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Just started this evening making an index of my sentiment stamps. I'm using a small binder (the kind that holds 1/2 sheet of paper.) I first determined my categories, like Birthday, Get Well, Sympathy, etc. Then I was going to stamp the sentiment on the appropriate page. Oh, dear, what a lot of work I have ahead of me.
However, the idea of breaking up the sets and putting all like sentiments together sounds wonderful! I may go this route instead. Thanks for the suggestion!
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
I've just done all my sentiment stamps, and made the amazing discovery that I have 17 Thank You stamps! They've all come as part of sets, but really, how grateful am I going to have to be, lol. I've done mine the same as you, except I am using A4 size sheets. I already had all my u/m's in binders, I'm un-mounting the wood ones now, they just take up too much space.
These ideas sound neat. I do have a few questions though. For wood mounted stamps, how to you remove them from the block, attach the the clear sheets & then used with a clear blcok? I would like to try & condesce my stuff. It's all in my bedroom on a storge shelf. This sounds much neater & easier to see what I actually have. Thanks for sharing all of your great ideas!!
These ideas sound neat. I do have a few questions though. For wood mounted stamps, how to you remove them from the block, attach the the clear sheets & then used with a clear blcok? I would like to try & condesce my stuff. It's all in my bedroom on a storge shelf. This sounds much neater & easier to see what I actually have. Thanks for sharing all of your great ideas!!
To unmount the stamp from the wood, I put it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, depending on the size of the stamp. Then, you can choose whatever cling method you want:
EZ mount (my preference)
Tack it Over & Over
Vinyl
I'm in the process of doing this with my stamps right now. I have found that different stamps do come apart differently. For example, I've found Judikins & Hero Arts come off the rubber foam really easily. These I am putting onto cling foam, also my preferred choice. Some stamps peel off the wood with the foam still intact, as bjlee says, a short time in the microwave does the trick, if they wont peel easily. How long depends on how big the stamp is, I found. I start at about 10 seconds for a small stamp, and then keep putting it back for 4 or 5 seconds, then try peeling it up again, till it starts to lift. Then I am storing on laminated sheets, in Ring Binders.I am stamping the images onto A4 paper too, so I have a page of stamped images that match the page of stamps.
Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula - by Lake Superior
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I have finished unmounting nearly all my 1000+ sets of stamps plus wheels and backgrounds. It took a long time.
I scoured through articles I found here on splitcoast and used what I felt was best...
and although I am through the first part of this transition I need to go back, now that I know what worked for me and what didn't.
I began by microwaving the blocks for a few seconds and peeling off the foam and rubber and the sticker from the block as well. I then centered the sticker onto the gray foam having them sort of resemble what the clear mounteds by SU. Next, I used Alene's "Tack it over and over" on the grey side andlet it dry for a good long while (I had cookie sheets all over!) "This worked okay."
One day, I decided to unmount all my wheels. No foam there. I was done in half an hour! NO MORE crooked wheel tracks! I started on the Background stamps. I planned to leave the foam on, but some were so old it wasn't happening easily, so I just peeled the rubber pieces off the blocks. I tried them out like that and NO MORE BARE SPOTS on the image...and did that ever free up my space! (I did stamp an image of each background and wheel and put them on a ring so I could use the deck to choose what I wanted and then I found another bonus to unmounting this way. I put the whole dirty stack in a sink and ran warm water over them and they were clean as a whistle! Without cleaner and without the stamp scrubber. Nice!
From then on I have been unmounting right down to the rubber. I also found out that I could do without the Alene's T & O & O, if I used the Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue. It is dry in about 5 minutes, and if you drop a stamp get cat hair or something on the back of it, wash it off and re-apply...sticks to the blocks perfectly.
As it is, I am leaving my current stamps in their dvd-style boxes. The rest I store in a Clear Heavy Vinyl 6"x9" Pouches that my husband got for me on Amazon. Unbelievably top and bottom of the cases to stick on the stamps and slide into the box...If I have the dvd case, I can just slide that in behind the plastic sheet that the stamps are on. If not, I know there's a great tutorial here on SCS you can modify. or just stamp each image on a sheet that fits...and I do like to put the number of stamps it should have.
As for the DVD boxes, I have seen some great projects done with them...marker cases, notecases, stationary boxes...could probably do a few stamp camps and Christmas gifts for my stampers. Not to mention, other types of storage options.
I do put sets together if I think they compliment each other...save time & it's handy.
