Five Ways to Organize Your Rubber Stamping Supplies
There are probably as many ways to organize rubber stamps as there are companies that sell them. Everyone has a method he or she swears by, but what works for one person is just awful for another.
1. Frankly, I don’t care if they take up a ton of room. I’m not unmounting stamps that are already mounted. I have an entire cupboard filled with stacked plastic bins from the dollar store that are about 3 inches high. Each bin has a different category of mounted stamp in it, although they are a bit disorganized right now due to a marathon stamping session by the kids. They work great for the number of mounted stamps I have. Other people prefer drawers or open, narrow shelving for mounted stamps.
2. For my unmounted stamps, I use binders with trade card sleeves in them. The sleeves hold stamps with velcro or cling film on their backs. I do not like this system, but some people absolutely love it. The reason I don’t like it is that you have to be extremely careful to keep your binders right side up or you will be picking a big pile of stamps up off the floor to refile. If you are working with kids, picking up unmounted stamps happens a lot.
3. So, I have been looking at some of the other ways to store ums and I kind of like the thought of file boxes. The reason I haven’t changed to that method is that I really want a library card cabinet to store my ums on file cards in and haven’t found one yet.
4. Ribbons are not too challenging to store on spools - just slide them onto a dowel and hang the dowel on brackets somewhere. Loose ribbons can be harder. I like to wind anything bigger than a foot onto a piece of cardboard cut to atc size. Smaller bits, I toss into a drawer that has dividers in it for socks. (My brother was really organized and it used to be his bureau. Green ribbons go in the green section, etc. If you don’t have a drawer, a Christmas ornament box would probably work great.
5. Finally, we come to ink pads. Frankly, I have yet to find an idea method. I saw some expensive holders, but they cost more than I wanted to spend. I use an old wooden tape cassette organizer I found at a yard sale that I stand on the skinny end so that the pads can be upside down to stay nice and inky. However, it doesn’t hold big long ink pads or little cat’s eye pads.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Storage and Organization
2 opinions for Five Ways to Organize Your Rubber Stamping Supplies
Mary Jo
Sep 29, 2007 at 12:24 pm
While I don’t stamp as much as I used to, I still dream about the idea of a library card cabinet! I have a very large storage closet for my things, but somehow it still sprawls out and is alway a mess.
Regina
Oct 2, 2007 at 5:39 am
I also want a library card file and my friend has one in her garage that I am working on getting out from under her, lol! The cassette rack is a great idea and I also store upside down. I have several of the color boxes and they are a panic to store anywhere!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: