I should have believed y'all....
 

"Make a stamp index as soon as you start stamping"

"You need a stamp index!"

"It is easier to start with your first stamping set then try to do it after you have a large collection!"

WHY?!? WHY DID I NOT BELIEVE THE GENIUSES AT SCS!?!?!

I started stamping last summer and thought to myself "why would I ever need a stamp index? It's not like I'll have more than 10 or 20 sets, right? And I'll always remember what I have!" Well, 80+ sets later and tired of flipping through a binder filled to the brim, then over to the "doesn't fit in the binder" drawer, then over to the rubber drawer, I finally decided I needed a stamp index! I am now into day three of this obsessive project, with the end nowhere in sight!

I have learned not to try to save too much paper, especially on sentiments. I was trying to fit as many stamps as possible into every square inch, but then I went back (luckily not too far into the project) and made the sentiments go down the page in columns. Yes, it's taking up a bit more paper, but it's so much easier to read! And isn't that the point?

My PTI true black palette ink is working like a champ, however, I am going through stamp cleaning pads like nobody's business. I have two and am cleaning them every so often, but now I've resorted to old walmart 12-for-a-dollar dishrags while those are drying. Any suggestions?

Now, to conclude and sum up:

make a stamp index now!!!

I've put it off too, and unfortunately, I have a ton of stamps now and most I forget I even own. I have been wanting to get to work on it, but no such luck yet. You've inspired me.

LOL, I feel your pain! I shudder at the thought of starting my index now... :shock:

don't forget that you can often print out the images from the computer for the purposes of putting in a binder! Or, if you have SU stuff, cut them right out from the catalog. (helps to have an extra catalog).

I feel your pain Meg, I really do... Trust me, you are not alone girlfriend.

I haven't done it yet either and may regret it one day but I think I'll be selling some anyway.

An idea I had awhile back, for SU stamps, was to go to the gallery and copy index photos of sets I have to a file and then format them in a document and print it out sometime. At least I got started but the... uh... well, the follow-through, not so much LOL!!

A stamp index is great advice :)

I need to! But I don't even know how to begin making one!

How do you make a stamp index? This sounds wonderful but I don't have a clue how to begin.

here is mine... pretty simple really! and EASY to maintain... once you get it started!

i have to agree that the sooner you start doing it the easier it is. i started right away when i started stamping. so now i just add a page here and there as i buy new stamps.

Meg, you crack me up! Not laughing at you, but chuckling at your warning that I'm sure so many will not heed and then end up writing their "I should of" post down the line. I started an index back in '95 when I started stamping, but that was about ten homes ago and have no idea where it is and that was before I started collecting SU, PTI, and other goodies, like Bellas, GinaK, and POD!!! Now, it would be SUCH a big undertaking, I just don't think I could do it! But, I really wish you the best, luck, clean ink pads, fast drying times, and lots of patience!!! Good for you for getting to it!! :>:>

:> Karen

I have the summer off, so that is going to be my next project.

What a good idea. I like how you left enough room between the images so you can get a good idea if an image will fit your project.

I have about 30 SU sets right now so I better get started.

I often forget I have a particular image until I am going through my sets trying to find something. Then I think "Oh, I could have used this stamp on that other project".


Thanks for your help

I am just to lazy!LOL

I cut out the picture from the catalog and tape it to the stamp set from TAC. And I just "wing it" with SU and other stamps. I pretty much know what I have-I think.

(((hugs)))

I have an index, but now find myself annoyed searching for sentiments that are the right size, subject, etc. I indexed sets together, and need to go back and cross-reference sentiments. The job will be so big, I can't bring myself to start it!

I had me a good chuckle over this one. It's a rare few who are smart enough to index from the get go. I, of course, am NOT one of the smart ones! LOL

I did finally break down and spend days upon days indexing my stamps as well and it was surely time well spent. I no longer waste time flipping through binders, digging through drawers or scrounging in long forgotten cabinets.

I did mine very similar to an earlier example. I used an alpha numeric system. Each category was assigned an alpha letter and the numbering behind all start with 101, 102 103, etc.

We ALL said, "What will I need with an index? I won't buy THAT many stamps." Yeah, right. Thousands of stamps later, I had to make a binder -- and that was some serious work. And I wish I had done my "words" in columns instead of trying to save paper. Got about 3/4 of the way done and went, "Oh, duh!" Too late. One day when I'm bored to tears, I might redo them all, but for now, all I do is IMMEDIATELY enter new stamps into my index. It will be well worth all the effort in the end. Keep at it.

Cindy/CA

Hey Meg...

I started indexing my stamp set back in 2003 when I started stamping and am I glad I did. I have so many stamp sets that I would be lost without my indexing book. I stamp every set on their own page except for my holiday stamps and I have them in another place on their own shelves. I have 6 SU cleaning pads and they are busy all the time. It is. for me, also good to have the indexing book because when some of my friends come over to stamp they can go thru the book and decide what stamp set they would like to use. I do know every stamp set that I have but sometimes I may want to use two or three stamps from different sets and cataloguing them is very helpful.