I decided not to unmount those sets that have 28 or 56 tiny images on 28 tiny little blocks...I figure it's easier to find the block than an image that small. I can live with that. I have some that have 5 or 6 sets in one Vinyl pouch.
I wish I could figure out how to catalog verses, sayings and words...I am forever trying to find a phrase I know I have but I don't know which set it belongs to...Any hints would be much appreciated in that area...
Thanks for all of the great suggestions. When I feel brave enough I just may attempt this. I know if I have issues I now have a place to ask for help :O)
Kim, you don't have to do any of this all at once. Start slowly. With shifting my stamps to panels, I started with a bunch of stamps that hadn't come in any kind of packaging that I could store them in anyway, and they were just stuck here and there on the original acetate sheets, or rattling around in unused DVD cases. I imagine starting an index you would want to do the same thing. Do a bit at a time. Momentum will come if and when you find you love your new system.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Mary Ann - I don't know where you can buy polycarbonate sheets other than Stampers Best, I only know you can because of this blog post where someone did. May be you could email her.
Their clear polycarb panels are thick and very rigid. As in, you probably couldn't cut them with your guillotine trimmer, too thick. SB also sells polycarb laminated sheets. I have some of those also, as well as laminated sheets from a couple of other places.
So these are rigid too? If so it seems like they would work for both my stamps and nesties!
Will the clear polycarbonate sheets work for acrylic stamp storage?
Last edited by VickyLyneQ; 01-27-2013 at 07:54 AM..
The laminated sheets are very sturdy, but not rigid. Only the clear poly panels are rigid.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
The laminated sheets are very sturdy, but not rigid. Only the clear poly panels are rigid.
Good to know but darn. I thought the laminated sheets would have been perfect for my nesties. The clear would work too but the laminated would have looked better. lol Sometimes I think I have as much fun organizing my craft stuff as I do using it.
I store my nesties in the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Unmounted Stamp Binder. It comes with clear top loading sheets and I bought 8 1/2 x 11 magnetic sheets at Staples, cut them in half, put the nesties on those and slip them in the clear sheets. The magnetic sheets work really well holding the nesties in place and it's so easy to flip through the book to see what I want to use. You can buy additional clear sheets separately. Hope this helps!
__________________ Robin ~My Growing Gallery~ Proud Fan Club Member FS324 and Tuesday Teapotter Life is about choices. Choose to live each day to its fullest.
The laminated sheets are very sturdy, but not rigid. Only the clear poly panels are rigid.
Rachelrose: So the clear panels are rigid? I had emailed Stampers Best and asked which of the panels were thicker -- the color ones or the clear, and this was their response: "They are both 0.030" (3 business cards thick). The color cards are a little bit stiffer than the clear ones (clear = not flimsy but flexible)."
I am so confused:confused:. Guess I just need to bite the bullet and order a few so I can see for myself.
I store my nesties in the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Unmounted Stamp Binder. It comes with clear top loading sheets and I bought 8 1/2 x 11 magnetic sheets at Staples, cut them in half, put the nesties on those and slip them in the clear sheets. The magnetic sheets work really well holding the nesties in place and it's so easy to flip through the book to see what I want to use. You can buy additional clear sheets separately. Hope this helps!
This is the system I just switched to for storing my nesties and so far I absolutely love it. I don't use a binder to store the plastic pockets -- I just store them in a box that I keep out on my desk right next to my Grand Caliber. That way I can just flip through them and pull out what I need (saves the step of pulling out the binder and finding room on your table to open up the binder and flip through it -- KWIM? ;)) I used a white Sharpie maker and outlined each die on the magnet -- that makes it easier for me to know if a die is missing. On the opposite side of the magnet, I adhered the picture of the die from the package. This system has worked great for me and is really fairly compact considering that I have hundreds of dies.
Rachelrose: So the clear panels are rigid? I had emailed Stampers Best and asked which of the panels were thicker -- the color ones or the clear, and this was their response: "They are both 0.030" (3 business cards thick). The color cards are a little bit stiffer than the clear ones (clear = not flimsy but flexible)."
I am so confused:confused:. Guess I just need to bite the bullet and order a few so I can see for myself.
So the clear are actually more flexible than the colored? I just went ahead and ordered some of both last night and will decide from there which ones I prefer. I've done a lot of reading about storing Spellbinders and unmounted stamps and I've seen people say they prefer a more rigid page to store their Nestabilities on because otherwise they can sometimes pop off when the page is being turned so that is why that was such an important factor. I will report back when I get my order.
