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I am considering taking all my stamps our of CD/DVD cases. Have you done this?
I already store a lot of my stamps on laminated panels in page protectors, in a bin. But I still have my SU stamps in their DVD cases and my PTI stamps in CD cases. I am thinking of dumping the cases and doing all my storage on the panels. But I feel oddly anxious about doing it, not sure why, maybe because I feel I'm taking the stamps out of where they "belong". Seems ridiculous. I'd rather have a consistent system, easier to organize and the cases take up a lot of room. I could get more than one set on a panel easily.
Anyone storing all their SU/PTI stamps on panels? Yeah, I'm sure there are plenty of you. I just need to hear it.
Why am I anguishing over this? I can save the DVD and CD cases and switch them back if I don't like it. Call me crazy. Go ahead, you won't be the first.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I agonized over the decision take my stamps out of their cases, but I am so glad I did. I also broke up the sets (gasp!) so that I can keep all the sayings/words/phrases together, all the flowers together, etc. I store all of my stamps on laminated panels in page protectors and in a binder. I love it because I can organize the stamps the way my brain works, and I can flip through the binder to see what I have. I could never remember what stamp was part of what set and this way works perfect for me. (I kept the inserts in case I ever wanted to put the sets back together again.)
Yes, breaking up the sets would be the next logical step, but for right now getting them out of cases will be a big help in organizing. And space saving. Some of my SU DVDs have only four stamps in them - the hostess sets are infamous for that.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I combine sets in those DVD cases, drives me nuts to see so much wasted space! I stamp the images on a cover for the case showing all the stamps in it and I've gotten 3 sets in some of them. And I break up sets too, put sentiments together, etc.
The binder method sounds like something I may consider someday when I have more stamps.
I love using the bins. Binders were unwieldy for me, and although easy to store whe not in use, you have to keep taking them down off the shelf and opening them up to get the stamps. The bin just sits there, and you flip through the page panels, so easy. Use chipboard to separate sections by any categories you want.
Some people love binders, though.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Rachel, I think you should try and make your stamp storage suit your needs. I thought binders would be a good idea but I soon realised that for me it just wasn't going to work. I have two Tim Holtz styled zippered binders, and they are great binders, but I can't work with them in my room. However they are fabulous for taking stamps away with me and easy to pack into my tote.
How sensible it sounds when you say it that way, Theresa. Thank you.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Rachel - I've moved all my Stampin' Up stamps to my laminated cards in storage boxes. I'm using the dvd cases that used to hold stamps to store my sets of spellbinders dies.
Now, it was probably less nerve-wracking for me to do this because by the time SU introduced their cling-mounts, I already had my other SU sets off the wood, out of their cases and onto the laminated cards. But now you've made me think - I have several sets of clear stamps that I've kept in their original packaging. Why?!? It's not even NICE packaging - just plastic bags! I keep forgetting I even have them because they aren't with my other stamps. This error in thinking will be rectified this weekend!
I do have a few (maybe 8 or 10 at the most) individual wood-mount stamps that I haven't removed from the wood - a couple of House-Mouse, that sort of thing. For some reason, those stamps seem to want stay on the wood and in their storage drawer, and as long as it's just a few, I'm letting them have their way.
I have several sets of clear stamps that I've kept in their original packaging. Why?!? It's not even NICE packaging - just plastic bags! I keep forgetting I even have them because they aren't with my other stamps.
You know, I started today to gather up some of the cling singles and small sets that had come in non-store-able packaging and which I had stuck in some extra DVD cases, hand labeled. Or I'd stuck the label from the packaging into the plastic cover of the DVD case. Putting them on panels, I had to make an index sheet to place in the front of my page protector and wow, it's really helpful to be able to see your stamps as full sized stamped images. It kind of sparked my interest in the stamps again.
It is going to be a little weird to do that first SU set. But I think once I've done one, I'll get excited about it.
