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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.
I started with Stampin Up and have many other wood block stamps. I have the SU sets in their plastic boxes. I have plastic storage carts with drawers. "Flowers" in a drawer. "Elements" in another. "Nature and Variety with words" when that got full I added a "Nature" drawer. "Seasonal and Fun" fill another. "Word Sets" fill 3 drawers.
THEN I got Not-mounted sets. Got another wide storage cart and filled that....mostly unsorted. I do have all my birthday stamps together. Background stamps fill a wide drawer.....otherwise, I just remember where the clear stamps are.
I've been buying more of other brands than SU recently. They don't seem to be keeping up with many trends I like.
Forgot to say that I have 3 ring binders with page protectors and stamped the pages with each set of all brands I have. Recently made pages for the background stamps....stamping a piece of each one to save room...4 to a page.
One binder is for sentiments, Larger one for sets that are mostly images. These are also sorted by theme.
I stamp each set on a 4x6 index card and then store the index cards in a photo album made for 4x6 pictures. Each album page has slots to hold three pictures and since it is a binder, I can add more pages. I made the decision not to put the index cards in the album in categories so that I would have to look through the album periodically just to see what I have. This helps me use stamps that might have several sentiments and only one of them be a birthday so it would not be in a birthday category but it's the perfect HB for my project.Doing this also gave me the ability to say that all my stamps have seen ink
It took awhile but I indexed every set on Evernote. I tagged everything in the set and then when I need something, let's say a shell, I type that into the programs search and voila, every set with a shell comes up. Works great for me. I have been blogging all month a cased card from the new SU catty and it amazes even me how many stamps I already own that are similar to the ones in the new catty.
I am working on a evernote file. and it is an eye-opening experience when you start going through the older sets.
I do have the free version and when I run out of upload for the month I work at it again the next month, I had the idea that if I bought the program it would be a waste for me because, once the catalog is done the amount you get for free would be way more than enough for growing with in the future.
so, it probably depends on how much that hurry up and wait thing effects you as to if you need a paid version or not.
and yes, mine has photos of everything logged so far.
Unlike Stacy, I have no self control. Once I started cataloguing everything I couldn't stop. So I did upgrade and paid a small one time fee. I have pictures off all of my sets. For the most part, if you do a google search you will find a picture of the set. Copy and paste it into evernote and then start tagging. It is by far the best system for me. I have non su stamps in a separate category as well. I even put my DSP in so now all I have to do is search a color and all the DSP with that color shows up. I check it out on the computer and then go get the piece I want.
I stamped each set on a sheet of paper then put the papers in plastic sleeves that I keep in ring binders. They are organized alphabetically by stamp set name. After nearly 25 years of stamping I have way too many sets to find this terribly useful, but it is a great way to reacquaint myself with the images I have in my collection by flipping through the binders.
A few years ago I decided to stamp every sentiment on its own 3" x 5" notecard. I then separated the notecards into categories like Birthday, Retirement, Hello, etc. and filed them in these long notecard file boxes I found at Staples.
It was a huge project, and I actually paid my teen daughter a nickel a notecard to stamp a large number of them for me. It was a win-win for both of us. She was too young for a "real" job but wanted money to spend on junk I wasn't willing to directly pay for. I got my project done, and now it's an invaluable resource that has made my stamping so much easier.
Doing it this way also proved to be helpful because I have the typeface and the size of the sentiment right in front of me so I can check to see if it fits in a punch or works well with the style of the card I'm making.
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.
I have a ton of stamps and while I mostly remember what I have, having a reference and an organization system is a huge help.
I have copies of the index sheets of all my stamp sets in pocket protectors in a 3 inch 3 ring binder organized by categories. My stamps are then organized within the stamp room by those categories, making them somewhat easier to find. I will admit, however, that I struggle with sentiments, especially those that are mixed in with image sets. I love the idea of taking pictures of the sets and tagging them to make them searchable. (For what it's worth, you can do this right in windows 10 by right clicking on the photo in the folder, going to the properties, and entering the information under the details tab.)
For my non-SU stamps I stamp an index sheet and place it in the category that fits the stamp set. Individual rubber stamps are stored in extra SU clam shell boxes by category with a stamped index sheet to show me which stamps are in each box. A copy of those index sheets are also in the binder.
