and in other threads when creating their index/inventory "how hard it is to decide which category to put a stamp in." Why not put a stamp in more than one place. When I look at a stamp and X Y & Z come to mind then I list it in all 3 categories. This way I am listening to my self and how my mind works.
I also tend to have sub-categories within my sub-categories but then I am a list kind of person.
That is exactly why I started using Evernote! I found myself stamping the same stamp on so many multiple pages because I couldn't pick just one category, or even two or three! Now I just "tag" it with everything that comes to mind.
I have seen people mention here and in other threads when creating their index/inventory "how hard it is to decide which category to put a stamp in." Why not put a stamp in more than one place. When I look at a stamp and X Y & Z come to mind then I list it in all 3 categories. This way I am listening to my self and how my mind works.
I also tend to have sub-categories within my sub-categories but then I am a list kind of person.
I rarely have trouble deciding where a stamp should go as mine are divided by broad themes such as animals, flowers, leaves, trees, snowflakes, texture, etc. That way it makes no difference if I want to make a sympathy card, a birthday card or a thinking of you; I can use the same flower, leaf, tree for all of them, just in a different manner or with different colors. I always break sets up, which makes it easier. If I tried to keep sets together, I would never be able to find what I need.
I don't index my stamps (though may eventually just for sentiments that aren't in the sentiment sections). And deciding where to put a set usually isn't an issue. But I occasionally write a note(s) or make a copy(ies) of the stamp set and place it in different sections of the stamp bin.
So if the stamp set lives in Buildings, but has a tree I really like, I'll put a piece of CS in the Tree section that references the set in Buildings. Or I'll make a copy of the set and stick that in the Tree section.
I have seen people mention here and in other threads when creating their index/inventory "how hard it is to decide which category to put a stamp in." Why not put a stamp in more than one place. When I look at a stamp and X Y & Z come to mind then I list it in all 3 categories. This way I am listening to my self and how my mind works.
I also tend to have sub-categories within my sub-categories but then I am a list kind of person.
I use an Excel spreadsheet and just add categories if one of my stamps doesn't fit into anything I already have listed. I list a description of the image and the sentiments and then assign the stamp to categories such as Birthday / Congrats / Mother's Day / Thanksgiving/ Easter/ Christmas / Welcome / Encouragement etc.
I try to keep all of a certain type of stamp together (physically): Sentiments, Easter, Christmas, Travel .. except for background stamps which I keep separately.
I have had ridiculous amounts of "down time" at work lately - we're between projects and so my role as a project engineer is more-or-less on hold - so I've had to find ways to stay busy while I hold my chair to the floor (hey, they're paying me to be here, so I'm here).
I don't know what possessed me, but I brought my binder that has pics of entire stamp sets with me and went page by page, typing out ALL of the sentiments for each. I went manufacturer by manufacturer and put them all in an Excel spreadsheet.
After I finished that, I made a list of categories and went back and found every sentiment that would fit into the categories I'd listed and put them into a Word document. Initially I went category by category, but found that to be too tedious, so I just went company by company and jumped around on my document to the different categories to plug them in. If there were multiple companies that had the same sentiment (Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas and many others), I just put all of the abbreviations I was using for the companies in parentheses at the end of the sentiment. Example: Merry Christmas (CTMH, SU, I, POD)
After that, I grouped the categories together under several umbrella categories. I did a LOT of cutting-and-pasting to move things around so I could print them off the way I wanted them.
The result - after almost two weeks of playing with this project in between the (very) few work-related tasks I had to do - is that I now have a complete catalog of every sentiment that I own. The stamps themselves are already in binders as mentioned above (#66), and they are pretty much already in the categories I ended up with. I may have to move a few, but not many.
I realize that this was a ridiculously labor-intensive project and I probably wouldn't have done it if I didn't have so much down time that I couldn't fill another way. It would be a bit too obvious if I hauled in my MISTI and markers and ATG, so I opted not to do that, lol...
I've attached the "table of contents" and abbreviations, just so you could get an idea of how it's organized. I formatted the sheets so that I can cut them in half to put in the 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" sheet protectors that I already have a bizillion of...
__________________ ~ Sue Happy for no reason...
Last edited by gregzgurl; 04-19-2018 at 02:04 PM..
Reason: Add an attachment
