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For so long, I have wanted to reorganize my stamps. I find that I am constantly forgetting about stamps that I own because of how they are organized (currently each SU! set is kept together ... not broken down into separate categories of stamps like "flowers" or "baby" or "wedding"). I have lots of non-SU! stamps and have always kept my SU! ones separate from the non-SU! ... but no longer!
When i was over at my mom's yesterday, we spent about 3 hours reorganizing her stamps. It started out as just putting all the like sentiment stamps together ... but it really progressed ... we ended up putting all the "like" stamps (like baby, wedding, flowers, fall, winter, spring, summer, etc.) together ... and even putting the appropriate sentiments with those stamps. So now she has all her baby stamps (pictures and words) together. And all her wedding/anniversary stamps together. And so on and so forth.
And today ... my mom came over to my house and we did the same thing with all of my stamps!
How many times do i go to make a thank you card ... but i forget about that "thanks" sentiment in xyz set. Or i need a heart for a card, but i forget that there is a heart stamp in abc set or xyz set. Once you get so many stamps, you simply can't remember what stamp set has which stamp!
I am SO looking forward to having all my bday, thanks, baby, etc. stamps TOGETHER. i think i will stamp more (and certainly more quickly!) since all the stamps are now grouped.
My mom and i both need to order some additional su! storage cases to store more stamps ... and our boxes are almost all labelled according to what is inside each box.
We determined that some sets are just meant to stay together ... like Coast to Coast, Classic Convertibles, Dino-Mite, Garden Pleasures, etc. And my flower sets like Buds and Blossoms, WCGII, Petal Prints, etc. I kept together, but just stacked with my other "flowers" boxes.
And we just took our background stamps right out of the boxes and I have them standing upright in a clear, plastic box. I put labels on the top edge of the background stamps so I can quickly see which is which. I use my backgrounds frequently ... and now that they are not in individual cases, I can pull them out even more quickly. They also take up much less space this way.
Now when I need to make a baby card, I simply have to pull out 2 boxes and ALL my baby word/pictures stamps are RIGHT in front of me! No more digging through all my stamp sets to find what I am looking for!!!
Can you tell I am excited?!?!?!
Now, this might not work for everyone (maybe especially career demos), but for me (a hobby demo right now ... helping Tony with Stamper's Sidekick and being a SAHM to three little boys doesn't leave a whole lot of time for workshops these days!) this system is going to be great!
I know that now since my stamp sets are all divided up if I should decide to sell a stamp set, I will have to spend a few minutes putting that set back together. And if I don't remember exactly which stamps were in which set, I can always refer to my old catalogs, pictures on ebay, or my faithful friends here on SCS to help!
Thanks for listening to me ramble on ... just so excited and had to share. Feel free to PM me and I can email pictures out if anyone would like to see!
Hi!
I've always stored my stamps this way. I use the Iris carts and cardboard trays inside the carts. But the trays are filled by theme, Holidays, words, etc. I like it this way because I can easily mix and match and find all that are in that theme.
Have Fun
.....I am SO looking forward to having all my bday, thanks, baby, etc. stamps TOGETHER. i think i will stamp more (and certainly more quickly!) since all the stamps are now grouped.
......Now when I need to make a baby card, I simply have to pull out 2 boxes and ALL my baby word/pictures stamps are RIGHT in front of me! No more digging through all my stamp sets to find what I am looking for!!!
.....Can you tell I am excited?!?!?!
I think you are doing GREAT and you WILL love the new system. I own hundreds of stamps -- all unmounted -- and have put them alphabetically into notebooks. WAY WAY easier to find.
Thanks for you good idea regarding the word stamps. Although mine are all in one notebook, I do not have them sorted by subject. Maybe later... I procrastinate REALLY well. ;)
seewah..I have a helpful idea I hope, from this point on when you buy a new stamp set,stamp it on computer paper and place in a page protector inside of a three ring binder. I did this due to all our military moves to insure none of my stamps were missing after we moved LOL. This will be helpful for you to have if you decide to sell a set. I must say how cool it is that you and your mom share in such a great hobby! and get to spend time together that is so very cool
This is exactly how I store my stamps and it has worked out wonderfully. I rarely forget that I have a certain stamp. Good for you for soing this. I know it was no easy feat!
