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I don't know if this has been up before but I couldn't find it so here I am. I'm looking for a good way to store my scraps so I can use them more efficiently. I'd appreciate any help you can give me.
Thanks in advance,
Carla
__________________ Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.
-William Wadsworth
I use a manilla folder for each color group. I make sure I check the folder before I cut any new paper. I have heard of people using 4x6 photo boxes and separating them into the 48+ individual colors. I like having them in the same folder, sometimes I get inspiration flipping through the other colors in the family.
I keep the long strips in an oatmeal canister. The bigger ones i put in a file folder for each color infront of the full sheets. I use file cabinets for all my paper. My friend tho she puts her scraps in sheet protectors in a 3 ring binder. She takes her scraps with her when she is scrappin'.
Sadly enough, I put all my scraps in one big draw in my desk. I think it gets so overwhelming, that I don't even bother to look in there for a small piece when I need one.
But I do like the idea of putting them into baggies and then putting the bags in front of the color in my file cabinet. Good idea.
Looks like I'll start separating them. UUGGGG.
Thanks Pam
__________________
Life is NOT a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely BUT...to skid in sideways, chocolate in hand and screamingWOOHOO-WHAT A RIDE!
Right now I have a 4x6 album with labels on each page showing the color name. I put the scraps in there, sorted by color. It has worked pretty well, but now there are long strips that stick out and I have so many scraps that I need to use that I have to hold the album shut with a rubberband !!! :oops:
I am planning on rearranging my stuff in a filing system, so I like the idea of the baggies in the front of each file !!!
I recently started using those clear, plastic document boxes. I think you can get them at Target pretty cheap. I have one for each color family and one for neutrals. If my scrap isn't either a half sheet or a full-quarter sheet, it goes in the box. I keep them very close at hand and I have definitely used them more this way. I had an open stamp night last week and my customers really liked that system too b/c it's really easy to find a scrap you can use.
For the scraps that are left over from workshops, making cards, etc - i.e. precut cardstock, I bought a bunch of pencil boxes at Walmart (you know the plastic ones that they sell for 50-60cents that are about 5x7 in size) and then put them in there.
For the rest of the oddball scraps I just put the whole bunch in one of the SU Craft Keepers -- it is clear so I pick through it when I am making a card to see if tehre is something there I can use before I cut up a full sheet. I love that, being able to do that, I save everything bigger than 3 x 3 or so!
I keep mine in one of those plastic shoe boxes that you can see through. I have one per color group plus one for neutrals and one for designer paper and specialty papers. On the front of each of the boxes, I have the picture of the color family with the name cut out from an old catalog so all I have to do is just quickly look at the front of the shoe box. I got this idea from an upline of mine! Anything that is less than a half sheet goes in the box. All my half sheets(card size) go in a separate box which I divided with piece of carstock with the color family name on it. Hope this makes sense!
I keep all my cardstock in hanging file folders. In each hanging file, I keep a manila file folder to hold my scraps. When I need a certain color for something, I check the file inside the hanging file to see if there's a scrap piece big enough for what I need instead of just automatically cutting up another whole piece of cardstock.
I just started using an accordion style bill folder (frosted plastic) that I got at Target for about $3.00. I have each color group (pinks, blues, etc) in its own pocket. When open and expanded, it will stand up on the table. Very handy! I love it for the smaller pieces! My larger pieces, 1/2 sheet or more, I keep with their corresponding full sheets in a plastic file box.
I keep the larger scraps by color groups with one for all the neutrals in drop file folders. For smaller scraps, I use plastic baskets purchased in the storage container aisle at Wallymart...they are probably intended for use in drawers, etc...they come three to a set for less than $1.00...I stick a label on the front for each color group and they just stack on top of eachother...very easy to get to and easy to sort thru.
I love using scraps!!! Such a satisfying feeling!
__________________ Hooked On SU!
Member Number 6720
I have a 3 ring notebook set up with the plastic tab dividers that have diagonal pockets on the page and they are made of thick plastic. (I hope I am explaining this right)
I got them at Office Depot for $4 for 8 of them (they are two sided, so you could get 16 colors from one, but I only use one per color) They are the Avery® Worksaver® Big Tab Plastic Pocket Insertable Dividers, Single Pocket, Set Of 8 Tabs, they are transparent and multi=colored plastic.
O.K. So what I have is one notebook for each color family and one notebook for the basics and specialty (vellum, kraft, naturals, silver, gold, etc)
The wonderful thing about those plastic dividers is that they can be tabbed with the color name and then of course they are in the notebook in color family, but you don't have to search through every file to find the one you are looking for. It took me about 2 hours to put it together last Saturday, but it has really been worth it
I made a decision to STOP wasting that cardstock when my niece got out the bucket of scraps and covered my entire kitchen floor with the scraps while she was playing "carpet man" (they had just had new carpeting put in and she was quite impressed witht the flooring guys, lol).
