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I'm just getting into stamping, so I figure this is a good time to start an organizational system. I need to have some sort of system, it's just my nature. Also my memory is live a sieve lately, so it's even more crucial.
I only have about 6 SU sets thus far <gasp!> and I've copied the sticker sheets before mounting, so I can just put those into a binder. But I also have a bunch of mounted stamps from other sources like House Mouse, Gruffies, Christmas, etc. Should I stamp each of these? The stamping and cleaning of each stamp seems like a ton of work. My acrylics are all in CD cases and I can flip through those quickly and easily.
I have no intention of going unmounted. I like unmounted, but everything is going to stay the way I bought it. Space really isn't an issue. Would digital pictures work better?
Has anyone done a combo of a lot of different techniques to catalogue stamps?
One of my probs is that...well, say you want a star. You probably have umpteen star stamps, but where are they? Which set has them? Which one is just the right one for your card? See my prob?
I had this same problem when I started stamping years ago . . . my solution: think outside the box! My sets don't stay together anymore . . . all hearts together, all phrases together, flowers, animals, bugs, backgrounds, frames, bows/garlands, borders etc. all have their own spot. I have a 300 sq.ft studio now with 2 lingerie chests (tall, skinny chest of drawers) holding all of my stamps. The catagories are in alpha order (animals, borders, bows, bugs, cats/kittens etc.) within the drawers. I use 'store bought'' dividers and various boxes (or box lids) to keep the drawers organized. The clear stamps in each catagory are on cd cases. Before I had the studio, I bought new pizza boxes from the local pizza place ($1 for 10 small) and sorted them into those (just the right depth for wood mounted rubber stamps). I labeled the front edge of the box then, kept the stacks of boxes on shelves in my craft closet. That was way before the clear stamps but I did have several unmounted stamps. I put them in zip bags inside the box.
I'm a new demo now and plan to keep doing what I am doing with one exception. I will stamp the set on to a piece of paper and label it (SU001, SU002, SU003 etc) and I will staple the SU label to that page (I'll file the pages or put them in a binder). Each stamp will get numbered onto one edge of the wood with a thin sharpie. I have room on a top shelf to save the original boxes. That way, I will be able to pull the stamps from a set together quickly for a workshop, I can loan them to my downline (I will have a downline, right? :p ), or re-box them for a trade. Once a set is retired, I will mark it on the page and mark it on each stamp as well (maybe a red dot).
I created a file folder on my computer called Rubber Stamps. I scan or photo each SU set before I mount them, using the label sheet provided. Save the image by the stamp set name with prefix SU, so they group together, but are alphabetical. I scan and name individual stamps so they group also, i.e., star1, star2, star3, christmas, baby, etc. Sometimes, I do a save as to get the same image in two categories. Then I just look at the thumbnails to find what I am looking for. I don't have to individually stamp or use printer ink to get the image, and they are automatically organized by the computer.
Hope this works for someone.
Millie
__________________ Millie I joined the Fan Club... So Many Stamps...So Little Time!
Last edited by goodgram64; 12-03-2008 at 10:38 PM..
Thank goodness for my brain storm.. It may not be the best of organized but, I have made copies of every stamp or the stickers you place on the wood block and have put them in a 3 ring binder.. Now I need to go back and just place them inthere by season I think.. I have a LOT of stamps, dang that ebay! Then after I reorganize I need to go back to unmounting them
I don't own LOTS of stamps - but I do as many have already said and that is to show the images on copy paper in a folder. I keep a single folder for the one company that I own most stamps. Those stamps are completely separated from my others/mixed companies that I keep in a plastic crate, so they are easy to locate, in cd-cases with labels on the front.
My suggestion though is to also scan those sheets with all the images ---keep them accessible on your computer.
How often are we sitting, writing emails, thinking we should be making a card and head on over to our stamping place to make a start? You can FIRST, open up your file online and look over the images right there ----- you're sure to find inspiration and know when you go to your stamp room, exactly what one you want to go find.
OMG!!!! This thread has inspired me to list all of my sets on excel as many here have done. I never really thought about having y sets more organized other than being totally neat and tidy on my shelves. I arrange everything by catagory, then alphabetically and by box size. It is easy to forget what you actually have though and i would be at a total loss if something ever happend to them to remember what I had. It took me 2 days to inventory, organize and find prices for everything, but now I feel so much better. I have almost 250 sets and had no idea that I had that many! I don't know why but it makes me want even ore stamps now! thanks to everyone for the good ideas and inspiration.
I split all my sets up and store them unmounted in a binder (well 12 binders. lol). They are organized by category and then by theme so I no longer have to try to remember what birthday stamps I have- I just go and flip through 4 pages and see them all at a glance
Like here is one of my pages of owl stamps
Now instead of trying to remember that somewhere years ago i may have bought a tiny owl or that there is a cute owl mixed in with some flowers- i can just look at them all on one or 2 pages-pick the one I want and put it right back.
