Do you have so many stamp sets you don't even know what you have??? Well today's lesson will solve all those stamp organizing problems for you (er, well at least you WILL know what you have, maybe not WHERE it is! LOL) I have over 100 Stampin' UP stamp sets (something like 120ish sets) and now that I have my Stamp Inventory completed, it is much easier for me. I have some other brand of stamps (clear stamps mostly) and I plan on making a section for them in my inventory as well. But I haven't done it yet.
Each Saturday, I hope to have a Stampin' With Sami (SWS) Lesson for you -in the form of a tutorial with step-by-step photos. It will either be a fancy technique or a cool new way to use a product. Today, I am offering a storage/organization solution for you. The purpose of me bringing your these mini workshops is to hopefully convince you to become one of my lovely customers :O)
Today I am going to walk you through how to make a STAMP INVENTORY BINDER! I got this idea somewhere in blogland and I adapted the idea to suit my own needs. I hope that you can adapt my version to best suit your own stamping needs.
The idea behind a Stamp Inventory is you keep a binder filled with an image of every single stamp you own so you can go to that binder, flip through it, and then you can realize what you are looking for! If you aren't exactly sure what you want to use for a certain project, then you can go to the binder and browse until you find what you want to use. Sometimes, before you even know what you want to make, you can go to the binder and just flip and see a stamp you haven't thought about in a while and that could be enough to spark some ideas!!
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- plain old hard back 3 ring binder
- 8.5X11 paper (I just purchased a ream of pastel colored paper at Staples because I wanted it to be pretty, LOL)
- 8.5X11 page protectors
- computer and printer (optional) or a pen
- your stamps
- some ink
STEPS:
***You have to choose your organization method -alphabetical (by stamp set name), by theme (christmas, sports, nature, etc), or something completely different. I chose to organize my stamps alphabetically by stamp set name because I have my stamps stored in ABC order so for me it is easy to go straight from the binder to find my stamp sets since they are organized similarly. Alphabetical order works for me also because when I get a new stamp set, it is easy for me to add the new set to the binder by just adding it in the correct order.
1. THIS IS WHERE YOU COULD USE THE COMPUTER IF YOU WANT TO. Put the name of the stamp set at the top of each page, either by typing it and printing it or using a pen.
2. Stamp each image from that stamp set onto the sheet of paper.
Here is an example with a typed title: 
Here is an example with a handwritten title:
3. Place the sheet of paper inside a page protector.
4. Place the page protector inside your binder in order.
5. REPEAT!
HELPFUL TIPS:
- When I first decided to make my Stamp Inventory, I was working with maybe 50 stamp sets, so I made a list of all the stamp sets and then typed the names so one would be at the top of each sheet of paper (we have a laserjet B+W printer) then just printed them out. I do have some of them hand written, but most of mine are typed up because I tend to update my inventory in batches.
- Only stamp one stamp set per page and one stick one sheet inside each page protector! That way you can add pages without having to re-stamp anything. This is especially important if you are using the ABC order method.
- Decorate the outside of your binder and make it your own! Mine has pink title plate, but other than that it is plain. Maybe someday it will get some love. LOL!
I used transparency for my letters. I cut them out with the Big Shot and then stamped on them with Stazon and the script stamp from the Stampin' UP Rustic Rooster stamp set.
These are some photos of Johnny and me playing in shaving cream while we were making some Shaving Cream Background items. It was a blast!!!
Yes you are reading correctly. That sign says UP TO 80% OFF!! These items are retired items even!!! The demonstrators got to order supplies first during a special demonstrator only sale and I PROMISE you, there were bunches of other supplies, but they SOLD OUT. Believe me when I tell you they are not joking: Order today while supplies last!! When the word gets out, these items will be gone forever.
Play along here: http://spcolorcombos.blogspot.com/2009/09/spcc-17.html
I did not have this ready ahead of time so I had to bust my booty today to work on it :O) I hope you like it! I was impressed with how it came out, actually.
I made this card for my DT work at Your Memories Here AND for the Just Buggin' Challenge #1 (we are currently on challenge #4!!! I know, hence, the title, forgotten card!!!)
This card features the Stampin' UP Season of Friendship stamp set (for the tree and leaves), Grateful Greetings stamp set (for the larger sentiment), and The More the Merrier stamp set (for the acorn & circle sentiment).
