Do you have an "inspiration" organizational system?

[Rachelrose]

I just did an class through Online Card Classes called Kick Start (it wasn't one of the interactive ones, I just watched the videos at my own pace) and several days were about how to document and organize your sources of inspiration. I got a lot of interesting ideas, although none of the systems presented was totally right for me.

I am wondering how people keep track of their ideas and sources of inspiration, whether they are cards they love or color combos or sketches. I know lots of members use Pinterest. But what else do you use? Notebooks? Folders on your computer? Big bulletin boards? Post it notes all over the place?

[fionna51]

Well, I wish I had a fool-proof method of idea-storing. I don't. But I'll share what I DO have.

1. I have saved pictures of cards I really like in folders on my computer. I have folders for designers, and folders for stamp sets.
2. I do have pinterest. But my goal is to get those on my computer as well. If I'd just stop pinning so many, that would help!

Now, for what I really want to have working better...
1. I like Kristina Werner's ideas for card sketch booklets. I just think I would want to have everything in one place, so I'd use a binder with multiple sketches on a page. I think sketches are what helps me the most.
2. Colors...well those just don't catch my fascination as much.
3. I have a small stack of ideas on scraps of paper that I need to do something with. Can't decide what.

Nicole Heady focused on an inspiration file a while back. It was a rolodex file and had rolodex cards for inspiration, color, sketch. They have stamps to go with all of it too.
Here's the main post on her blog:
{capture the moment}: Introducing Desktop File: Inspiration
I could see having one of those...but not making it!

[GypsyRoseStamper]

I have about twelve computer file folders for card samples that interest me, and most of them (such as Occasions, Travel, Transportation) have multiple sub-folders. Sometimes, when I'm feeling brain dead, I print out 9 images on a theme (such as vintage Christmas) to get myself some inspiration. Otherwise, though, I want to stay away from using paper storage.

[Catrick]

I have a file folder on my desktop called "Card Ideas". Then I have sub-folders for Christmas, birthdays, Easter etc. When I come across a card I really like I save the card to the appropriate file folder with the name of the blog and the date they posted it.

That way...if in the future I need to see more info on the card I can go to the blog itself, locate the card etc.

Cathy

[Scrapjanny]

I use binders with tabbed dividers, and I've been using a Smash book lately for smaller magazine clippings.

[Joan B]

this is a great thread. I have never had a system, but would like to develop one. thanks for starting the discussion.

[Rachelrose]

Diane - That PTI rolodex system was demo-ed by one of the guest artists in the course (one of the PTI design team people). It is very cool - I thought so when they first released it - but in my case I could see myself making it, cutting out all the little cards and putting it all together, but then never using it! It's adorable, but way too structured for me.

I like the idea of a folder on my computer desktop, especially when it links to a blog post or a YouTube so I can get more details, but I also like having paper copies of things because I can write on them and annotate what I find interesting about the inspiration piece.

[NancyJ]

I just print out ideas that I see on the computer. Then I put them into a notebook. When I use an idea for a card, I mark down the person's initials, the occasion and the year. That prevents me from using the same great idea for the same person next year.

[GypsyRoseStamper]

Here I wrote that I avoid paper storage of images in an earlier response---until it occurred to me that all my layout ideas are store in paper (in plastic sleeves) in a notebook at my hobby desk. There's no computer in the hobby room; so paper storage was the option chosen. I have all the card layouts from Page Maps Page|Maps printed out. As I accumulate stray ones from blogs I print nine to a page and add them. However, I'm selective; some of the layouts I have seen lately are so cluttered that there is no way I would want to duplicate that.

[JBgreendawn]

I dont have a "system" I have a mess...

I am right now in the middle of re-arranging my toys, and one thing that hit me was how many magazines I've saved... I have not purchased one in years so the fact that there are so many is shocking to me.

I have pinterest boards, ( but the internet does not work well upstairs above the garage) so, I dont take the laptop up there often. so If I want to print something (IE a fs card for instance I have to email it to hubs to print or email it to my work puter and print it there)

and then there is the mess... of all the things I printed over the last year of things to try... I have piles of papers printed out, mostly sketches and or featured stamper cards etc. I tend to toss these after I use them though, I write my cards details on the edges of the print out to upload to the gallery and then toss the sheet but, the print outs are piling up way faster than the finished projects.