Easy Peasy!
This is the same system I am setting up right now! I really like the idea of having all of my certain types of stamps together and visible when I want a certain type of image. I had a hard time deciding whether I wanted to break up sets... and then realized I was missing out on using a lot of my stamps because one type was mixed in with a set. Glad to hear this system works for you... I can't wait to get mine done!
I bought an index card binder at walmart, I usually photocopy a picture of the sets I have at a reduced size and stick them on an index card. I have this organized by theme, sort of, I am not done. I was doing alphabetical but that got to be too much.
Pia
I've been meaning to do something similar with an index card file. I want to decorate a lunch box tin, then stamp all images on index cards and file by category. That way I can file a single image multiple times. For example, images from the SU "Wanted" set could be filed under Boho, star, Western, and equestrian just by stamping select images on multiple cards.
__________________ Stamping with a cat - Fur is a fiber | Ribbon is a cat toy |Eyelets are for batting | Glitter is a fashion statement My Photography
I have thousands of stamps and I just remember. I guess I should have a better method but so far I have been fine. I forget about very few. I do have most of my individual stamps in drawers or plastic containers by theme.
hi Cora!
this is pretty much my answer too, i keep them in upside down 11X14 plastic photo frames (cheap things from Michaels) and or iris project cases sorted by theme, so i break up sets... and i just "know" i may not remember who makes that image when its time to upload a project but i know what my images look like and what most my sentiments say.
I also have a huge binder with each stamp stamped in it, because with some companies you cant use the index sheets as copies they are not the same size, plus this shows me if a stamp is crooked i twist my wrist a bit before i stamp it to get it straighter.
i also have started photographing the stamps themselves and plugging them into an blog that is only stamp photographs...
(this makes it hit home how many similar types of things i have collected and helps with the sorting purging parts too)
this is pretty much my answer too, i keep them in upside down 11X14 plastic photo frames (cheap things from Michaels) and or iris project cases sorted by theme, so i break up sets... and i just "know" i may not remember who makes that image when its time to upload a project but i know what my images look like and what most my sentiments say.
I also have a huge binder with each stamp stamped in it, because with some companies you cant use the index sheets as copies they are not the same size, plus this shows me if a stamp is crooked i twist my wrist a bit before i stamp it to get it straighter.
i also have started photographing the stamps themselves and plugging them into an blog that is only stamp photographs...
(this makes it hit home how many similar types of things i have collected and helps with the sorting purging parts too)
Me too, I keep my single stamps in acrylic frames that work like drawers to slide into a cabinets that a friend's brother made for me. They are organized by category, specific holidays, birthday words, thank you words, stampscapes, animals etc. I keep some stamps by companies too. Rosies Roadshow,Amuse, Claudia Rose only make small stamps and they work together. I have a few thousand single stamps. Once I tried to inventory them and they got all jumbled; I was so overwhelmed that I didn't stamp for about 2 years. That was a mess!!! My SU sets are on a shelf in their clear boxes and I have P-touch labeled them on the side of each set with set name in large letters so I can see them from a distance. But I only have about 35-40 SU sets at this point. Thats a great idea to shrink down a photo of each set and place on index cards to keep track. Yikes!! I better do that ASAP before I get anymore sets. Gotta go!
I love your ideas for the SU sets, and the excel file, thanks stampers!!
I didn't realize how much SU I had 'collected' until today's inventory :rolleyes:
As for my regular system - I found a bunch of those stamp-a-log binders on clearance years ago, and they have it all categorized with separated sections with detailed pages of boxes and description journals as you stamp sets, embossing powders, color combos, pearl-ex, glitters, etc.... and it's small enough to take with me to stores and swaps.
They still make them under a different name, create-a-system.
As far as storage, I categorize in this old army cabinet I found at my antique store, by maker and category. It holds over a thousand stamps, lol
__________________ 12 year breast cancer Survivor �
Mom to twin homeschooled boys, On-air DJ, Stampin' since 1978 SCS Gallery Etsy Shop
I have unmounted all 115 SU sets and have many other sets and singles. I have index stamped all and have them in a binder on letter sized paper. I also have an excel spread sheet so I know what I have. The main reason I am posting is because I found this AWESOME spreadsheet yesterday and it could help lots of you! Thanks to Eeyore63125!
the creator of this file sells the spreadsheet. it's probably against her policy for people to share it freely... i thought you'd want to know.
As soon as I get a new stamp or set I either stamp it or make a photo copy of the master sheet and put it in a 3 ring binder. The binder is divided into 4 sections..Sets - Individual - Christmas sets & Christmas individual. If I lend a set or stamp I make a little notation beside its picture in pencil with info as to who I lent it to. Sometimes there is space left in the SU cases so I put smaller loose stamps in there but make a notation next to it's picture in my binder which case it is in. I always look through my binder before I make a project. That way I use various sets and not just one or two everytime.
