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.)
