Rubber Stamp Storage & Organization

People are always asking me how I store my rubber stamps & how I keep track of what I have (and believe me, I have A LOT!).  For those of you who know me, or have taken my classes, you can probably tell that I'm a wee bit obsessive compulsive.  Everything has a place.  Everything MUST be put back in it's place.

Let's start with my stamp catalog.  I use the Stamp-A-Log to create a catalog of each stamp I own (click here to see the Stamp-A-Log). 

I've categorized the Master Image section into major themes:  African, Alphabets, Animals, Asian, Backgrounds, Botanicals, Children, Christmas, Fashion (all those trendy shoe stamps), Faux Postage, French, Holiday, People, Phrases, Symbols, Travel, etc.  I also have a few individual companies where the stamps are so unique that the company has it's own category (A Muse Artstamps, Hero Arts & Stampa Rosa Renaissance).

The details for the Master Image sheets are listed on the Master Stamp Listing pages (click on the image for a clearer picture!):

The Stamp-A-Log has additional pages for my inks, die cut systems, embossing powders, etc.  Here's a look at one of my Ink Pad pages (I love the fact that it has a check-off box for re-inkers):

My stamps are each stored in clear acrylic photo frames (8.5" x 11"), that fit perfectly into the wooden crates sold at Michaels. 

When you remove the cardboard box & paper inside the frame, you can fill it with stamps to make it a drawer:

(my Love & Marriage drawer)

(My Backgrounds drawer - I have 7 drawers for Background images)

My hubby drilled holes into the crates & filled them with dowels to act as shelves for the photo frames:

Each of the drawers is labelled with the theme & drawer number -- African 1, African 2, African 3, Asian 1, Asian 2... you get the picture.  Those drawers correspond to pages in my Stamp-A-Log.  Mind you, I have 15 crates of stamps.  (I'm a bit nauseous even admitting that....).  I'm still working to paint all 15 crates (so far, I only have the eight shown painted...  this darned rain is killing me!).  Once they're done, I'll be back to show pics of my stamps in all their glory.

I love this organizational system because I can see all of my images in one (OK, two - I have two Stamp-A-Logs) books.  When I find the stamp I need, I go pull the corresponding drawer.  It also makes it easier for me to see exactly where things need to go when I put them away.  I can't imagine living out of my old Rubbermaid drawers where there were layers upon layers of stamps.  Here, everything is in one layer and I can see the images on paper.  Have questions? E-mail me!

(4/23/09 Edited to Add:  To see part II of this post and learn how to make these crates, click here.)

Comments

[Dissertation Proposal]

Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!

[Ruth]

wow what a great storage system

[monica sheldon]

I love this way of doing rubberstamps. what a cool way doing it.

[Debbie]

I love the sayings on your Romantic stamp sets. Where did you find these!

Love your organization skills. I can do it, but I can rarely keep it neat.

[carol]

This is ingenious! What a fabulous system. The problem with stacking stamps the way I do is that I sometimes damage the corners of some of the rubber and the image doesn't stamp perfectly. This totally solves that problem. Thanks for sharing this awesome idea. Carol

[Jeanette]

This system is the best idea I've seen thus far. It makes me want to go to Michaels right now and buy some acrylic frames and crates! I'm adapting this system, although I do not have nearly the collection of stamps as you do!