The Move
I haven’t had much to share lately and to make a long story short, it’s because I have moved my scrapbook room – quite the feat!  Before I started, I thought I was moving to a larger room but in the end it seems smaller.  Must be the shape, I actually haven’t figured this out yet.  This wasn’t a completely bad situation.  It made me go through my supplies and get rid of what is just taking up space.  I have learned a lot in the past couple years as I have tried to buy less and work at using up my stash.  As a consultant, I still make regular Close to My Heart purchases but I know that this is what I love and use the most.  Much of the rest of my stash sits because I don’t make it much farther than what I have recently purchased.  Okay, so I still need to work on this!  My only regret with moving so far is that it was done in a rush and I was unable to paint the room before I moved into it.  I will probably live in the blue with animals for a long time before I build up enough energy to move everything and paint a more enjoyable color.  I do LOVE the window!

My desk is about the same, other than I have cleared off more space and have bottles of flowers on my desk now (less shelf space now and I do use these a lot).  That basket on the right of my desk contains necessary, commonly used supplies (ATG gun, adhesive, photo cutter, markers, acrylic blocks/stamp cleaner).  Since I am not able to always scrapbook in my room, this basket is easy to grab and go when I go to a friend’s or scrapbook downstairs.

These are my favorite storage items along this wall.  The stamp storage is no longer available but I like that it fits in a small area.  The 12×12 cubes are from Michael’s and they are great.  They tend to bow apart as you build them taller so I made the top and bottom open cubes and attached the sides instead of the top/bottom.  This seems to hold them in place better.  That tall cabinet I love to store all my paper.  I cannot believe that it has survived moves and holds all of my heavy paper so well (purchase many years ago at Shopko).

Here’s the inside of my closet as best I could get pictures.  It is a large walk-in so it is shared right now with my daughter’s clothes.  They may move out but I will need to use it for some other storage.

Maybe better from another angle:

I took out the curtain rods as was able to fit in perfectly these cube organizers from Target.  I really like these too but they don’t hold 12×12.  I have ribbon, metal embellishments, acrylic embellishments, and misc stickers/other embellishments stored in the baskets by theme.  On the right I have misc. 3D projects in the top cube, then more baskets, and the one that looks messy has photos and to-finish projects or to-use-right-now items.  You can also see clipboards slid into any open spaces.  I have run out of notebooks to alter so if I have a birthday coming up I will most likely whip up a clipboard (would be much easier to have done ahead of time!).  Clipboards are great gifts for kids and I pick them up cheap at garage sales.  It doesn’t matter if they are written on because I will cover it up anyway!

The bottom part here holds baskets with words, alphabets, gems/rhinestones.   Also idea books, card supplies, punches, and sewing.  The cubes to the right have CTMH business supplies and a 12×12 drawer unit from Michael’s which holds embossing supplies, glitter, chalk, colored pencils, etc.

My Supplies
Now, on to more specifics. Before, I had my supplies sorted in product categories (chipboard, metal, acrylic, stickers, etc.).  This really isn’t how I scrap and I wasn’t using those supplies.  I still have some of those and generals but anything that can be categorized by theme I have moved (birthday, Christmas, flowers, butterflies, words, letters, etc.)  This IS how I scrapbook and how I search for supplies.  I am have already been using more of my older stash with this new organizing.  I have gone through every single thing (with the exception of paper….still working on that) in my scrapbook room and have thought about if I will use it or not and if it is worth keeping.  I have added MUCH of my stash to my rummage sale pile and I feel good about it.  I’m sure I won’t miss any of it.

Ribbon Storage
Another realization is that I have A LOT of ribbon!  Not sure why but I haven’t been using ribbon much lately so that’s something I need to work on.  Part of the problem with my ribbon was that I had many different methods of storage and it was all over the place….ribbon spools, floss boxes, baskets, even a ribbon purse.  I left what was in the floss boxes because it is well organized and I like this method of storage.  My Pebbles Inc Ribbon Iron comes in handy with this storage and I love this little tool!  However, I had many more spools of ribbon that didn’t have a home and I didn’t want to invest in more supplies.

