Organizing Stamps - Breaking up Sets Question (Not about unmounting)
 

OK So I have been very rigid about storing my SU stamp sets in their original box with the label on them. Now I have a lot of stamp sets and am getting lost so I scanned each set, printed them and put it in a notebook. Well that isn't working either. I have recently pulled out several of the sayings or words (grouping together Happy Birthdays, etc.) and put them in open bins on my table. That has been really helpful. Now I am considering taking all of the verses out and storing them together! Is this a bad idea? Will I not be able to figure out what set they came from after a while? It just seems I am always trying to hunt them down.

What do you guys do? Do you take apart your sets? Any suggestions? What about grouping flowers together and such? Thanks, any advice is appreciated. Oh, I am not going the unmounted route by the way. :)

My collection is pretty small but what I have started doing is stamping each image and writing down what set it is from and when I purchased it (i.e. the Baroque Motifs swirl states "Baroque Motifs", June 08). I do this for each stamp in the set. For now, I still have them all together by set but when my collection grows, I plan to organize them by sentiment, theme (flowers, flourishes, shapes, etc.). And keep a master list of all my stamps in my binder which holds my inventory of inks, refills, punches, etc.

HTH!

I don't think I'll be much help, but I keep mine in the original cases with the sets they came in :) I have tried to keep them organized as you described, but it drove me crazy when I'd go back to my listings, find a set, and part of it would be missing so I ended up putting them all back where they belonged. Plus, I have friends borrow them so having the sets together makes it easier to grab and go!

What you could do is list them by cateogories or seasons? Maybe catalog style ~ flowers, butterflies & bees together, Christmas & Holidays, sentiments and sayings ........ I have all non-SU loose ones in baskets and boxes listed that way. It works! ;)

meant to add that once I start separating my SU! stamps, I will also add the name of the group that they are in to my master list. So the Baroque Motif swirl would be categorized under Flourishes. I catalog all my clear stamps this way and it seems to work for me so I hope it will carry over once I start doing this for my SU! stamps.

I started off keeping all sets in their original cases but I found that I hardly used some sets because I forgot about them. I tried the notebook of sets but that just didn't work for me.
Now I've got all my sentiments together by theme (baby, bday, wedding, good luck, etc) in a fantastic shallow-drawered cart from IKEA called Alex. I love this way of organizing my sentiments. I can see all my bday choices at once :)
I have kept the other stamps from the sets together in their plastic case. I've only pulled out the sentiments.
HTH

Thanks! That is what I had in mind but now what Kelly said above is what I am afraid of. It seems like a good idea but it is practical. Anyone else try it?

I have had my sentiment stamps separated from the SU sets for probably 2 years and I haven't regreted it for a minute! I keep the sayings in separate drawers based on the subject matter - birthday, birthday verses, thank you, thinking of you/sympathy/get well, special occasion, etc. If you don't have drawers for this, consider getting some acrylic shadow boxes so that the sentiments will be in a single layer, rather than stacked, and will be easy to get at, as well as see.

On each sentiment stamp I write on the wood end the set it is from using pigma pen (this can be easily sanded off if you want to sell the set at a later date). Each of my SU sets has a master sheet inside the box showing all the stamps that were original to the set. If I want a particular sentiment that came with the set, it is easy to look at the sheet and then find the stamp in the drawer.

The main advantage of having the sentiments separated out is that you have immediate access to EVERY sentiment stamp that you own...no digging around and trying to find the stamp set that you think it was in! I know a lot of people have a stamp index with all their stamps recorded in it (I have this as well for insurance purposes). What I found was that I wasting tons of time sifting through my indexes looking for the sentiment and then more time looking for the set. Then I couldn't put the set away until I was done using the stamp, which was a real pain in the patoot if I was doing a large amount of cards over a period of time. That extra box (or boxes) on my tables cluttered up my work space. All of these tedious steps are eliminated when the sentiments are separated from the set - when you need a sentiment you open the drawer, remove the one you want, use it, clean it and put it back. DONE! :D Simple, painless and I guarantee you will use more of your sentiment stamps, not just the ones you remember that you have. ;)

Remember this, your SU sets won't self-destruct if you separate the sentiments out. You can always put them back in the original container if you find that you hate the new method...no one will ever know! ;) :cool:

Thank you for the ideas regarding separating the sentiments. I store my sets in the original boxes and I have a copy of what is in the set inside each box. It has come in handy when I have participated in group stamping events where we each bring a few sets - I can put my set back together without having to pull out a SU! catalog. I also have a notebook with all my sets in there, and I store my sets in categories (ie one box for floral, one for funny, one for wedding, etc.) Most of my sentiments are in one area, but storing them all together (birthday, wedding, get well) makes a lot more sense and makes it a lot easier when I am creating a card. As Boss said, I can always put them back later.

