Organised Stamping...

Again I return after a spell of silence. I do apologise, but I've been adjusting to the joy that is full time retail work! I keep saying to myself that i will follow a blog plan, and eventually I'm sure I'll get into the hang of it, but for now, I'll show you what I'v been doing for the last few days during my spare time.
  I don't know about you, but my crafting supplies get disorganised very very quickly, and things often get misplaced. I have tried to keep everything in specific plastic storage boxes, but some things are just too small to be able to keep track of. i.e Stamps.
I have a lot of rubber stamps, both mounted and unmounted clear stamps, as well as some mounted on foam, and i was trying to think of a way to organise them for quick use. I decided to make a folder to keep the majority of the lightweight ones in...

 So this is a sample of the disorganisation before i made the folder!!! (not all are pictured)

First page- Birthdays. I found it easier personally to divide the stamps into categories, such as occasion, or pictures and text, or nature, mechanical, text; but really its about what works for you and what system you think is best. After i had stamped all the images onto the card (I recommend card as it doesn't flop around as much) I began sticking the stamps to the back...

Other pages- Christmas and Type. As you can see from this, the stamps are affixed to the other side of the card, corresponding to the order that is on the front. This allows for quick and easy access and removal of the stamps. To affix the stamps i used sello tape, looped round on itself, and for the clear unmounted stamps, I found that they stuck by themselves as the card i used had a coated side and an uncoated side. I printed on the uncoated side and stuck the stamp to the coated side. I think this works well, as I then simply slipped the cards into a poly pocket and put in order in the ring binder. 

All in all, i think I have created a cheap way of keeping all of your crafty stamps in order. Unfortunately, it doesnt work with the wooden mounted stamps, or any heavy ones, but theyre a bit easier to keep track of than the tiny shapes that are less than a cm squared!! 

This storage method works with stencils, embossing plates, die cutters... anything that is relatively flat I suppose, and it keeps your work area nice and clear. I hope you enjoy sorting your stamps!! 

It takes a while but is worth the effort!