Here is my solution and really the best storage method that I have personally found.  It is inexpensive and you can put them away but they are still easy to access and view.  I taped and wrapped the ribbon on large recipe cards – ones that didn’t fit well in my recipe box (why do I even have these??)  You could also use index cards, cardboard, or cardstock.  Then I “file” the wrapped cards of ribbon in photo boxes.  As I was putting them on the cards, I tried to sort by color or coordinating ribbons for easier matching later.

So, there you have it.  I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my cozy scrapbook space and how I’ve organized my supplies.

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And here are the after pics around the room starting at the door and moving around from left to right.

I used most of the shelving that was in the closet but added the four white shelving pieces on the right (from Michael’s).  I stocked up on photo boxes because they are great to use as storage and used more of them that I thought I would.  The ones you see here store my cards (finished and need to work on) and envelopes (all sorted by sizes).  This area was organized before but looks SO MUCH NICER in boxes, it’s amazing!  And things are easier access too.  I also have a stash of new Close to My Heart products here.  The bottom drawers are for my girls and their supplies.

This is the inside corner of my closet.  The wall is slanted so it makes a point to the corner.  It’s not the best for storage but not space goes unused.  My tower for my Close to My Heart stamps fits here at an angle and then I have a basket of other stamps that sets on top.

The shelf on the wall I found on a rummage sale.  It was one of those that you often see that had another piece on the top with cutout hearts.  It took some muscle but I pulled that top piece off so I could use more of the top for a shelf and update the look.  I didn’t even bother fixing the unfinished edge when I was done because it is along the top that you can’t see.  I love the shelf along the wall in this room and I use it to store my cricut cartridges and display artwork.  The table is for my girls to scrapbook/craft at.

Believe it or not, this corner desk and side piece is another rummage find from way back.  It was probably one of my best deals ever.  The side piece fits 12×12 albums.  I can’t remember anymore but it was something like $25-$50.  The shelf piece on top I got for free at an auction house.  I told the guy I wanted it instead of a new desk because it matched the one I had and he said to take it because he was just going to throw it away!  I have found that I use my Cricut all the time now that I have it out and easy to access.  I got the ribbon shelf on the right from Crop Chocolate and the other white desk organizers at Michael’s (always at 40-50% off!).  The brown/pink bag on the right of my desk I purchased at Hobby Lobby.  This has all my essentials in it because I often scrap away from home or need to bring things upstairs (now with a little one) to scrapbook.  I can just grab this basket and my project and I’m set.  The “organize me” basket on my desk is also from Michael’s.  It was too cute not to buy and it’s where I toss things when I don’t feel like putting them away and it keeps my desk clean.  Of course, when it’s full I have to play clean up.

These look mismatched because I found them piece by piece at rummage sales.  They serve their purpose and fit in this space perfectly.  Take note of the corner cabinet that I even use the space on top.  These are the Close to My Heart Work-In-Progress Albums.  I love 3-ring albums and these have a box to hold them and they stand up on their end very nicely!  You can’t beat the $15.95 price either!

Here’s a look at the inside of my cabinet.  I think I got this at Shopko and although it is that cheap stuff it has worked great for me and even survived a move.  I love that the shelves are 12×12 to fit my paper.  I have had it for years and the shelves have held up the weight of all that paper!  Everything in here is labeled and you can see more of my paper organization on this post.

Here’s the newest addition to my room, some much needed 12×12 storage, bought at Michael’s on sale.  I haven’t decided if I want to add a couple more to the left side.  I originally started with a couple there at worked and they got moved to the closet.  Now that they are gone I like having the extra space there but need to find a place for the boxes that are sitting on the floor.  They store page kits as I make them up for each of the girls’ books.  I’ve worked around the white board that came with the house and use it to keep track of my projects and deadlines.  I have to also add that I got that white shelf on a rummage sale too for $10!  You can see details for my CREATE letters on this post.