At one point I started a project where I stamped birthday greetings from different sets on one sheet and wrote in the origin of each greeting so I could find it later. I did this so I could see what my choices were in terms of font type, font size, single vs. double line, etc. Similarly, I started stamping images that are intended to go with certain punches (such as the tag punch) from different sets on one sheet and identifying the origin set by the picture. That's a tedious project, though. I'm not sure I'll ever finish it.
(although it now occurs to me that I could do this by cutting and pasting relevant greetings/images form the index photos and making a reference sheet electronically. Still a pain, but less messy and I could do it virtually anywhere - wouldn't have to be in the stamp room. Hmmm.)
Thanks for the great thread. It's good to hear what other stampers are doing in terms of organization.
If you have Microsoft Office you can also use One Note. If you have the program there is no limit on how much you can add. It has the search function but the organization is a tad different than Evernote. I have a "book" for all my crafting items. Within the book, I have a tab for each manufacturer and then a page for each stamp set; however, you could easily categorize into theme.
I "borrow" a picture from the internet of the stamp set (and dies if applicable) and then you can type whatever text the sentiments and stamps have for searching. What I also like is I can click and drag photos of cards I like using that set from blogs so I always have instant inspiration. I always have it up when I am looking at blogs so I can record the examples.
I'm another recent Evernote convert. I found a much faster method for adding items, and now I'm completely hooked. I just explained my process in a different thread. I'll try to link to it: How do you know... by estamps at Splitcoaststampers
__________________ ~ Kitty ~ "If you can dream it, you can do it." - Walt Disney
In my pre-SU days I got one of those display files with transparent pockets which take A4 paper, and stamped each stamp as I got it onto A4 paper and thus built up a book of images in chronological order. I've flipped through it often enough that I can generally remember where any particular image is.
For my SU stamps, I scan each set as I get it and store the jpg images in a folder. I scan through those with Explorer when I'm looking for a particular image or just generally for inspiration. Current and retired sets are in separate folders.
I've gone back and forth on having a stamp catalog and decided not to do it again. I won't even start with Evernote because it would be so much work for something I won't use. The reason I don't use a catalog is because how I store my stamps. All sets are broken out into categories stored in Unikeep binder boxes. Each box is labeled with what's inside and I keep a stamped index inside each box. For me it's all about breaking down the sets. I just couldn't handle going through multiple boxes to find all the "thinking of you" stamps. It's so much easier to go to one box and look at them all at once. Right now my memory is good enough that I haven't bought a duplicate stamp in years.
I use a free app called MyStuff2. It works well for me for many reasons. First, my phone is super handy, small and with me whenever I am out shopping, so I don't need to keep track of my stuff on all my electronics. Second, I can easily use my phone camera to take pictures of my stamps and other craft items and can easily add that to MyStuff. Third, the program allows you to look-up items using the barcode and will add a picture, item name and company automatically.
there are a few drawbacks: sometimes I have to type in the barcode numbers, some of the barcodes will not work (like stampin up) and the program does have a small learning curve, but I guess almost every program does. Also, I do not think you can sync your info with other devices anymore, though since I do not do this I am not 100% sure.
These are 2 pictures of MyStuff so you can see it in action.
The first picture is my stamp set category. You can add all the categories you want, so some of my others are inks, dies, stencils etc.
The second picture is one of my stamp sets that automatically added in from a barcode scan. You can add as many category attributes as you want (here is the learning curve). In misc stamp types I put in as much info about the set as I can, like "hearts, stars," etc so if I want to search for all the little hearts that some of sets have I just type "hearts" into search and it will list all the sets with "heart"
I hope this helps you out!!
I have stamps from several companies now, and I've started cataloging them on Pinterest. I have a file for my MFT stamps, for example. I pin the actual photo of the stamp set from the store. It's quite helpful and a quick way to search through what I have. I have to say though, that most of my stamps are fairly current as I sell things that I no longer use often.
Wow....some of you are organized! My stamps pretty much go into bins with oldest being in the back and newest being closer up front...when a bin is stuffed I get another bin. Christmas is the only stuff I seperate and I put Christmas into its own bin with the 6x6 paper that I own.
You question is how do I find anything.....I just do . I kind of just remember how long ago I purchased something. It works for me...kind of like rotating your pantry so you use up food before it goes bad.