Thanks for the great ideas here.
Kristina

This made me chuckle! :) I store them by set but as I've gotten more I'm thinking of this too. Post some pics when you pick a method :)

I think whatever works for you to get the most use out of your stamps is what is best. I think there are probably as many answers to this question as there are stampers!
That said, if you have any intentions of selling off any sets sometime down the road, keep a listing/index/picture of each set with all its stamps (before you break them up). That way, if you go to sell it, you will be able to put the whole set back together to get the best price.

Oh my! Mine are all discombobulated! If every thing is put away neat in their own little containers I sit in my craft room and cannot create a thing. If they are pulled out on my work table and I sit down and just start playing and not worrying if I have them back in the right containers the creativity just starts to flow. Oh what is discombobulated? I love this word, meaning thrown into disorder! LOL and yes I have all my SU markers pulled out of their container too! : )

You could assign a number to each set and then write that number on the side of each wood mount for the stamps in that set. Keep a master list of the sets with their assigned number. That way if you ever want to store your stamps together as a set again, it's a matter of putting like numbers together.

I used to break apart my sets to store by category. It worked for me just fine. (Then when I decided to unmount them, I grouped them back together. I should really break them apart because it was so much nicer to have "like" stamps grouped.)

Kimberly

I don't think I could stand to break them up. I am not there yet, but when it gets too overwhelming, I think I will just keep a categorized binder with a photocopy of each set and then store them alphabetically. I may sort them by small/medium/large and indicate that in the binder. Good luck.

Are you sure they won't self distruct? LOL! Yes, you are right and I love your ideas about the index in the box (duh!) and writing on the side! I am with you on the desk clutter, thanks so much!

Great ideas I am so glad I asked! I am still sorting this out before I do it (although I am going to start working on indexes in the boxes) so if anyone else has anything to add , great!

Another handy hint on the index in the box - make two copies and tape them back to back with the images facing out. This way you can instantly see from the back side of the box what stamps came with the set, and as you are returning stamps to the box after use, you can match the stamp to the image on the inside - no flipping the box over to double check! :D

I separate all my sentiments and store by theme. All my other stamps..SU and others...are sorted by theme. My SU boxes have a copy of all the stamps in the set just in case I want to put the set back together. Some sets have crossover themes, so I store them in the theme drawer with the most room or where I am most likely to use them.

This has worked for me for the past five years. It is easy to forget a sentiment in a set, but now I can see which "happy birthday" fits the space on my card the best.

Hope this helps...it's the same as many others have used.

Organizing
 

I do everything listed so far(almost)...LOL
Actually, I keep sets together but add individual stamps bought from other sources to sets they most fit with(style not size).:)
But in my trusty little notebook, I stamp the sentiment as many places as it will go-:p --ie with the set it came from,then in my categories----- quotes, birthday, sympathy, thinking of you, and each time I list the set and general description {like Natures Wonders--scriptquote} --you get the idea---- so at least the sentiment is with lots of friends. ;) Since I tend to chose a stamp set to create with when working on free choice items, I can easily flip to my sentiments pages to see if I want any other words than what the set has originally.
this works for me---but then I only have myself to please----and no children or pets to worry about messing up my system.........

When I unmounted my stamps I sorted them by sentiments and theme. I make an index sheet for each set then I note which CD case the stamp is in. There a few sets that just kind of go together, so I kept them in the same case. Since I am down to the rubber only, I am also able to store multiple sets together which is a space saver.

Of course, I have changed my mind so many times over the years, but this method seems to be working for me right now.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

I do the exact same thing you do and I love it. It's so nice to see all the sentiments for a certain theme together and talk about saving time!
I do have the original set stamped in a binder so if for any reason I need to put the set back together it won't be a problem.

I used to separate all mine before I became a demo. Of course, I have way, way, WAY more sets than I ever did back then! The one thing I did NOT think to do then was keep a master list or picture of each set in total...with predictable results! When I took a little hiatus from stamping and sold my SU sets, at least one of them was sold missing a stamp or two, and I didn't even realize it! Sadly, I didn't come across the missing stamps until long after the sales had dropped off my ebay list, so I had no way to figure out where it should have gone...

I think if I ever become an un-demo, lol, I will probably revert back to breaking up the sets. But I will definitely figure out a good reference system first!

Stamp Sets Notebook Organizer
 

I have a TON of sets, since I was a SU! demonstrator at one time. (I'm still a devoted customer. Love SU!) I keep my sets together, which keeps my projects coordinated, but here's what I do to organize my stamps, and get the most use possible from them all...