Taking the clears out of the CD cases will be harder. I have emailed to ask if it's okay to put clears on the panels I have, and both companies said it was okay. I guess it's clings that you have to be more careful with, because some things break down the cling foam. Clears seem to be more forgiving, I think. Or maybe not. Someone will tell me if I'm wrong.
DVD cases for Nesties - interesting idea!
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I combine sets in those DVD cases, drives me nuts to see so much wasted space! I stamp the images on a cover for the case showing all the stamps in it and I've gotten 3 sets in some of them.
The binder method sounds like something I may consider someday when I have more stamps.
I've done this for many of the retired SU sets I have and intend to keep. It works well especially for those teeny-tiny, itty bitty sets...:-)
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I have a hard time breaking ups sets but I did break up the wood mounted birthday and thank you stamps. I also feel like they need to stay where they belong! I could not bring myself to ditch the cd cases.
I Also can't break up my cling SU sets
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
What I'm finding as I go through and stamp all of the index cards for the stored-on-panels sets is that I have WAY TOO MANY OF EVERYTHING!!! I'm going to do a "favorites" binder or box or whatever - a few favorite butterflies, a few favorite hearts, a few favorite "Happy Birthdays", etc. After I use it for a while, I'll know if I miss the others or if I can safely sell them or give them away. I'd really like to down-size even more than I already have, but I'm hesitant to go all crazy with it. (I've already sold/given away close to half of the stamps I owned)
As far as the OP's dilemma - go for one consistent system for ALL of your stamps! You'll be able to see what you have (which makes it easier to actually USE it!) and you won't have to have multiple types of storage units (which makes me crazy). I think you'll be very happy...
Sue - are you making an index card for each stamp separately? Right now I'm just making an index sheet for each panel. It occurred to me that having an index card for every stamp and then a file system broken down my category would be useful but it seems like a lot of work.
I'm going to start putting my SU stamps on panels this weekend. That will be the barrier breaker.
I am glad I'm doing this now. I don't have that many stamps yet. It's only been just under a year of doing this for me.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Last edited by Rachelrose; 12-28-2012 at 05:50 AM..
I have some from Stampers Best and some are Sunday International Stamp N Stor, and I just ordered some EZ Mount brand from Crafter's Companion so I could compare. I found that the Stampers Best laminated panels are a bit smaller than 8.5 X 11, and this made it easier to slide them in when full of stamps, so I trimmed the others I had from Sunday International and rounded off the corners so they now fit better.
What do people use for the index sheets? Cardstock or just plain printer paper? Cardstock is nicer, but I'm not sure I want to use up so much white CS. I just got four small SU sets on a single panel, and now I have to do the index, and am trying to decide whether to keep using cardstock or not. So far, I have been.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I went in the opposite direction. I put all my stamps (SU or not) into SU DVD cases. In order to get multiple sets into a case and avoid wasted space, I kept everything in alphabetical (only to the first letter). I tried the binder thing and didn't care for it. Love all my stamps in the DVD cases now... All uniform and I can find them and use them easily.
The best part was that I got my cases during SAB so I got free stuff.
Try them in a binder and hang on to your cases. In the end you've got to do what's best for you!!!
What do people use for the index sheets? Cardstock or just plain printer paper? Cardstock is nicer, but I'm not sure I want to use up so much white CS. I just got four small SU sets on a single panel, and now I have to do the index, and am trying to decide whether to keep using cardstock or not. So far, I have been.
I do mine on cardstock. But I am buying the georgia pacific cardstock at walmart and it's really inexpensive. It isn't as bright white as my card-making cardstock but for index sheets it's just fine. I think the price is just over $5 for 250 sheets.
I know a fellow stamper who just did this with her CD cases. Made her own laminated sheets and put them into storage binder thingys. Saved a ton of space, and made her craft room so neat and tidy.
I don't understand these index sheets and panels. Could someone explain this to me? Or better yet have pictures?