I use a lot of the white and black for 2x2 squares, etc. so I made basic/specialty papers a separate notebook. Also, now when I am cutting 2x2's or something I use a lot of, I will cut 2 or 3 extra (since you have the strip already being cut) and throw those into the pocket while I'm putting up the scraps, then when I need a card made in a hurry some of the pieces are already cut, not just scraps. I could not believe how many pieces of vellum I had!@!!
HOPE this makes sense, It sure is nicer than a SCRAP O'Pile I used to have!
I bought a tag punch and I punch all my scraps into tags. I have little baggies and I put about 3 tags of each color family in a bag and label the bag with the color family name. I use these as hostess gifts and incentives! Everyone loves to see our cardstock in their favorite color family!
Tina
__________________ StArT tHe DaY WiTh A sMiLe And GeT iT OVeR WiTh! *��)
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(�.�� (� ;.*TiNa .~*
Because I am a scrapper I only buy 12x12 paper. So I have a file cabinet with folders for all the colors and that is where I store my scraps which I usually go to first when I am going to embellish my pages, works great!
I also use the Expanding File accordion folder. I have the half size, it is about 5" h x 10" long. It has 13 pockets one for each color in each grouping. It works so well, I cannot believe it took me until a few weeks ago to do something about it. I purchased these at Walgreens with a coupon they had that week, 2 for $2.98, cannot go wrong with that. I have all 5 of them, one for the white, craft and other specialty papers, in a plastic container I purchased at Walmart for $3.00. So all I do is pick up the box and then choose the folder I am looking for.
Wow, does it feel good to have them organized. The sooner you do this the better for you. It took me forever to go through the container I had all the scraps in. This was the same container I now use to hold the 5 folders, so nothing is wasted.
I keep mine in a ziplock bag. After I have toooo many scraps I start doing the Serendipity technique and making paper to use up my paper. I just can't bear to throw them away.
See the card below, I made paper with it.
Nicole
__________________ Nicole L.
The Angel Company Demonstrator #1260
Team Leader of The Elegant Diva Stamp Angels! Email
After I have toooo many scraps I start doing the Serendipity technique and making paper to use up my paper. I just can't bear to throw them away.
See the card below, I made paper with it.
Can you please explain what the Serendipity Technique is and how you made paper ?!? :shock: That is an awesome idea because I can't throw scraps away either and that card is great !!!
I also use an accordian style folder. Instead of separating them by color alone, I've got 2 compartments for each color family. 1st=bold bright scraps (anything smaller than .25 sheet) 2nd=bold bright pieces (.5 sheet or .25 sheet only) 3rd=EE scraps 4th=EE pieces , etc, etc
It's pretty handy because filing my scraps after making a card is not that time consuming. Also, when I'm in "creative" mode (vs. CASEing mode), I'll usually just pick a color with a .5 sheet scrap already cut instead of looking at all 48 beautiful colors and wondering where to start. The folder also does not take up too much space and I don't have to get up when I need another scrap or piece of paper.
__________________ He used to golf. Now, he trains for triathlons; buying a new bike, a wetsuit, new shoes, etc... I still stamp.
Diana
Here's a tutorial for the serendipity square technique. I have done this in my scrapbooking and it is pretty cool. Haven't done it since joining SU!, but it is a WONDERFUL idea for using up scraps! I'll have to do it again!
I store my 8-1/2 x 11 in the mail sorting bins. I have one slot for each of the 48 colors. Inside each compartment I have an 8-1/2 x 11 clear acrylic box frame that holds all of my scraps. Since the acrylic frame is on top of my full sheets of CS, I automatically check for scraps first and find myself using much more than I used to.
This is not a cheap option but it works very well.
I tried many methods and either the filing was too arduous or the pieces were too hard to get to. Then I bought 2 of the plastic drawer (drawers are 8" x 10") sets and stacked one on top of the other and set them right under my table. So easy to pull out and go through looking for the right piece and I always can pop a scrap in without ever even setting it on my work area. Top drawer is white, vanilla, and variations of those, 2nd drawer is yellow, gold, and orange. Third drawer is greens, 4th is purples and blue, 5th is pink and reds, and the bottom is black, brown and gray. Works very well for me!
I have all of the SU colors in ABC order---(with the whites, neutrals, etc. in the front of those, followed by the vellums), and then I start in with the colors in ABC order....
One hanging file folder has a manilla file folder in it with FULL sheets of paper--never used. Those hanging file folders have the ID tags attached to them. The other hanging file folder in FRONT of this has a manilla folder in it of all scraps of that color.
This system, for me, works awesome. I can quicky get a full sheet of one particular color or quickly grab the folder with the scraps in it!!!!
How do you store your scraps?