I've tried the binder thing, ( there are also piles of binders in the closet) I dont use them.
I need to go through all this paper and just purge it.

[fionna51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

Diane - That PTI rolodex system was demo-ed by one of the guest artists in the course (one of the PTI design team people). It is very cool - I thought so when they first released it - but in my case I could see myself making it, cutting out all the little cards and putting it all together, but then never using it! It's adorable, but way too structured for me.

Yep...me too! I'm glad I resisted it when it came out!

I do think I might do a sketch book, though...because that's usually what I look for when I browse my computer. Unless I am browsing a stamp set gallery, in which case the computer is sufficient.

PLUS...and this is a BIG plus...I have external hard drive AND online backup of everything on my computer. I never want to have to recreate those files again (don't ask...it's not pretty, losing all those files)

[fionna51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBgreendawn

I dont have a "system" I have a mess...


I've tried the binder thing, ( there are also piles of binders in the closet) I dont use them.
I need to go through all this paper and just purge it.

I tried the binder thing too. I had way too much paper, even with 4 per page. I didn't use them. I do use my computer.

Now, I admit to keeping binders. Mostly for patterns for 3D projects and shaped cards...and some technique tutorials which I might just toss since I'm not accessing them. I do like my "color" binder that has color samples of various products, RGB codes, etc. I also like my collected CAS sketch challenge binder.

[Leeann34]

I use Clipix. It's actually bookmarks on Steroids. You create an account on Clipix.com then it gives you instructions on how to bookmark favorite web pages and you get to pick from that page which photo you want to use in your album. It works on PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad and maybe other smartphones, can't say for sure. When you see something you like you just "clip" it. I'm not sure how I would live without this because I would go crazy since I use a few different devices to browse blogs and Clipix keeps them all in sync.

Oh and it's 100% FREE!!!

[KristaTracy]

I save files down to my hard drive and name them by the most important characteristic, such as stamp name, technique, theme, etc.

pti comfort food 1.jpg
su french foliage 1.jpg
christmas card idea 1.jpg
cas card sketch 1.jpg
washi idea 1.jpg
reverse die cut 1.jpg
color combo 1.jpg

I increment the number as I add more of those types of cards. When I am looking for inspiration, sometimes I will type a specific keyword into the Windows Explorer search bar. Or I just browse my most recent downloads.

[dzuckerman]

Ever since I started attending monthly stamping nights, I purchased a few of those few dollar photo boxes from Christmas Tree Shops. Every card I make at stamp night, which is about 4 at each workshop, I place in a clear envelope and file under a specific tab. Those are my demos. Every now and then, I will go through them.

[soliva]

I have one folder on my computer labeled Stampin Up. In there I have folders labeled for every stamp set I own. Then I save card ideas in the right folders. For other stamp sets I put them in folders by themes. I also have folders labeled punch art, types of various card folds, my information charts, tutorials, etc. If I printed out everything I have saved, I would spend hours finding it in paper stacks! I really depend on saved ideas on my computer for inspiration.

[Chipchick]

I use iPhoto. I get the index picture of a stamp set and set up an album for each set. I the add pictures df cards I like. I then add keywords to each picture, Halloween, embossing folder, etc. I tag the index of my stamps and all the cards I make as mine. The the cool part is that I can do a search and pull up all the Halloween ideas, or limit it further by searching for my Halloween cards. This also helps me remember who got what card.

[Rachelrose]

Those of you who use your computer - when you save something from the internet do you save it first as a jpeg?

[Rachelrose]

I started messing around with iPhoto - something I hadn't ever done because I do photo editing in Photoshop. I've been ignoring iPhoto completely. But I can see how it would be useful for an inspiration file. I can add a description of where the image came from and assign keywords. Wow. This might be better than my paper binder. And as long as it's backed up, I can migrate everything if I need to.