Ahh, I just posted a craft room tour and so I have pics now!
The first picture shows one of my laminated cards filled with stamps.
The second picture shows the index card that I stamped with the same images. This is another piece of cardstock basically the same size with the images stamped so that each stamp is directly behind its stamped image.
The third picture shows about 8 or so of these sets in the cut-down page protectors and placed in my drawers. Each drawer has a theme...this one is single-stem flowers...and all I have to do is flip through the "packs" of stamps to see what I want.
I like to use the smaller A5 storage panels since I prefer all my sets to stay together and stored one set to a panel. My head is geared to thinking in terms of sets, not images. (Disclaimer - I only have SU! stamps wood mounted. Other brands of stamps I buy as cling mounted and most times need a different storage solution).
If you not satisfied with your current arrangment with the stamps then it is good to change it to fit you. Diane, your arrangement looks very sensible and user friendly.
Ahh, I just posted a craft room tour and so I have pics now!
The first picture shows one of my laminated cards filled with stamps.
The second picture shows the index card that I stamped with the same images. This is another piece of cardstock basically the same size with the images stamped so that each stamp is directly behind its stamped image.
The third picture shows about 8 or so of these sets in the cut-down page protectors and placed in my drawers. Each drawer has a theme...this one is single-stem flowers...and all I have to do is flip through the "packs" of stamps to see what I want.
Are your laminated sheets homemade? I have been using transparency sheets, but I don't like it, too flimsy.
I don't mind making my own or buying them.
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I had been unmounting mine and keeping the sets together on transparencies in binders but I guess I had too many sets. I had three 3-inch binders and only had about half my sets in the,. It was too bulky for me.
I went and bought MORE cd cases from su and have been transferring my stamps there... I've put all my flowers together, all my birthday words together, sympathy, thank you, etc. animal shapes, etc. I've left my current sets in their original cases smoothest it would be easier if I need to do a demonstration, but everything retired is grouped together...
I probably should have listed all my sets before unmounting them so it would be easier to gallery cruise for inspiration on sets i actually own. But I've found it actually makes me more creative this way. I simply look at cards that I like and then have to,adapt them to what I have.... I have cut down on the number of "flower" sets I "have" to buy too.
Diane I like your set-up!! I may have to go,back and alter mine a bit
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. - Albert Einstein
Sue - are you making an index card for each stamp separately? Right now I'm just making an index sheet for each panel. It occurred to me that having an index card for every stamp and then a file system broken down my category would be useful but it seems like a lot of work.
"Hello - My name is Sue, and I'm an organization addict..." I've tried out five or six different storage systems so far, and have attempted various ways to index all of the stamps, too! I currently have full-size binders with pictures of entire sets, organized alphabetically by manufacturer (and alphabetically within each manufacturer), so I can see which stamps go together. I have a couple of other full-size binders that have a mix of trading card pages and photo pages with individual images stamped on cardstock in them and organized by category, so I can look things up that way.
I currently have the stamps themselves on panels in binders by manufacturer (and alphabetical within manufacturer), but what I'm finding (as mentioned in my post above) is that I have way too many stamps, and don't love all of them. I'm creating panels of "favorites" to go into binders of "favorites", and will see how that goes. I'll probably end up getting rid of a fair number of stamps in the near future, as I've already seen quite a few "what was I thinking?" and "similar enough to count as duplicates" stamps. I'm leaving the non-favorites in their current binders (by manufacturer) until I make up my other mind...
I would REALLY, REALLY love to land on a solution that I could be happy with in the long-term. I feel like I spend more time rearranging and reorganizing and indexing than I do creating - very frustrating! I truly think that my problem is overwhelm/overkill - I just need to purge!
Are your laminated sheets homemade? I have been using transparency sheets, but I don't like it, too flimsy.
I don't mind making my own or buying them.
