A2 Card Bases and Mats

[sharonmeyer]

I need some ideas on how to store my card bases and mats. I went through my scraps (which I keep in large clear plastic envelopes from Dollar Tree inside an accordion folder - sorted by color) and cut A2 card bases and various size mats for quick use when making cards.

I am not sure the best way to organize these. I actually love organizing as much as I do crafting! lol

anyway. I am thinking of purchasing the art bin. Should I sort by color and sub-sort each color by the size of the mat with dividers in each section?
What do you all do? how do you sort your bases and mats.

thanks for the help!!

[wavejumper]

Welcome to the boards of SCS

Where do you want to store them? On your desk, on a shelf...that will decide the size of the container.

How you sort imho should be by how you think of it-do you think of a color first or the size first? The good news is that wont be in stone so you can always change it up later

I have mine in hard clear plastic rectangle boxes w no lid-very similar to JMs' fridge bins but cheaper at TJ Maxx/Marshalls. I keep them on my work desk.

I cut up the cheap 2/buck thin floppy plastic cutting boards into dividers-I actually do that for a number of things-and label them.

I sort by size, function and then mfg. I generally only have white, ivory and black in these bins. Colors have their own box elsewhere. I dont make them anymore in advance. When those are gone I wont do that again. I just fell into a big batch on clearance at my LSS.

So a label could read A2 WC pratice Canson XL

I only keep a few premade cards ready. If I am going to do a big holiday run, I make the bases then.

See you around!

[JBgreendawn]

well, things I could cut into mats are sorted by color... envelopes and card bases take up drawers and are sorted by size and then by color.

so, it probably depends on how big your stash is or how big you are going to allow it to grow.


for the most part I tend to make card fronts than build a base to suit it after because, most of my bases are colored to suit the front and then lined inside with white or cream to write on and it helps counter the weight of the front a little.

[c-mouse]

Well FWIIW--I only have precut white and ivory/cream pieces in 5 1/4 x 4 . I keep them in wire holders that i purchased at Target eons ago with labels as to the type of paper and the weight. That way when I want to stamp images for swapping or mass production I can just go to the bin with the correct ones. I also use them for the insides of cards. This makes it quicker to finish the card IMHO......also I don't cut them.....I buy packages of cardstock and take them to my friendly paper/stationary printer store(not a big chain) and they cut them however I ask. The last time I went I had them cut a package of Michael's 110 Recollections into bases and then cut the one half into the 5 1/4 x 4 pieces...This way if I want to use that cardstock for bases I have some...I did this for both white and ivory. In 10 years they have never charged me for doing this....probably because I go in an buy envelopes from them. They often have the unusual, square, oversized ones in small quantities left over from a big job and I am glad to obtain them at a fair price for small amounts so I don't have a storage problem. Anyway--that is what I do for mats and bases.

[jukie]

4 times I have tried to write this post lol! so easily distracted...squirrel...

anyway, this is how I have (some) of my card bases, mats....