I have a looseleaf notebook that I add each new set to as I buy one. (This took some time to set up initially, but keeping it up is a breeze.) When I mount each new set I always ink it up and check to make sure my placement is good. Then I add it to my "STAMP SETS" notebook. The notebook has 3 sections; "Stamp Sets", "Background Stamps", and "Words and Sayings".

I use inexpensive blank copy paper, and stamp each new set I get in a 'block' on the page. I fit as many sets or as few as will fit, and I use a new color to stamp each new set, to kind of set each set apart. I list the name & number of stamps in each set, then draw a line between sets.

If the set has a background stamp like little swirls, or stars, or if it has words, then I stamp and label those again in the next sections. This way, when I'm stamping and need a "Thank You" or another sentiment, or a particular type of swirl, I just flip to find it.

This has worked great for me. Hope you have the time to put this together! Good luck.

I really debated this a couple of weeks ago... I decided against splitting up my sets.. But I did get a notebook and set up catagories, such as animals, bugs, girly, guys, friendship, etc, plus different senimnets such as inspiration, greetings, thank you, silly, puncuation, etc.. Then I went through and stamped each stamp into which ever catagory it belonged.. Some were put into more than one. I have my SU stamps divided into catagorys in a target cubby thing and all others are unmounted and divided into catagorys in cd cases... I labled each set with a sticker and a unique #.. For example a SU flower set would get a sticker with a label F-SU-1. The F stands for flower, SU for Stampin Up, and each one is given a differnet #.. The non su ones, in cd cases get a # such as f-1, f-2.. I have so many stamps, this took me two weeks to do and I still have a few more to do.. When I stamp it in the notebook I write the label # under the image. I really think this is going to help me use a lot of those stamps I never used because I forgot about them!
It has already come in handy!

This is a very interesting thread! i think organizing my stamps will be a never ending challenge!

By the way c-mouse - awesome progress on your stamp to spend challenge!

organizing Stamps
 

I have over 400 sets of SU stamps. I copy the image sheet before I attach it to the stamps. I make 3 copies of the each image. I have 3 binders, one is ABC order, one is by # and the 3 is by holiday and sayings( I have 4 copies of sayings. I keep a typed list on my table of all the titles I have. Each stamp set is given a # when I mount my stamps. Each stamp in the box has the same #. This makes cleaning up easy for me when my students or friends use my stamps. Hope this helps.

I actually write in perm marker the set name on EACH block. That way when I have a few out I always know what set they belong to.

WOW! What awesome ideas! You gals rock, I was way over-thinking this and these simple solutions will be so much easier. I do scan the sticker sheet when I get a new set and even when I buy a used set I put it on the scanner and put a black shirt over the edges (so no light can get it) and it scans just as well! I am too lazy to stamp each and every one in a set. I just didnt think to print it out three times and categorize them.

I am a demo. I seperate out all the sentiments. After the guests make the cards they are to take it over to another table and choose the sentiment they want. They like this as one person may want a congrats card and another wants to use the card as a thank-you.

I mark my blocks with A-04 ,B-12 etc. I list ABC... and then the number of stamps in the set. If you break them up, you could always find where they go if you ever want to put them back together for sale or for a different event etc.

I have so many stamps that I've gotten to, AA-04 etc. I also like the stamped folder idea as well. Awesome ideas guys. YOU ROCK!!

I did it too!
 

I have tons of stamps and stamp sets...
First, I took all the sentiments out and kept like ones together.. Birthday, Thinking of You, Thank You..etc.
I was so surprised by how many and what variety I had. I also found I was using them all more instead of the same ones over and over.
That led me to putting the holidays together, then seasonal, then animals, then baby an kids.... and it progressed until I had broken up almost everything except the flower sets.
I had all the stamps in labeled 3 drawer plastic containers, they each could really hold alot of stamps and I found myself with tons of extra space.. and organized too!

Then one day, I knew I had a particular stamp that looked like a daisy and didn't know exactly which set it was in, it took me a while to rummage through my sets looking for just that perfect stamp. That was when I decided to break up the flowers and leaves too.
I really have tons of flowers so organized them by type.. daisies took up one whole drawer (I love daisies). I could keep sets together in the drawers (like watercolor garden and watercolor mini), 2 step flowers were in their own drawer, bouquets, cutsey...etc.
Best thing I ever did. I want leaves? Which drawer.. the drawer with ferns, or the realistic ones or the cutsey ones. It just worked out so well!

That ultimately led me to unmounting them all, they were already organized so that part was easy. Now I have everything at my fingertips, easily found and in a very space saving way.

Sue