It took awhile but I indexed every set on Evernote. I tagged everything in the set and then when I need something, let's say a shell, I type that into the programs search and voila, every set with a shell comes up. Works great for me. I have been blogging all month a cased card from the new SU catty and it amazes even me how many stamps I already own that are similar to the ones in the new catty.
Me, too! I loooove Evernote! Most of my stamps are in the Stampin Up newer cases, but I have some older stamps in the clam shell cases that I had been keeping in boxes numbered box 1,2,3, etc. And I just left them there and marked in Evernote which box they were in. I wasn't going to rearrange all those stamps! I also have my dies and embossing folders in Evernote. I can't tell you how helpful it is to do a search and come up with all the sets that have that word or image. You just have to put the words in each note, like flower, birthday, Christmas, etc.
__________________ Sylvia D.
Melodious Mingler Grandma My Gallery
I'm not sure if this would work for everyone, but I stamp every stamp I own on heavy duty card stock, by category - animals, flowers, people, children, backgrounds, landscape stamps, etc. Then I place the name of the stamp company beside the stamped image. I place my un-mounted stamps (I took off the wood blocks on all my stamps years and years ago) into plastic cassette cases that open up on a hinge. These are numbered on the edges (flowers 1, flowers 2, flowers 3, animals 1, etc.) so I can see the category when they are stack up. I have a simple 3-ring notebook with dividers like the stamp categories. This is simple, effective and easy to use as a cross reference. I look through the binder to see the pictures of my stamps first (say animals), find that category in my cassette cases (animals), look for the number I want (where that particular stamp is located such as animals 5) and Wa-la! I've been doing this for years and years. For dies, I put them in my computer - lists done 2 different ways. I have a list by die companies first such as Spellbinders, Yvette, ECD (sometimes I have a picture with the set) and the 2nd list is a "cross reference" list. The cross reference is by category - greenery, flowers, landscapes, trees, Christmas, Easter etc. For example under the category "trees" I have all the trees listed: tree border I/O; 5-layered pines ECD, Large pine MB, set of pines I/O, birch border (Sizzix) etc. I have a box with every die cut I own (to show how big the die is and what it looks like when it's cut) under the same categories so that I can mix and match die cuts (on my cards) by seeing what they look like on a card before cutting (and wasting) any more. Simple - low-cost and it just works for me. If you keep your lists, categories up-to-date when you purchase items, it's very easy to update your lists/notebooks/ etc. Good luck!
I started several years ago with my SU wood mounted stamps and stamped them on cardstock and put them in a notebook. I kept my stamps in their cases. If I want to use them in my Misti I take them off the wood, put a piece of transparency film the size of the block and then put the stamp back on the block. I want to keep my sets together and don't have to unmount all my stamps, because I want to use one stamp in the set.
I recently took inventory of all my SU stamp sets. The new clear mount and photopolymer I took pictures of all of them.
__________________ Carolyn My Gallery - Fan Club Member "Snowmen fall from heaven...unassembled." Author unknown
Another vote for Evernote. All my SU stamp sets are in their plastic boxes in one specific cupboard so I have no problem finding a set. Wanting to be able to quickly find and look at all my various "thank you" sentiments to decide which to use was the problem.
I tried stamping everything I owned on 4x6 cards and storing in a photo box. I tried stamping all my sets on a sheet of paper and using page protectors and a 3 ring binder. That worked great for about a month. But keeping up with that kind of index was beyond me. I wouldn't sit down and stamp out anything new right away, or toss sheets for whatever I got rid of. The indexes were quickly out of date.
Using my iPad and the Evernote app I took pictures of every stamp I owned over about two weeks. Tagged all photos with any keywords I thought I'd use to find them.
IT IS PERFECT!!!! LOVE IT!!! I also paid a small fee for one year so I could save as many photos as I wanted to so I could get done. The free app has storage limits per month and I was impatient and didn't want to wait to finish.
Now all I do is open the app and type in "trees" in the search field and all sets and individual stamps I have that I tagged with the keyword Tree pops up. I can easily scroll through the pictures and decide which one I want to use. Totally worth the two weeks it took to set up!
