It's taking me forever and a day to convert to Evernote

[Oddesigns]

That is all. I've not been creating. I've been cataloging. I need to do it, and I've sped up the process from my original method, but it's taking forever.

On the plus side, I've found a few more stamps sets to purge. Most of my sets immediately get me thinking of ideas to use them. Some don't. Those that don't inspire me will be purged. I've already gone through 2 rounds, so this will be a third.


On the minus side, I've really got to focus on tags. I used to flip through a binder, which got me to mix things that I might have overlooked. I'm worried that I'll miss stamps if I don't tag them properly in Evernote. If anyone has any experience with this, I'd appreciate advice.

[RJP111]

I catalog stuff in Evernote in spurts. Right now, I'm in a "slump" as I haven't added anything in a while! I like what you said about how cataloging your stamps has helped you decide which sets/stamps to purge. I think I will try doing the same thing when I get back to adding my stamps!

As for tagging the stamps, I use whatever comes to mind when I'm looking at the item, usually singular and plural (i.e. "leaf," and "leaves" or "flower" and "flowers"). I saw somewhere that one lady uses the entire sentiments as tags.

[gregzgurl]

I didn't have the patience to keep slogging along in Evernote, so I just kept my binders. Stamps that cross over into other categories are represented in each of the categories in my binder. Plus, I'm fairly familiar with what I have, so if a thought comes into my head, I have a general idea of where to go looking... Good luck with that!

As far as the purge - GOOD FOR YOU! I'll just throw out there that if one or two stamps in a set spark an idea, but the rest don't, I'll pull out the sparky ones and purge the rest. I have many, many incomplete sets now (don't care...) ;)

[Annecards]

Oh my, I do remember converting to Evernote! Tagging is where Evernote shines, the best part I overlooked when starting. Don't be too quick to tag sentiment stamps, wait until you upload and sync them prior to tagging, because Evernote, with its ocr, reads all but fancy phrase stamps. It even reads some script words. You'll want to add a tag for any not read. When you title your note, the title often includes the stamp theme, as an example. The important thing is to get them loaded in! While you're sitting in a waiting room or just plain bored you can always flip through what you've uploaded and add tags.

Some go crazy adding everything to Evernote, I don't! Stamps, Dies, Embossing Folders, Color Charts, Techniques, and Orders are my main entries. You'll be surprised how uploading your online order invoices help you remember what you have, and Evernote reads the text, so you never need to tag! I've been uploading the entire catalog PDF for SU, so I can quickly find any info I need super quick!

Please forgive me for the rambling, and I hope this helps. I'm hurting from helping my DH after he fell this morning. Oh one last tip, if you can't find a pic of a stamp, die, or something else snap a pic with your phone and load directly into Evernote from your camera. You're going to love Evernote, stick with it.

[BashfulStamper]

I'm finally, really using Evernote to keep track of my stamps and dies. I've given it a half-hearted attempt a few times, but this time, I'm actually following through.

This is the method that is working best for me: I grab a handful of my stamps or dies or whatever, and sit down to my computer. Then, I pull up Google Images. I type in the name of an item, and find a picture I like. Then, I use Evernote's "web clipper", and click "save image". It immediately saves the image, with no additional clicking/labeling/etc. I then look for the next image, and the next, etc.

I have the web clipper set up with "inbox" as my default. Everything in my "inbox" needs to be sorted, cleaned up, tagged, filed, whatever. I don't keep anything there - it's just a holding spot. After I've found all of my images, I then open Evernote, go through my inbox, tag/label/sort etc. all of my stuff. I found that looking for all of the images at the same time, before actually going into Evernote, is much faster. I treat it as 2 separate operations. I don't have to create each note - an individual note with the image is automatically created when I "save image". Often times, the title it automatically generates is pretty darn close to what I would want to use, anyway... something like "lawn fawn merry christmouse", etc. I'm adding additional information that's helpful for me, but if I'm short on time, this is a great start, even without the clean-up and labeling.

Hopefully that made sense, and might be helpful to someone. This method has been SO MUCH faster for me than starting by creating a note, labeling it, going to look for an image, copying and pasting it...

Good luck!

[robbinbobbin]

Kitty, thanks for the tip! Sounds much simpler. I've been wondering if it was worth it to convert my Excel spreadsheet to Evernote. I'll give it a go and see how it works out.

Robin

[shelene]

I do about the same thing as BashfulStamper but save my clipper into the company name notebook or a misc notebook and edit from there. Before I put any stamp or die into its pocket, it gets logged in Evernote. It is a process but well worth the effort. If you have an extensive collection, you may just spend that time anyway looking for a certain stamp. It can save time searching or buying new stamps when months later you end up saying "Oh, I already do have a stacked Valentine's sentiment" :rolleyes:

Tags are super useful, remember there is no limit (that I know of) on tags so word things that make sense to you. I have everything tagged even if it is a small heart, star or flower. If it is on the set, tag it. You never know when you will need that one pirate stamp. I also will type out above the pic the sentiment if it is sideways, or script that Evernote can't read and tag by event such as wedding, birthday, get well, welcome. Some sets can have 10 or so tags. You could always print or write down your most used tags if you find yourself forgetting what you name them. If you are close the drop down list will help. I also consolidate tags, if it has a glass of milk, cocktail, or bottle of wine- I call them all drinks. It just works for me. I will also list if I have the matching die above the picture, but the scan and cut has made that less common for me.



I love being able to plan out my next card idea on my ipad when I can't be in my craft room. Hope this information has helped some. Good luck in your process!

[Oddesigns]

OMG. Evernote clipper - where have you been my whole life?

[efromhawaii]

I use Evernote mostly for sentiments and words. So many sets have multiple sentiments it's impossible to keep track of them. Also, I have so many similar sentiments and words in different styles or fonts I wanted to be able to readily pull them up and compare them. If there are matching dies, I just make a note of that but I don't feel it's necessary to scan or have an image of the die. When I have time or feel like it, I go back and tag the images in the set.

erin

[kimbee1556]

Oh my gosh!! Just tried evernote for the first time...it's fabulous!! Sorry I didn't investigate sooner. SO much easier than stamping a catalog! Thanks ladies!!