seewah..I have a helpful idea I hope, from this point on when you buy a new stamp set,stamp it on computer paper and place in a page protector inside of a three ring binder. I did this due to all our military moves to insure none of my stamps were missing after we moved LOL. This will be helpful for you to have if you decide to sell a set. I must say how cool it is that you and your mom share in such a great hobby! and get to spend time together that is so very cool
great idea to keep pics of the sets in a binder ... i am a demo, so i always have spare catalogs ... i suppose i could just cut up an extra catalog and put those pics inside a three ring binder.
and it is VERY cool to share such a great hobby with my mom. we get along so well and love to stamp (and organize!) and shop and do just about whatever ... TOGETHER!
similar to stamping the sets on a piece of paper I just copy the stickers before I put them on the wood so I have them all together and I insert this with each set so if I have several sets out I know what goes with what plastic tray set by looking at the sheet in the tray.
KBearRN
How nice to find others who take stamps out of their sets -- we are a special breed of SU users, willing to risk having our sets be separated rather than remain in pristine condition in their cases for future resale ;). I have done this for years and whenever I tell another SU user what I do, they seem to be horrified at the thought -- of course they remember EVERY stamp they own and what set it belongs to and can find it at a moments notice. Unfortunately, I lack this psychic ability so I resort to separating!
One extra tip that I can offer -- I keep a master sheet in the original stamp box of the stamps (that is, if there are still enough stamps left in the box after I sort out the words!)....in addition, when a stamp is removed from the set, I take a fine tip pigma pen and write the name of the set on the end cap of the wood mount of the stamp. If I decide to sell the set down the road the writing can be removed by sanding lightly with a fine grade of sandpaper. Having the set written on the woodblock is particularly helpful if I pick a word I want to use before I design the card -- it often reminds me of the nifty stamps in the orignal set and I can easily find the set because I know the name!
Keep on separating the sets, ladies --we could start a trend!
You guys are so brave. I can't bring myself to break up a SU set. I understand the concept -- I'm just chicken !
It took me several years to get this brave ... believe me! I am a very organized person who tends to like things "just so" ... so the decision to break up the sets did not come quickly. But I can honestly say (now that it is finally done!) that I am glad I did it!
One extra tip that I can offer -- I keep a master sheet in the original stamp box of the stamps (that is, if there are still enough stamps left in the box after I sort out the words!)....in addition, when a stamp is removed from the set, I take a fine tip pigma pen and write the name of the set on the end cap of the wood mount of the stamp. If I decide to sell the set down the road the writing can be removed by sanding lightly with a fine grade of sandpaper. Having the set written on the woodblock is particularly helpful if I pick a word I want to use before I design the card -- it often reminds me of the nifty stamps in the orignal set and I can easily find the set because I know the name!
Keep on separating the sets, ladies --we could start a trend!
Susy[/QUOTE]
You could also keep a log and assign a number to each stamp set (could use the catty # or something shorter) and on the side of each stamp write the number & 1 of 6, 2 of 6.....that way when you go to put a stamp set back together you can just look at the stamps, and you will now how many stamps you need to find. Also if you use a bunch of different colors when marking the sets, you can just look at the red sets, and ignore the other colors. I know you will have a bunch of sets in each color, but it will still cut down on the notations you are reading.
Uh... I don't think I could bring myself to separate my stamp sets (not at this point anyway!), but I do find that I'd love to have a visual of all my Thank You, or Happy Birthday stamps. One thing on my "To Do List" is to find all my sentiment stamps and divide them into occasions, and stamp them on white cardstock and put those into a binder. That way I can see at a glance all the Birthday sentiments I have, etc.
I also scan the sticker sheet of all my stamp sets before I mount them. So far I've just made one copy and put it in the bottom of the stamp case so I can tell what stamps go in that box, but if I'd been smart, I would've made 2 copies - one for the stamp case and one for the binder!
I tried seperating mine at one point. But my problem is that I'm NOT ORIGINAL at all. So all my cards are basically cased from here or an idea book of some sort (with some modificiations). Soooo, when I went to stamp, I was pulling stamps from all over the place and it didn't work for me. So, I went back and put mine back together. This is just what works for me for now.