I know some of you will think this is a little obsessive but if I didn't organize my studio would be in a shambles, my stamps wouldn't get used (except for a few) and with limited storage I would be hunting through each set every time I made something. It just works for me!!! lol
I just posted a set of my stamp journal pages that might be of some help. I'm behind on my journal, went print some pages for myself and thought I would share.
I work with computers in my job and at home for fun, so I made a database of all of my SU stamp sets. It has 488 records, so that's about how many sets I have - eeek! I've scanned the images from the label sheet for each set, listed all of the sentiments, descriptions of all of the images, a rating from 1-5 for how much I like it, a NOTE field for special comments like if it matches a wheel or background stamp, and some useful other info too.
Now if I want a heart or star or bird or a word/phrase, I just have the database pull up the records that match and I can see the images on-screen and find what fits the occasion. I also printed a full page from the database of each set and put them in a very large binder for browsing.
The stamp sets are in alphabetic order in a few file cabinets, so I know where to go to get the stamps I want to use. It took some time to do this, but I can find ANYTHING now.
A screen shot of a sample record is attached so you can see how I set it up.
__________________ It's not finished until the ink is DRY - the voice of experience
I am in the process of making a stamp notebook and organizing my sets. When I started this process I found 35 sets that I never even cut or mounted. I found so many sets that I didn't even realize I had. (and I only have 85 sets). I am so glad that I am doing it now, but I wish I has done this from the beginning. The sets that i have the sticker sheet for I am making 2 copies one for my notebook one for the box. The rest I am stamping.
On another post, there is an excel spreadsheet of all the sets. I did try to print it but for some reason it only printed up to the S's. Can some one tell me what I can do to get it all?
Thanks!
Bev
__________________ Bev
Organized People are just too lazy to hunt for things!!!
I have over 400 and counting: This is how I stay organized.
1. Excell spread sheet in Landscape format:
Category 1: Assigned Number for stamp set
Category 2: Own it or not
Category 3: Name of set with # of stamps after it.
Category 4: Theme
Category 5: year and page number of catalog
Category 6: Price I paid
Category 7: Price new
2. Next I make 2 copies of the set either by copying the sheet
that comes with the set or scanning the set in and printing if it is a used set.
3. Tape one set to box. (In case I drop several and also to know how to make them fit back into the box.
4. Assign number to set.
5. Put number on box
6. Type Stampin Up Set Name: ______________Set # ________at top of a sheet of paper.
7. Write in name of set and the number I assigned it on paper
8. Tape other sheet (picture of stamp set ) I had copied to sheet of paper ( Step 6)
9. Sort excel sheet alphabetically.
10. Insert one sheet in each plastic sleeve (Put sample of card in back of sleeve and any other ideas for that set.)
11. Put plastic sleeves in 3 ring binder alphabetically
Right now all my stamp sets are in duplicating boxes waiting for me to set up stamp room this summer. When I do, this is what I will do.
12. Put stamp sets in full suspension filing cabinets by Number.
13. Make Dividers according to themes and put plastic sheets that belong with that theme behind that divider. Some themes will have so many they will have their own binder.
Themes: Winter Valentines Father�s Day Christmas Birthdays
Summer St. Patrick�s Fourth of July Get Well Thinking of You
Spring Easter Halloween Sympathy Friendships
Fall Mother�s Day Thanksgiving Thank You Sayings
Travel Funny Miscellaneous D. Morgan House Mouse
Backgrounds Children
Once this is done, I can go to the excel spread sheet sort it by theme to find all stamps I want, got to the theme binder and look at the sets, and then go to the correct filing cabinet and pull that set and know where to put it back when I�m done.
For Category 2 I put an H if I have it and leave it blank if I don�t. That way I can sort and have a list of the stamp sets I don�t own to look at if I�m shopping on Split coast, and a list to look at if go somewhere and need to know what I do have.
With this many sets, I need to know what I have bought, and where they are at. I don�t do any stamping at home. This is being set up for when I retire. All of my stamping is being done in classes. Once the room is set up, I might even get to stamp at home.
I also use an excel spreadsheet to keep track of what I have. I also indicate # of stamps in set, price paid, book it was in, when retired. Didn't realize I had over 300 stamp sets till I did this. WOW!
Some very good ideas. I put mine by design. I confess, I break up my SU sets, which sometimes turns into shear panic for me. But I know my 16 plastic drawers of stamps by reach. I just bought some new stamps and now have to rearrange my drawers, since they are filled up. Once memorized, my hands just reach. I like the ideas to write them down. My friend stamps what she has, and puts it at the bottom of the drawer and then puts the stamp on top of it. It works great, I just haven't done that yet.