[dzuckerman]

I'm not that computer savvy. wish I was.

[Rachelrose]

I only know what I need to know as I need to know it. I don't know all that much about how computers work, really. I use certain programs, so I've learned how to use them.

Now I have to figure out how to use iPhoto. So I'll figure that out. Then I'll know it.

[shazsilverwolf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

Those of you who use your computer - when you save something from the internet do you save it first as a jpeg?

Yes, I do.
I also mainly use my pc for ideas storage- Pinterest boards, I have tabs on my toolbar for you-tube, galleries, blogs ,sketches, etc. I did print off loads of sketches, just by re-sizing the image, I got about 25 per page, as I only needed a thumbnail for inspiration. Keep these in a ringbinder. I also keep odd pages from magazines in page protectors in ring binders. On my pc, I have loads of sub-folders in a folder called Design Ideas- Stored by company, and also by theme.

[Rachelrose]

I have yet to venture into Pinterest. I like the concept of it, but I don't like the fact that it's public, anyone can look at your Pinterest board. I don't know why it bothers me. Maybe if I tried it I would feel differently.

[shazsilverwolf]

I only dipped into it a couple of weeks ago, but I can tell you that you can have 'secret' boards, that are private.

[dzuckerman]

I am hooked on pinterest and yesterday made 5 cards from the ideas it gives me. Most of my pins are cards. Haven't gone to private board yet. Thanks for the reminder.

[STYXROCKSME]

I am not computer savvy either. And due to thyroid disease I have short term memory loss. I use pinterest for ideas. I repin cards I would like to try. Sometimes I do a search on pinterest for a sketch idea. I sometimes take a photo of my own card, if I really need to remember details.

[Pat in Ohio]

I use Evernote. I started with the free version but updated to the subsciption one about 6 months into organizing this way.

I have my notebooks arranged into the following categories: by manufacturer, sketches, color challenges, quotes, etc.

Within each manufacturer, I have a note for each stamp set I own. For example, in the Hero Arts notebook, there is a note called Winter Trees. I have serveral card samples saved in Winter Trees. If a card uses stamps from 2 companies, I may place it in both notebooks.

I have not yet categorized by card type: Chirstmas, birthday, etc. I may in the future but right now my brain thinks in terms of stamps/stamp sets and I go from there.

Oh, and probably the greatest thing about Evernote is that I use it on my laptop, Ipad and Iphone. They all synch seamlessly.

[KristaTracy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

Those of you who use your computer - when you save something from the internet do you save it first as a jpeg?

Yes, I save my photos as .JPGs.

Right click on the photo.
Select "Save Picture As."
Give it a meaningful name, for example: Color Combo 1.jpg

[Rachelrose]

I looked at the Evernote app when I first got my iPhone. Everything is in a cloud, so you can switch between devices. I should look at it again, on my computer.

It seems like I am getting far more posts from folks using their computers. Binders full of paper always seemed like a good way to me, but it's true, you end up with binders full of paper and it's hard to organize things meaningfully, especially if something fits into more than one category (which most things do). And binders take up a lot of space.

I'm still plugging away with iPhoto. So far I am happy with how it's working. I did make albums for my stamps sets, but since I can keyword every image, I'm wondering if the albums aren't a waste of time. As long as I have an authority file of keywords, I should be able to just keep all my photos in one place, and then sort them by keyword search.

[CraftyMel2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

Those of you who use your computer - when you save something from the internet do you save it first as a jpeg?

I use a program called PDF Factory. There is a free trial online in lots of places but you use it as a printer and print right to pdf. The free trial will have a runner along the bottom that says "Printed with trial version" blah blah blah but it is just along the bottom, not through your picture. If you like Adobe like I do, this is a wonderful little thing to have. You can print more than one thing and they will line up behind eachother into one file so everything is in one place. YOu can then insert them into an existing file and add bookmarks for Christmas, Birthdays, Neighbor Gifts...however you want.

I have mine saved 2 ways; one by occasion and one by stamp sets that I have. This way if I decide I want to dig into my stash, I can find inspiration by that set and I know that I have the images.