You go girlfriend and get those stamp sets indexed, you will never regret it.

Have a good day

Judy

What a great idea. I make a picture of the stamps before I put them on the wood blocks but I don't have a list of what I own. Do you put the year of the catalogue? Seems like that would help if you ever want to (gasp!) sell them!

i need to do the same thing...

one more day of school and things should let up a bit.

*note to self... index those sentiments!

I thought of this before I had TOO many stamps.....

The vast majority of my stamps are SU. When I purchase a new set and before I put the stamps together, I take the sheet of adhesive picture labels that go on the wood and copy the sheet on the copy machine at work. No stamping required! Each set ends up with it's own page in my binder...which is a bit cumbersome, but not out-of-control--yet!

I put the dates on the newer ones of the SU stamps because they have quit putting them on. Also on my single stamps I put where they were purchased or given to me as a gift next to the stamp with the date. Now is this crazy or not.:D

If you reduce the page to a 6X4 and buy a hard cover 4X6 photo album at dollar tree then the book can go with you when you shop. I did all my stamp pad colors on a 4x6 card with a 1/2 dot stamp then labeled each color so I don't dup a color. You can get 4 cards into one slot in the album but I do not have that many stamps. Whew! I would hate to start this project now with what I do have !!!

What's the difference between a binder and an index?

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one in the same boat! Thanks for all of the encouragement, and I'm glad I amused some of y'all. ;) I can maybe see the light at the end of the tunnel (let's hope it's not an oncoming train).

For a few of you that asked...I am using "index" and "binders" interchangeably, although some people do index their stamps on the computer, so I guess I should be more specific.

More details about my method:
Every company gets their own page(s). I can get about 3 sets on each side. I'm labeling each set with its full name for SCS posting purposes and then with the company initials and number. (e.g. MFT 1, SU 5) I use the company initials & set number for the other category pages so I know which set to use.

Then I have category pages which include:
Page(s) for each holiday
Birthday
Other events (graduation, wedding, baby)
Birds
Butterflies/insects
Animals (dogs)
Animals (domesticated)
Animals (wild and/or extinct [needed a place for my dino stamps, and I snuck a dragon in here too])
People
Things (like tables and televisions and who knew I had a pie stamp?)
Things That Go
Love
Flourishes
Backgrounds/Elements
Doodads (highly technical term for something that's not quite a flourish)
Flowers
Trees/Leaves
Places/Scenery
Alphabets
Numbers

Then for sentiments, I have one page where I'm stamping every sentiment, then I have it broken down into pages for:
Birthday
Love
Quotes
Thinking of you/encouragement/sympathy/get well
Hello!/Friendship/Just because
Congrats (including wedding, anniversary, graduation, baby)
and one for each holiday.

Me, a bit OCD? Never! My next plan is to make a nestie master sheet for each set I have (only 8 of those). I'm going to punch all the nesties and keep the negative space. That way I can use that to see if the picture/sentiment can fit in the nestie. Wow, that's sounds confusing but it makes sense in my head...I will post it when I'm done.

Ok, going to take a break from the project tonight, but tomorrow it's back to the (rubber) mines!

And if you've read this far, go start your own index! It's only going to get worse the longer you wait, and you really (a) find stamps you didn't know you had and (b) start seeing new ways to use your stamps and sentiments ("Wow, the stack of gifts on the birthday set can be used for Christmas, too!").

Thanks for this great idea!
 

As a newbie, I appreciate this advice! I will start my index right away. The stamp sets are already starting to stack up. I can't imagine where I'll be in a year or two! The image binder will also be a great tool I can bring to stamping get-togethers. My friends can then let me know which sets/stamps to bring to the next event. Just got here, and already starting to jot ideas in a notebook. Top of the list: Make an index of stamps/sets.

Meg - I am so glad to hear that someone besides me wants to punch out all of their nesties. I get so tired of having to punch out a "sample" each time I am trying to figure out the correct one to use. All of my stamped images are in a binder (I try not to use them until I stamp them for the binder) so now I can be ocd about the nesties.:rolleyes:

I started indexing my stamps (5x7 index cards) 2 years ago. It took forever. However I am looking at my piles and piles of stamps and keep wishing I had a better way of indexing my sentiments. I did think ahead and created a 2nd index card for each of the sets with JUST the sentiments... but they are not categorized except as "sentiments" so I have to go through each index card!

This is next on my agenda... for sure.

Hugs
Jaunice

OMG! I can beleive the timing of seeing this thread! LOL! A girlfriend of mine and I got together about 5 years ago and made a combined "inventory" binder. We were always stamping and scrapbooking together, and borrowing each others stuff so it made sense to us to do our inventory book together. No reason for me to go buy a stamp set she has and vice versa. It took us several weekends to get it compiled when we first started, but now we can get together and up date it a couple of times a year. This evening we got together and added all the stuff either of us has purchased since the last update and removed anything either of us is ready to part with.