I have my few unmounted stamps stored in page protectors with pockets like for trading cards right now but I'm not really happy with that. We moved across country in June and I guess they got hot in the moving truck and the pockets are now shaped to the stamps. KWIM?
I am dumbfounded by their reply. I have both from Stampers Best and I think that the clear are much more rigid than the laminates. At least to my way of thinking.
But ordering some of each is no bad thing. Like I said, I have found each to be good for different things. And I like that I can cut down the laminates easily.
Do let us know what you think. I'll be interested in how they seem to you.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I decided to email too just to see if they had misspoken or something but I got the same answer about the laminated sheets being stiffer. Now I'm really anxious to get my order and thinking I could have gotten off cheaper than I did. lol Oh well either way I think this will work well for me.
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Thanks for contacting us.
The color (laminated) storage cards are stiffer than the clear cards. Both are approx. the same thickness
Last edited by VickyLyneQ; 01-28-2013 at 01:14 PM..
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I decided to email too just to see if they had misspoken or something but I got the same answer about the laminated sheets being stiffer. Now I'm really anxious to get my order and thinking I could have gotten off cheaper than I did. lol Oh well either way I think this will work well for me.
=============
Thanks for contacting us.
The color (laminated) storage cards are stiffer than the clear cards. Both are approx. the same thickness
I think I'll wait to see what you think when you get your order Vicky. I like the idea of the clear storage sheets, but I really want something that is not flimsy.
__________________
Mary Ann
Last edited by mcost; 01-29-2013 at 04:54 AM..
Reason: spelling
I think I'll wait to see what you thinks when you get yours Vicky. I like the idea of the clear storage sheets, but I really want something that is not flimsy.
I am going for the more rigid sheet too Mary Ann. I will let you know what I think when I get my order.
I went and looked at both. I guess I see what SB is saying about stiffness vs "bendy-ness". I consider the clears to be sturdier because you can't cut them or fold them like you can with the paper. Perhaps that was the wrong scale of measurement to use. I wanted something that would stand up on end in a bin and both, it turned out, would do that. What's nice about the clears is that I can stamp all the images on a piece of cardstock and slip it in the front of my page protectors and then when I put my stamps away, I put the clear panel on top of the page protector and I see through the panel to be sure I have all my stamps.
I did not mean to mislead anyone! I will be waiting to see what people think of each, and hope whatever was ordered, it works out.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Bendy-ness! That is a great word to use. I think we all want little bendy-ness. I'm really puzzled about SB's answer but maybe it is just the wording like you said. I hope I can't bend the clears and after reading your posts I watched videos with people using them in it and they appeared to be more sturdy or less bendy like you said Rachel. I ordered a 15pk of the clears and a 5pk of the laminates.
And please don't worry about being misleading! I don't think you were at all! I appreciated your input and I suspect I will come to the same opinion as you did. I think they will be perfect for what I want and I'm so glad I read about them here.
Ok my order has arrived! I'm not at home but I had my husband open it and show me how much they bent on Skype. If he had enough hands I'd have had him take pictures for me to post.. lol Oddly enough it looks like the laminated sheets were in fact slightly more rigid and weighed more than the clear. On the other hand the clear ones are pretty much indestructible and do not bend much more at all and they are more lightweight. They also won't get worn on the corners or on the holes for the binder. It really looks like it is just a matter of preference and what you want to spend. $1 each for the laminated or $1.66 each for the clear. For what it's worth my husband seemed to like the clear the best.
There are also 10% off coupons available if you go to youtube and watch some of the videos. Most of the ladies that posted videos have their user name set up as a 10% off coupon you can use on your order.
Vicky - thanks for letting us know. I think the clear sound like they would work best for me too. Thanks too for letting me know about the 10% off coupons. I will go check that out!
I can't image tha the binder sheets take up less room and aggravation than CD case. Thats just me.
I remove my SU! Sets from the DVD case and put them in a CD. I have an 80 count revolving LaseLine carousel...well...I have 5...some have 2-3 sets...plenty of room to grow. I use an index type card...inserted in clear envies from a eBay...think a 5x7. Just flip through the box...the card is numbered....the CD is numbered and they go back in the same spot.
Never, every could I break up a set. I just ordered from AMuse....can't wait to see their storage. My GinaK are on the plastic board. I will not buy a clear mount for the rest of my life!!
