This week the My Favorite Things Design Team will be focusing on getting different areas of your crafty stash organized! I'm looking forward to seeing all the different suggestions from the team this week as we focus on a different area each day, and we hope these solutions will inspire you to get organized as well.
You know we couldn't have all this fun without there being something in it for YOU! There will be a different prize package offered each day -- just check the MFT Blog for all details on what you need to do in order to be eligible to win that day's prize package! You'll also find a list of all the designers participating in today's hop HERE on the MFT Blog.
Today's area of organization is near and dear to every stamper's heart: Stamps! Knowing what you have goes a long way in allowing you to maximize your limited crafting time. Do you know what you have and where they are though? Today, the Design Team will share their systems with you!
My clear stamp sets are stored in an InterDesign Double Fridge Binz clear plastic container (measures approximately 12" wide x 15" deep x 4" tall and can be found at Bed Bath & Beyond, The Container Store, or Amazon which I've linked above). Many thanks go out to Jennifer McGuire, my organizing idol who turned many a stamper on to this great storage system!
Above, you can see how the size of large stamp sets compare to the white plastic dividers I already had (which measure 9" tall x 5-5/8" wide and are, unfortunately not being made any longer). My dividers are catagorized pretty much the same as the MFT store, with a few additions I reach for most often:
Divider Categories:
Alphabets/Numbers, Backgrounds/Borders (Fillers-Patterns), Birdie Brown, Die Companion Stamps, Florals/Nature, Laina Lamb Design, Lisa Johnson Designs, Miss Tiina, Pure Innocence, Sentiments.
I used my label maker for the category dividers. The stamp sets are stored in MFT's Clear Storage Pockets, both Large (left) and Small (right):
Above is what a large and small stamp set looks like in the each of the storage pockets. Below shows how I trim down a very large/tall stamp set to fit into the Large Storage Pocket. When I have the retail package, I just trim that down a little to fit inside the pocket:
For my design team stamp sets (we receive first run samples of the stamp sets, before they are packaged for retail), I print out the stamp set image from the website (adding the name to the top left corner) onto inexpensive heavy (110 lb) white cardstock (Georgia-Pacific from WalMart), trim that down and insert it into the front of the package (example shown in the top left of the photo below). Alternately, you could just ink up the entire stamp set at once and stamp it onto the cardstock.
The top right of the photo below shows the back side of the stamp sets in their Large Storage Pockets. There is plenty of room for the coordinating Die-namics, extra die cuts, and stamped images behind the white cardstock insert:
The photo below shows the Small Storage Pockets and smaller stamp sets. There is still plenty of room in the back of the pocket to store the coordinating Die-namics, masks, extra die cuts:
This stamp bin sits on top of my white IKEA Alex drawer unit, between my desk (left) and IKEA Expedit black storage unit/table (right), for quick and easy access from my desk:
My larger MFT cling rubber Background Stamps (which measure a generous 5-3/4" square and won't fit into the double stamp bin above) are stored in another size of the InterDesign Fridge Binz -- the singe wide measuring approximately 8" x 15". I made divider categories here, too:
Divider Categories:
Chevron, Dots, Floral-Frilly-Patterned, Geometric, Stripes, Squares, Texture, Text/Words, Wood/Nature/Animal
In the front of the bin (lower left of the photo above) I store extra stamped backgrounds. I label the backs of my background stamps with the SKU sticker from the retail package, when available. Otherwise, I use my label maker:
For my monthly MFT design team stamps and dies, I keep myself organized with a file box that sits on my desk, divided into each Release Countdown Day, Launch Night, Release Rewind, Monthly Challenges, etc. Wouldn't you like to see what's behind that Next Month divider?!! :) Check back next Friday, January 30th!
Thanks so much for joining us today ... I look forward to seeing you each day this week, as we tackle and help you organize different areas of your crafty stash!
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