There is another thread on here about this, but I can't find it at the moment.-I bought myself a cheap laminator ( I Googled Amazon.com and you can get them over there for about $17), I buy packs of laminating sheets from a pound store, and do all my own storage sheets.Someone posted that you can get bulk packs of laminating pouches from places like Staples cheaply. You can either laminate the sheets as they are so they are clear, or you can laminate a sheet of copy paper. This makes them a little sturdier too. You could also stamp on the sheets, then laminate.
All my u/m stamps are in ring binders, by theme. I am about to begin the process of unmounting all my wood mounts. I did used to feel I should keep sets together, but I found I forgot about a lot of stamps that way. So now, all word/sentiment stamps are together.
Sue - your system sounds amazing! I think your frustration is not with your system, but with the fact that you have to spend time organizing stamps that are not serving you. Your stamps are your tools and it's always best to have all the tools you need and none that you don't. I agree - you should purge further. Don't rush it. But if you slowly begin to let go of those stamps that are not earning their keep, your system will work for you, instead of being a chore.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Sue - your system sounds amazing! I think your frustration is not with your system, but with the fact that you have to spend time organizing stamps that are not serving you. Your stamps are your tools and it's always best to have all the tools you need and none that you don't. I agree - you should purge further. Don't rush it. But if you slowly begin to let go of those stamps that are not earning their keep, your system will work for you, instead of being a chore.
I concur! My goal is to have "go-to" binders: one for backgrounds, one for holidays, one for flora and fauna, etc. If I can ONLY have stamps that I know I will use, I'm sure I'll be much happier (and more productive)! I know that I've changed up my style (or discovered it, or whatever) and that a lot of the stamps in my current stockpile are not consistent with that - I just need to be ruthless!
I too am struggling with this problem. I have SU, PTI, AMUSE, Hero Arts, and many old PSX stamps - in other words every type imaginable - and they take up so much room! I just started putting the new PTI sets as well as some of my Hero Arts in the Tim Holtz folders and love it. The question I have is if I do this and no longer have the original packaging, is anyone going to want to purchase them when I purge? I find that after a while I get tired of some of them and want new stuff
Save the packaging! For SU and PTI that should be easy, just keep the CD and DVD cases someplace. I'm not getting rid of mine right away.
The Hero Arts stamps I have came in a useless plastic bag - no packaging that I could use for storage anyway.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I too am struggling with this problem. I have SU, PTI, AMUSE, Hero Arts, and many old PSX stamps - in other words every type imaginable - and they take up so much room! I just started putting the new PTI sets as well as some of my Hero Arts in the Tim Holtz folders and love it. The question I have is if I do this and no longer have the original packaging, is anyone going to want to purchase them when I purge? I find that after a while I get tired of some of them and want new stuff
If you have room to store the packaging outside of your creative space, it might be wise. Having said that, I will also say that - for myself - I could care less about the packaging or even mounting of the stamps. I ONLY care about the stamps themselves when I buy from the B/S/T forum or off of blogs or at yard sales or anywhere else! As long as the images stamp well, I don't even care if they're "pretty"! I've bought some pretty stained-up stamps and cleaned them up myself, and I always un-mount anything that's not bare rubber.
I've decided to not even worry about having full sets when I start purging/selling/giving away this next round. I figure that I bought them and will keep what I will use - even if I'm breaking up sets - and that if anyone wants the rest "as is", I'll sell them at a discount. If not, I'll give them to good homes (senior center, Girls and Boys Clubs, Goodwill, friends, whatever)...
I just switched my first Papertrey set to a panel. OMGosh. It was a set that I'd needed two CD cases for, and the index sheets were longer than the CD cases so I'd had to cut them and fuss around with fitting them on the back of the case and then couldn't quite fit the stamps over their images so everything was kind of jammed in every which way.
