How do you do it?

[ladyhawke]

Hi, I usually scan each card i make into my computer and they get filed into monthly folders. Whenever I do duplicate a card (same stamp, probably different design) I scan again. If I know who I'm sending it to, I add their name. If I decide to send it at a later time, I will add their name at that time. The only difficulty I have is if I were to use that stamp sometime down the road then I have to check back through the scans to make sure anyone hasn't received it before. That's the nuisance part of this system but it doesn't happen too often.

[Alice in Md]

I wish I could follow Lydia's philosphy of "Bless and release." I make about 100 identical Christmas cards both so they can be made production-line style and so I don't have to remember which card went to which person. I also send about 75 identical birthday cards to friends in a national organization I belong to. Every so often one of them will share a photo of the card on Facebook and my scheme is revealed. Clearly, I've created a monster with that plan. There are many individual cards throughout the year, too.

I do two things in an attempt to help me stay sane:
1) I use the same birthday verse inside every birthday card for that year so I don't have to worry about repeating them from year to year. I may occasionally add a "belated" message or something special inside the card or on the envelope, but the main greetings are all the same.
2) I scan the front of every "individual-specific" card I make. This lets me search by name or occasion and prevents year-to-year duplicates for birthdays, Easter, etc. It's also helpful when I want to copy myself to save time.

[pansy_luver]

I photograph every card I make. Print it as a thumbnail (multiple pictures on 1 sheet)
Under the picture I print name & occasion then place it in 3 ring binder under the tab for the year

[cheermom]

I don't worry about it! Now with that being said, last year when I got the reveal wheel die set from Lawn Fawn, I decided I would make all my friends one, all with a different front, depending on when their birthdays were. I do have a handwritten list in my stamp room that says what I made for each person and I think I have almost made each one one of those cards now . Now I'm working on pop up box cards and I may do the same thing to keep track of those .

[lesleybd]

I photograph each card and put it on Pinterest then I keep a spreadsheet of who I've sent what. That way if I have leftovers I don't send the same card to the same person the following year.

[jeanne3579]

I usually make only one of each card---even for holidays, but occasionally I really like a birthday card I make for someone, for example, and need a thank you card for my stash, so I'll make another one (maybe in another color, but maybe not). I used to make a sample of each card and write on a post it inside the colors and sizes used---much like one would on a blog or for the gallery here. Since I send out dozens of cards each month, my binders of cards got to be unwieldily. So I scanned them all in, put them in files/documents by theme and then by stamp set. When I'm recording the particulars (size, colors techniques), I add the person's name it was sent to, date sent and occasion. If I'm ever asked about it, or want to check on who got what, I can look it up. I consider it my gallery like those that post here. I'm a bit OCD, so it works for me. A search using the person's name, stamp set or occasion will turn up everything I sent that person, made for that occasion, or used that technique on. It is all on my laptop, so easily accessed whenever or wherever.

[Ohsofun]

Wow look at all the awesome responses. Thank you all so very much. I am going to try several ideas and see what works out.

Thank you all for taking the time to read and respond and to share.

Happy crafting.