Stamp Organization in my Craft Room

Hey Everybody,

I'm back with something a bit different today.  In a Stampin' Up demonstrator forum online we were talking about how the new packaging from Stampin' Up will give us more room since it's envelopes and not hard DVD-like cases.

I have not like the cases from the beginning so I put my stamps in plastic envelopes to store them.

I will show you how I store different things in my craft room.  I am a retired teacher and have had over 35 years of working out of file cabinets and closets. That has carried over to my craft storage.

This is a 3drawer storage unit on wheels that I got at Walmart years ago. It sits under my desk, next to me. I work at an L-shaped desk so I just turn my chair and can got into any of these drawers.

(The pink dots are numbers so my husband can make sure that everything I have now will have a place in the new area he has helped me design.

The top drawer has stamps and designer series paper. The middle drawer has storage envelopes for stamps and designer series paper and my Copic Refills. The bottom drawer has retired and current ribbon.

The Top Drawer

The top drawer is divided with cardboard to make three spaces for things. 

On the far left, is my current Stampin' Up designer series papers stored in envelopes that can hold 6" x 6" papers. These are in alphabetical order to make it easier to find what I need.

I write the name of the paper, the original size, and list the colors of the paper in the designer series paper so I can, at a glance grab card stock to match a project I'm working on.

 I cut half of a pack of designer series paper to 4" x 6 " sheets and store it in an envelope labeled, on the far left. I file the rest of that paper pack in a 12" x 12" crate. I do this in case I have a need for a full 12" x 12" sheet of paper or a larger than 6" x 6'' piece.  I like to make One Sheet Wonder sets of cards that sometimes use a 12" x 12" sheet of designer series paper.

The middle section has my current Stampin' Up Stamps, alphabetized.

 I scan the front of the stamp set and put it into a small notebook next to my desk. I can use this notebook to search for current stamps and their sentiments. It's quicker than flipping through the stamp envelopes. 

This is a 6" x 6" scrapbook binder so the printed papers easily slide into the top pocket. When Stamps retire, I remove them by pulling them out of the pocket. These are in alphabetical order as well.

When my Stampin' Up stamps retire, they got to a different area in my room. That's when I also will take the words out of the sets and organize them according to categories like, birthday, baby, get well, Thank You, Thinking of You, and more.

The far right section has stamps from other companies that I use for my different Card Ministries.  I send cards to a Nursing Home for the residents and staff to use. So they can use just about any type of card. I try to include some humorous cards as well as the typical types of cards.

I make cards for a local hospital to put on dinner trays. They need some get well cards, but many are needed for those who get well isn't appropriate for. So I make thinking of you, sending hugs, sending prayers, that type of thing.

The third ministry I make cards for is the cancer floor of a local hospital.  It is for the staff to use for condolences, thank you and thinking of you.

So as you can see, there are a wide variety of cards I make and love to use current and retired Stampin' Up stamps. I also love using other company stamps for the subject of the stamp or the sentiments. 

When I make a lot of cards in a One Sheet Wonder or just random cards when I finish designing them I put them in a pile until I have several then I stamp inside and outside sentiments on them.

I am experimenting with a way to have similar sentiments together so I can easily use them and put them away. 

Here is how I am storing those stamps. I am storing them in an old fashioned photo album with the sticky pages. The pages hold the stamps in place and I can easily peel back the plastic to get the stamp I want, put it back and put the plastic page back in place.

When my Stampin' Up stamps retire, they are moved to a cabinet that sits behind me and placed in refrigerator bins alphabetically by category. Some of my categories are Animals-then I separate them into cats, dogs, chickens, birds, etc. Others are birthday, baby, Christian, Congratulations, Fall, Summer, Food, splotches stamps, humor, etc.

Another thing I use is a basket to place all of my new/unused stamps, ribbon, embellishments, etc. in so I know what has been purchased and should be used for classes. In the past I've had times where a stamp set got stored in my drawer with other current stamps but didn't get used before it retired or before the season for it passed.

This is just a collapsible bin from The Dollar Store that sits behind me. When I go to plan classes, I make sure to pull my stamps/dies etc. from here. It helps remind me what I purchased. I can order the sets in here as first released or seasonal in front.  So right now I have a few fall stamp sets to use for my October classes. I also have Christmas stamps that I'll begin to use. It's less for my brain to have to keep track of. For me, that's a big help!

Thanks for stopping by today. I'd love to know how you store your stamps and things. Let me know in the comments.

Blessings,

Sue