I did get a book that I plan to stamp what I have in themed groups. So, all my flowers will be on a page (0r two), all my verses, holiday stamps, etc. That way I will know what I have and can pull from sets, but not break them up.
I have a slight twist on this. Everyone is talking about separating their stamp sets, but what about combining sets. I do this because it cuts down on the number of boxes and therefore less to store. The first sets that are obvious are the ones named one and two (Well actually not one, but you know what I mean...Bitty Boos and Bitty Boos two). Then there are others such the alphas and their matching numbers, or some of the Watercolor (floral) sets. Does anyone else do this? I'm fairly new at doing this, so I'm always looking for sets that will work. On my next order I will be getting some of the larger storage boxes. What do you think?
ohhhhhh, i cant bring myself to separate sets,,, I just cant, it is so scary... I can see combining some of them though like the bitty boos and also little layers, the one thing i think separating the sets out would be helping with storage, my dream storage is those shallow slide out drawers that stamps could fit in one layer. big sigh, maybe someday.. I would still keep the sets together though... I also think it is a good idea to use old catalogs to cut out set pics you have and put them in a note book as you have the price and number and name, I have been trying to do that and get serious. I have also tried listing them in a spread sheet, I tend to get sidetracked on all of it though. You all have inspired me to get back to work on it, even though I have about 12 years of stamps..
__________________ Sherlie..... aka Surelyyoustalktoo? Just living is not enough, one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower,and a few stamps, of course, www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/Sherlie
I tried seperating mine at one point. But my problem is that I'm NOT ORIGINAL at all. So all my cards are basically cased from here or an idea book of some sort (with some modificiations). Soooo, when I went to stamp, I was pulling stamps from all over the place and it didn't work for me. So, I went back and put mine back together. This is just what works for me for now.
I did get a book that I plan to stamp what I have in themed groups. So, all my flowers will be on a page (0r two), all my verses, holiday stamps, etc. That way I will know what I have and can pull from sets, but not break them up.
Am I too anal?
The book is what I do too, it works like a charm. Although I have not seperated my sets, I have 'added' a stamp or two if there's room in the box & they 'go together'! All those single stamps get overlooked without "the book".
I love all of the input here. So far, I am not thinking I want to separate my stamp sets. For one reason, I like the way SU groups them in the first place because they most often relate to each other and I trust that. I also wonder what an Iris cart is? My husand just mounted shelves on the wall for me so I am enjoying that and have grouped stamps in animals, flowers, people, BG, etc etc. So far so good.
Location: Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota...near Mount Rushmore
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stampincuzILuv2
seewah..I have a helpful idea I hope, from this point on when you buy a new stamp set,stamp it on computer paper and place in a page protector inside of a three ring binder. I did this due to all our military moves to insure none of my stamps were missing after we moved LOL. This will be helpful for you to have if you decide to sell a set.
I too am married to a career military man (we move every few years)...and I cant tell you how useful doing this is! Not only does it insure that my stamps make it to our next destination, but it also lets me know what I have on hand.
I have given some serious thought to taking my stamps out of those Stampin Up boxes and mingling them with the rest of my stamps. I do happen to have all of my other brands ofstamps organized the way you have just mentioned. Why on Earth I just don't do that with my Stampin Up stamps is beyond me, LOL! I should make it a point to do that this weekend!
I have given some serious thought to taking my stamps out of those Stampin Up boxes and mingling them with the rest of my stamps. I do happen to have all of my other brands ofstamps organized the way you have just mentioned. Why on Earth I just don't do that with my Stampin Up stamps is beyond me, LOL! I should make it a point to do that this weekend!
I, too, was thinking why on earth don't I just mix all my stamps!
I do love how SU! sells stamps in a set that coordinate ... but it really is not that often that I use 2 or 3 stamps from one set in making a single card. And if I do, I might just leave that set together (like the floral sets, for example).
I think my next task might be to make a book of my stamps. That way I have something to bring with me when I hit the stamp stores. I am seriously addicted to those one-line Hero Arts stamps and it is very difficult to remember which ones I do/don't have!
Thanks for all your input on this thread everyone ... it is great to hear some other thoughts on this.
Location: Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota...near Mount Rushmore
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I too have a TON of those one liners from Hero Arts! I swear that I would buy some of them over again if I didn't have my little book!