__________________ "I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol".
River City Rubber Works
I don't have any of the cling or clear SU sets. But all my other cling and clear are in binders, on laminated panels. I didn't break up sets. And I sort the binders by company. I love it, so much easier to flip through and get what you need.
I have a hard time breaking ups sets but I did break up the wood mounted birthday and thank you stamps. I also feel like they need to stay where they belong! I could not bring myself to ditch the cd cases.
I Also can't break up my cling SU sets
Breaking up is hard to do...
__________________ There is no such thing as lack of sleep, only caffeine deficiency.
I unmounted 98 percent of my sentiments. BEFORE I unmounted them I organized them into categories. I have a lot of what I call (Day) stamps ie, have a nice day, have a
great day etc. They are in the stampinup! cases labeled Happy Days. I actually have a
happy days II case as I have so many of those. Other categories are :Blessings and Warm Thoughts, Faith and Encouragement, Heartfelt, Blessings, Words to Live By (these are
quotes I like), Friendship, Humor. After I stamped them on 5x7 sheets I made photocopies to put in a small binder. I have to say that I love this system. Now when I want a sentiment I go to by little sentiments binder and decide what I want and then get the corresponding case. I also have themed sentiments which I did not put in the binder. These are the Easter, Valentine, St. Patricks Day etc. I don't need a reference sheet for these. I love having my sentiments unmounted because I can see the exact placement. I have a couple acrylic blocks with those grid lines and I line up my sentiment with those. I'm only commenting on the sentiments for this post because I think they are the hardest to come up with a working solution and this is already getting too long!
I confess I have half of my stamps out of cases and am stalled. But I have an excuse! We completely rearranged my studio a month ago, and so then I had to figure out where everything was going to go, and that has been taking up my time. I've also been working on some other "creative organization" tools. And trying to turn out some cards.
The revamp was a good thing for my new system - now I have an entire counter height unit where I can put my bins for my stamps. So I am hoping to get going again this weekend. But I really want to start thinking about an index system for my stamps. I have been looking on the forum, and I think for me an actual file card system would work best. Pages of images don't allow me to hold things up against each other, and that's the way I work best. So I think I am going to start to do the index stamps as I complete the transfer from case to panel for what I have left to do, and then I'll go back and do the stamps I've already transferred. I want to start now, before I have too many stamps and the task becomes daunting. I don't have all that much right now, not compared to people who have been doing this for years.
For those that ordered Stampers Best panels, hope you are happy with them. As I said, I have both the clear and laminated, and have been using both.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Good to know but darn. I thought the laminated sheets would have been perfect for my nesties. The clear would work too but the laminated would have looked better. lol Sometimes I think I have as much fun organizing my craft stuff as I do using it.
I use the laminated sheets for my nesties. I take a piece of GP cardstock and attach the nestie card to the center then run thru the laminator. Then I attach a sheet of magnetic material to the back. It is plenty stiff with the CS, the nestie card, and the magnet.
Wow, just looked at my last post, early February. My stamps are all out of cases now, and I have nearly finished doing labels for all of them. Half way through, I decided to switch to the heavy-weight PP's and they are working out much better than the regular ones. They have a nice stiff section where the holes are punched so I can put my set labels there (bought a Dymo so I can make nice labels) since I lay the PPs on their sides in my bins.
I have been using a variety of panels (probably since I have a variety) - my clears go on clear panels, and my rubber goes on laminated.
Nesties - a whole other story. Still getting those organized.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I have been using Stampers Best clear panels for my clears and either Stampers Best laminated or Sunday Int. laminated for my rubber.
Usually - I do have some panels of both kinds with both kinds of stamps, depends how I'm sorting them.
Probably next time I order from Crafters Companion (I use their mini magnetic panels for my Nesties) I'll try their laminated panels.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I like all your ideas but I seem to spend way too much time organizing. I am glad to see that some of you are splitting up sets which I think is a real time saver. I have all mine in cd cases in plastic containers in alphabetical order and an index sheet to go with them but its never easy to find the right words or flower etc. I am going to try putting the same stamps together and hope I'm not sorry. I just give away what I don't want so it doesn't matter if they are in the original packaging. Every set has stamps that will never be used anyway. Thanks for all your ideas.
. I've been able to put the whole week into it, as I'm off work having fractured my shoulder before Christmas, but it has taken at least 8 hours a day, since Monday! I've done a post on my blog now, so if you want to see how they look, you can 