I have copied or stamped every stamp I own on copy paper and have them in sheet protectors in a 3 ring binder. I page through my binder to see what stamps I want to use for a card. I pretty much know where each set is and the size of the box it is in (SU that is). And believe it or not, I pretty much know and remember each name of the set and what is in each set!!!! Now with my other random stamps I store them in SU empty boxes you can purchase and label the box and/or stamp them on an insert for the box. For my wooden ones that are not SU, I purchased the storage drawers from Stamp & Storage and they are absolutely wonderful. I can now see at a glance all my wooden stamps. I can't speak highly enough about those drawers!!!!! Thank you Stamp & Storage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
__________________ Mary ~~ QFTD #152, FS#514CC Guest Design Team 2012, 2013, 2017 & 2022 2014 CAS Spring Design Team MemberSC Guest Design Team 2015 & 2022 SU Consultant "Life's greatest adventure is finding your place in the Circle of Life" - Lion King
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
__________________ RebeccaEdnie Mixed Media Artist, Paper Crafter, Jewelry Designer SCSDirtyDozenAlumni Www.Boxofchocolatescrafts.Com YouNeverKnowWhatI’mGoingtoMake
I am a stamp addict, so I have many stamps. All stamps are stamped on index pages and kept in binders. The CD case number of Stufftainers number is listed under the stamps. Christmas stamps are kept in plastic stacked drawer units and the drawers are numbered. I have binders for Christmas and Christmas sentiments, and sections for holidays, birthdays, etc. Even the Christmas sentiment stamps are by category in the binders. This way, I can go to any topic in the binders and see every stamp I have in that category and know exactly where the stamp is located. And it doesn't really matter too much where the stamps are stored, since the location is written under the stamped image in the binder.
I have several 5 x 7 notebooks that I use as my index files for stamps, dies, color charts, embossing folders, stencils, etc. When I purchase something new, it goes in the reference binder before it gets put away. I have categories that work for me , words, people, flowers, trees/leaves, Christmas, Birthday, animals, backgrounds, birds/bees. I use this binder to plan the use of a stamp and prevent duplicate purchases. I have lots of wood mount stamps still, sorted on a full wall shelf unit my husband made for me. I sort these by the same categories. I stamp these on paper for the binder, those that are clear mount, I photocopy package in my printer and cut down to fit the binder. I store clear stamps and unmounted ones in clear envelopes like the Jennifer McGuire system and store in open basket by the same categories. This all works well for me.
Love all the ideas shared; very clever organization by all.
__________________ Have a creative day, every day.
I used to do this as well, but then realized that it was easier to photocopy the page of the catalog that showed the stamp set. Soooo much easier! ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by harvestmoon
Forgot to say that I have 3 ring binders with page protectors and stamped the pages with each set of all brands I have. Recently made pages for the background stamps....stamping a piece of each one to save room...4 to a page.
One binder is for sentiments, Larger one for sets that are mostly images. These are also sorted by theme.
I used to do this as well, but then realized that it was easier to photocopy the page of the catalog that showed the stamp set. Soooo much easier! ;)
I tried using the catalog photo or using the photo card that comes with the stamps sets, but you don't get the true size of the stamps. So I just stamp each and every new stamp before it's put away.
I am an organized person, but for some reason I have never felt the need to record my stamps. I have always sorted stamp sets and individual stamps into categories that make sense to me and then put them in boxes and then into drawers according to those categories. I do write the name of the stamp set they came from on the side of the wood block. That way I can look through all my butterflies, for example, for one that will work with what I'm working on, and still know what stamp set it came from. I have not and will not unmount. I love the feel of the wood block in my hand and since I mount them or remount them very carefully so that they are exactly right according to the index, they are always ready the second I pull them out of case with no worries. So that's how I know what stamps I have---and I have thousands!
I have an online album/galery where I post the photos of the new dies and stamps I buy. This way I can quickly check (and remind myself) what I already have so I don't buy the same thing again - as it has happened many times before I had this system.
I'm using https://mojalbum.com/ It's a slovenian site, but anyone can use it. You register there and you can make many albums in which you can upload photos. I don't think you are limited with the number of photos/albums you can have, but I am not sure. I have several diferent albums and over hundred photos and can still add more. You can choose to have your album public (everybody can see it and its content) or private (only you can see it when you log in). When you upload a photo, you can also add a description next to it.
do you remember the stamps you have