I can't begin to tell you how many times I have overlooked using a particular stamp from an SU set because I have it neatly tucked away in it's plastic case. No more...I'm reforming my stamps right now!
Now to find a place for those plastic cases, LOL!!! I have several drawers FULL of them, LOL! I bet if I took the stamps out of the cases I'd only have one drawer filled with stamps, LOL!!!
I started to catalog my stamps many years ago.
I stamp the stamp on a category page (flowers, bday, etc).
I also have a section for sets, so I can see the whole set together. It's easy to stamp the whole set when it's still stuck together.
I haven't updated my catalog in a while, that's a project I need to do.
It works well for me, I can put a post it note with a set, letting me know the name of a person (and date) that I loaned it out too.
Some stamps are broken down & stored in categories, after being cataloged.
I have a peg-board my dh put up in a corner of the laundry room. It works well to hang the SU boxes (it was nicer when the old boxes already had holes.)
Unfortunaely, I don't have room for anything other than hanging, but it does sound like a good idea & a massive accomplishment!
Good for you!
I haven't split up my sets either--but I can find the words I want relatively easily. Here's how I do things:
My stamp area is a "desk" with a "hutch". The hutch has 72 sterilite drawers (from those 3 drawer storage things you can buy at wal-mart) that are a bit larger than 8.5 x 11. They hold almost everything.
How do my stamps work?
One: I don't keep the sets in their boxes. Takes up too much room. I label the wood with the set name and put them into a little poster board box--custom made for each set--stacked 2 deep in the box. An average of 6 sets fit into a drawer. (I did keep the boxes--open and nested in a box--in case I want to sell a set)
Two: I copy the labels at 35% before I mount and put that reduced size image in the front of the drawer. I can see at a glance ALL my stamps, and the drawers are arranged by topic.
Three: Like several of you already on this post, I make a catalog of my stamps. Unlike you, however, I stamp the images in color on pages that have the topic printed on top. (I also have a catalog by company!) I like the color, particularly for the 2-step stamp sets, and I can stamp more than one set to a page. Every stamp is stamped wherever it may fit...a leaf stamp in a flower set will also be in the leaves, a butterfly will be in the bugs...and the stamp set name gets put beside each one. I have a "birthday wishes" page, a "christmas wishes" page, a "sympathy" page, a "friendship" etc, for my word stamps. If I'm really dense some day, that's where I look.
I don't think I would gain anything much by dividing my sets--it's easy to find what I need right now.
I guess I don't have enough stamps because, I don't forget what I have, don't have trouble finding what I have, and don't think that the plastic cases take up too much room. I am going to fix that problem by logging off and buying more stamps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am envious of you for having all your stamps sorted. What a wonderful mother-daughter project. My next project is going to be organizing the scrapbook-stamping-sewing-knitting area. Thanks for the inspiration.
I have to say that I have made more cards this week (at least 30) than I have in the last 6 months ... all because I can quickly go into my stamp area ... find exactly what stamps I need to use ... and get to stamping!
Because I now have all my background stamps stored upright in a container (outside their SU! cases), I can quickly grab them and use them! Used two of them on this card alone!
Good for you .. sounds like you are well organized and on your way For me I have a binder and with each new stamp set that I get, I stamp the images on a piece of white paper and place in a clear cover sheet and place in my binder. This way I just have to look through my binder to see what I have or to get inspired to use a stamp that I have not used in awhile. Also, I can take the binder with me to stamp clubs or to a stamp store to make sure that I do noy buy the samething or something similar.
Sarah,
So glad to hear your reorganization is working I store my BG stamps in the same manner as you show and they are ever so much easier to use and take up half the space as when they are stored in their boxes.
Ok, I'll put it on my calendar (see, I told you I was pretty organized!) to post an update in 30 days.
Ok, it's been more than 30 days ... thought I'd post my update.
I am STILL lovin' how my stamps are! I have stamped more cards in the last 5 or 6 weeks than I have in months! I highly recommend this to those of you who can bear to divvy up the sets. I am also a Type A personality, but somehow, I forced myself to do this ... and I am SO glad I did!
I have the IkEA trofast bin/shelf things and all my drawers have repacked, broken up sets. It works awesome! I just use an ordinary pencil on the ouside to note the category... only visible up close so that the words aren't distracting as we watch cable tv and movies in my stamping room.