I took a clear polycarbonate panel I got from Stampers Best (you can buy polycarb sheets for cheaper, but I already have these) and a piece of WW cardstock (I have some cheap white CS on order so I don't have to use my good stuff for indexes) and stamped all the stamps on the paper and then set the panel on top of the index and put all the stamps on top of their images, and then stuck the index paper into the page protector after running a short line of dotto on the top to smush against the page protector and thus keep the index from coming out of the page protector when I remove the panel and then slid the panel of stamps behind it and stuck it in the bin.
Then when I used the set this afternoon, I just took out the panel, put it on top of the page protector (so I could see my index) and used it to find the stamps I wanted and then again to be sure I had them all in place before putting the whole thing away. I could see all the stamps in the set at once, clearly. Plenty of room for everything. What an improvement over the CD cases. I can't tell you.
It's so nice when something works out.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I too am struggling with this problem. I have SU, PTI, AMUSE, Hero Arts, and many old PSX stamps - in other words every type imaginable - and they take up so much room! I just started putting the new PTI sets as well as some of my Hero Arts in the Tim Holtz folders and love it. The question I have is if I do this and no longer have the original packaging, is anyone going to want to purchase them when I purge? I find that after a while I get tired of some of them and want new stuff
I have sold stamps at garage sales over the years and last year was the best result I have had. I took some SU clam shell boxes and added the stamps until I was satisfied. They were all mixed stamps (unless there was something that had to have more than one stamp or it didn't make sense) but all were cling rubber. I think I put $5 each on them and sold every box. The year before I had them packaged as sets in clear zip top bags with cardstock to back them and I didn't sell any. It may be that I just got lucky, but I got rid of them and made some money back on my investment. I'm going to do the same thing again this year, but I'll have some boxes with clear stamps this time in addition to rubber. As far as packaging, I'm not going to save it. I have split up many of my sets now anyway - it makes more sense for how I use my stamps. Especially worked for Christmas cards - if I was doing a snowflake card I had all my sentiments that referred to snowflakes in one section, all my snowflakes in another. The hard part for me are those miscellaneous stamps that just don't seem to fit in a general category. And I purged a lot - after all, how many thank you stamps do you need? Or stamps that are some sentiment that you can't ever see yourself using? It's been a long and very time consuming process but I'm happy I did it ;)
I think, like most of the others, we are interested in the stamps, not so much the packaging, so I don't think you'll have any trouble selling. I started buying stamps a few years ago, and didn't really think about where they came from etc,it's only since I've been blogging that I've realised it might be helpful to add the info, but I have found it's easy enough to find catalogue images on line, if someone really wanted to get the info, they could find it to print out. I'm in the process of unmounting pretty much all my woodmounted stamps, and putting them on sheets in Ring binders. They just take up too much space. And I stopped stressing about keeping sets together- I have all my sentiments together, etc, as I found that too many stamps were getting forgotten about because how they were stored wasn't really user friendly, and thats really what it comes down to, I think- finding the most user friendly system for yourself.
I know you can stick stamps with cling mount or EZ mount on the Crafters Companion panels, but what about clear stamps. Can you put those on the EZ mount storage panels without damaging them? What about the laminated panels or the polycarbonate panels?
I kept my stams in CD storage cases since the "beginning" but recently I had outgrown my storage space for them. I threw out all my CD cases and now I store my stamps in 3 ring binders - I can fit a lot more stamps into a small space.
Mary Ann - I don't know where you can buy polycarbonate sheets other than Stampers Best, I only know you can because of this blog post where someone did. May be you could email her.
Their clear polycarb panels are thick and very rigid. As in, you probably couldn't cut them with your guillotine trimmer, too thick. SB also sells polycarb laminated sheets. I have some of those also, as well as laminated sheets from a couple of other places.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
I have just started this journey....of organizing my stamps...so I'm subscribing to this post. You ladies are inspiring, encouraging, and educating me. THANKS!
I am considering taking all my stamps our of CD/DVD cases. Have you done this?
What to do?