We started stamping each stamp and eventually smartened up and started copying index sheets for SU!, copying CTMH sets and printing PTI sets from their website. There are still some we have to actually stamp in the book. We also stamp all of our ink pads, embossing powders, fun flock, ect. and have sections for punches, Quickutz, and Spellbinders. It has saved both of us time and money being able to look and see if we already have something. It is a pretty big binder, but we have both taken it with us on shopping trips.

I get an extra SU catalog and cut out the pictures of the stamps sets I have. It sometimes takes two if you need front and back or you can just make a copy as needed. I have a LARGE 3 ring binder broken down in different catagories (nature, holidays, ect). I can usually get two to three sets on a page. I, also leave the idea (card) that goes with the set when I cut them out if there is enough room. It took a while to put together but I am so glad that I did. Now I just add to it as I get new sets. I still need to add individual stamps.

I really like the idea of cross referencing my sentiments, but I do not see that getting done for a while.

I started out by stamping each set on 8.5 x 11 white card stock and was very good at keeping up for the first couple hundred sets but when I got behind and realized how long it was going to take to add in all my non stampin'up stamps, I changed mt tactic! Now I just use my copier/scanner and print them out that way. You can put a bunch of smaller stamps on one sheet just by arranging them on the copier bed correctly. The books are GREAT! when you get stuck for an idea you can look thru them and usually come up with something. I also mark on the sheet the name of the set/stamp, when/where I got it. I don't put cost unless I got it really cheap somehow. It would be too scary to me too be adding up costs as I'm trying to be inspired.LOL

I print the index copy for a set from SCS to keep in a notebook. I don't use it very often (like I should!) to get creative, but it sure does help to find the set that goes with a lonely stamp that didn't get put away!
One advantage to the index picture - I can figure out how to use a stamp in the set! Can't recall the set now, but one of the index cards used a stamp out of a set so that I could see what it was supposed to be lol!
I "wish" I had copied the label sheet before using it, to keep in the box too!

Hubby finally got me to start a stamp index binder about a month ago. Being a stay at home mom and having hubby's help it took me about a week and a half to get it done, stamping probably 6-7 hours a day. In the process I decided to go unmounted as well to save space, and am now about 1/4 the way into that endeavor! It's crazy, but I'm loving it!

I just finished categorizing my stamps. I did take a while. I did category pages. I find myself thinking.....I wish I had a small flower stamp, where would that be. Now, I can just turn to my flower pages and scan through them to find the one I like. I wrote the name of the set it came from underneath. Then I put my sets in drawers by alphabet, so I can easily find them. It took a while, but works GREAT. Glad I did it. I did it a very cheap way. Used my retired pink stamp pad (easier to clean than black) and notebook paper in a ring binder.

You people are amazing!
 

I'd rather have all my teeth pulled than have to index all my stamps.

Of course, I've been stamping for over a decade and have over a thousand individual stamps, no sets.

Most are wood mounts, some are um. The whole thing is overwhelming. :(

Kudos to you organized peeps who started your indexing right away. That's the smart way, obviously.

Cyn

I do not have a stamp index therefore I am always discovering new sets in my room I didnt even realize I had..lol Its okay..I love looking through them every now and again.
blessings.

For those of you intimidated at making an index I have made one in Excel - at the moment each stamp company has a sheet. Then they are indexed by name, cost, number in a set, picture (found off company website for the most part) so no extra stamping ;)

If I ordered online it was quite easy to copy over my order and "tart it up" which also has saved time.

I like doing this this way at the moment as I don't know my categories yet (though take inspiration from the ones listed above)

I can quickly sum up the value of my sets/supplies

I have added nestie sheets and H20/luminarte sheets as well - still need to do ink pads etc.

This has been the most versatile for me to collect my information and then I can decide how I need to see the information and print it out, if need be, accordingly.

BTW although I am no where near done - it is a godsend when ordering from companies over the internet because I can quickly reference what I have and don't have as my computer isn't near my crafting space at all.

I really don't believe I'm going to do this, but I'm re organizing my individual stamps and putting them into shoe boxes by themes. Had them in pizza boxes, but need that room for something else. Once I get them in the shoe boxes, I'm going to lay them out, take pictures, print them and then put them in a binder. My Stampin up sets are already in 3 5 inch binders, with about 200 more sets to go. As soon as I can get them all into binders, I'll separte them by theme. Have them on excel by alpabet and I'll put the name of the binder by the set so I can cross reference them if I need to. I also give each set a number and put the stamp sets into filing cabinets by number.
I just got behind in getting my sets finished.
sam

Hi Meg - you inspired me to start an index. I had a table listing the sets I own in Word, but no images. I am still trying to figure our how to organize them best for me.

LOVED your ideas of having specific sentiment pagesand on cataloging the nestie negative space so you can see if the images you are using fit through it - GENIUS!!

I said the same thing, and I still have not started an index. But I know I will have too.