I can also take a whole drawer downstairs for workshops so that "strangers"
don't have to see my creative/messy area.
I have a great card with 'Spring Party' and 'Paris in the Spring' ... they go great together! Never woulda "discovered" it without having repackaged all my sets. I doublemount several alphasets too and use the extra blocks for breaking up/amputating other sets. I may be CrAAAAzY! but it works for me!
__________________ if your path is boobytrapped you are probably on the right track to treasure BUT if everything is inordinately hard you probably are rushing to the final exam in the wrong place a day early.
My sister does a neat thing with her stamps, since her working room is so small. She takes a photograph of each set (not the rubber side, but the side with the picture of the design) and then makes a print of it. For each photograph, she gets those flip albums from Walmart (the ones your photos come in) and sorts her photos of stamp sets by theme.
This way when she wants to make a card, she flips thru the photo book for inspiration. Also she takes this photo book(s) with her to SU parties just to keep from ordering a duplicate set.
Hope this helps someone!
Arlene
P.S. For me, I have a wonderful old cubby I dragged in from a previous classroom. It has 24 cubbies in it (large enough for a 12 x 12 album and deep enough for several!) and I file my stamp sets in it. One cubby is simply alphabets, then flowers, then 2 cubbies of Christmas and so on.... Because SU labels are clear, I put them on the boxtops (just to remember how many stamps are in a set). On either end of the clam boxes, I use my LetraTag Label Maker and make a label with the stamp name. For example, on Heartfelt Thanks, there is a label (white label with large black letters) on each end saying SU! HEARTFELT THANKS. Eventually I want to take a photo of each set and then print it to fit inside the box with photo side facing bottom of the set. So when I use a stamp and have to figure out which set it belongs to, it will be easier to put back. At least with the cubbies, it sure has organized me. For all my non SU stamps, I simply purchased a few of the longest clam shell cases and filed those stamps into flowers, Christmas, alphas, Easter, etc. then sorted those boxes into the correct cubbies. So all of one theme is together (with the exception of Christmas that needs 2 now) into one cubby box. Each of those clamshell cases have a label on each end too but those cases read MISC - Christmas Stamps; MISC - Flowers; etc. MISC is my cue they are NOT SU stamps!
I also scan the sticker sheet of all my stamp sets before I mount them. So far I've just made one copy and put it in the bottom of the stamp case so I can tell what stamps go in that box, but if I'd been smart, I would've made 2 copies - one for the stamp case and one for the binder!
I used to scan a copy for my binder but went to stamping them. That way if there is something wrong with the stamp set I know immediately and can get it exchanged. If I only copied the sticker for my catalog then it might be months before I actually used the stamp set.
Also, any stamp set that has words in it gets the words copied twice. The copy with the full stamp set goes into the category the stamps fit into. The second copy with just the words get placed into my "saying" category where I keep all the same sayings together. That way I can look on a couple of pages and see every "Happy Birthday" etc that I have.
This is a *great* idea -- I'm definitely gonna steal it! Right now, all my b/g stamps live in their cases in an underbed drawer-thingy. (My stamping area is in the guest room, and storage space is rather limited.) It's a classic out-of-sight-and-mind situation, not to mention a bit hard to get at. I know I'll use mine a LOT more if I have them upright and available -- thanks for the super tip!
Happy trails....
Sue
Quote:
Originally Posted by seewah
Because I now have all my background stamps stored upright in a container (outside their SU! cases), I can quickly grab them and use them!
similar to stamping the sets on a piece of paper I just copy the stickers before I put them on the wood so I have them all together and I insert this with each set so if I have several sets out I know what goes with what plastic tray set by looking at the sheet in the tray.
KBearRN
I love this idea! I wish I had done that 150 stamp sets ago!! :(
I have mine stamped on copy paper and in a binder. They are not in any order as I try and do them right when I buy them (so I don't forget). I also love the "cut up and extra cataloge idea"!! I might have to do that with last years cataloge and then I can add to it when next years comes out!
I'm glad it worked out for you -- and impressed that you got back to us for a status report. You are organized !
I'm still chicken.
Maybe I'lll think about it when I start figuring out my New Years Resolution -- It will probably have something to do with getting more organized.
Stamp reorganization
Good for you
6 days in ...