And finally what started everything!  I saw on Pinterest how Lisa had stacked her storage cubes like this and thought I’d give it a try in my room.  You can get these at Target.  It has given me so much more space!  I have to also add that I got that white shelf at the upper left on a rummage sale too for $10!  It’s meant to hang but it rests just fine when stacked like I have it.

Here are just a few more closeup pictures of how I have things organized:

This is just some of my ribbons.  I like this as a storage option because it is so easy to find what I am looking for but I do have to use my ribbon iron.

I have a lot of stickers/rubons/etc. that I store kind of by theme in baskets around my room.  I took some heavier cardstock (with prints that I didn’t really care for), cut them and added tabs on the ends to stick out for labels like you see above.  Some of my tabs are family, baby, birthday, holidays, butterflies, words, misc.  I just thought about how I scrap and if I need a birthday-something, I just go to the marked basket and it’s all right there.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.  Now that I have everything neat and organized I feel like being in my room again and you should be seeing more projects posted again. I have some catching up to do!

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Here is a picture of mine filled with supplies:

Z4131 Exclusive Inks Organizer $69.95
Z4135 Re-inker Tray sold separately $8.95

As you can see I used labels on the side of the organizer so I would know where each ink color belongs.  My kids will use them and not put them back in the right spot or I will take out a bunch and can’t remember where they go.  I have mine sorted by the CTMH color families with the Neutral colors on the bottom.  The best deal is to purchase the entire organizer (or earn it as a 1/2 price item with a qualifying gathering) but you can also purchase it in pieces as you need them.

Z4132 Stamp Pad Tower $11.95
Z4133 Marker Tower $14.95
Z4134 Handle and Swivel Base $15.95

I purchased the Re-inker Tray way before I bought any re-inkers.  This tray can be used for anything!  Throughout the years I have used mine for a variety of things including embossing powders, other ink pads, sponges/daubers, and glitters.

Another item that goes along with this that I like is the Z4136 Organizer Carrying Case $34.95.  If you travel and take your supplies with you it is a worthy investment.

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I think I paid $4 for this shelf.  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it but I knew it would be great for organizing scrap supplies.  Not sure the flowers will stay there but it works for now.

I wasn’t sure where I was going to use this little set of drawers until it sat in my house for awhile.  Originally, I had planned to use it for socks, shoes, and hairbands, etc. in my daughter’s room.  Then I realized that the drawers hold the CTMH stamp sets perfectly!  So it now has a home in my scrap room.  I paid $10.

I only paid a couple dollars for this black set of drawers.  It doesn’t match but I knew it would fit perfectly with my other storage.  I suppose I could paint it but it’s fine for now and serves it’s purpose.

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to this:

Here is my solution:

I got this spice rack from my mom.  I wanted one for my scrapbook room for embellishments but I wasn’t exactly sure how I would use it.  This was the perfect idea!  I have eliminated all the excess packaging and it will be much easier to find what I need to add flair to my projects.  My plan was to decorate the jars so they were pretty in my room but for now the labels are more practical.  I’m feeling more like organizing than creative today.  Maybe I’ll decorate them another day.

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I cut the labels for the front of the boxes out of my CTMH Idea Book.  For the most part each group fits in a box.  One or two are a bit tight but I’m stocked up on cardstock now so that will change as I use some of it up.  The basic colors (not pictured) take up two boxes because I have more of those and I have one scrap storage envelope for each color.  For the rest (seen above), I have two colors in each scrap storage envelope with the color separated with a divider.  So the scraps for the first color are kept in the front pocket and scraps for the second color are kept in the back pocket.  Scraps larger than 6×12 are kept in the front of that color.

Here’s a picture of the labels:

With the new arrangement of CTMH colors it was difficult at times to see which color was which with similar ones right next to each other (and they are stored in the corner of my room with not as much light).  This system has solved that problem.  Before I would still have to dig for scraps because I only had them separated by color family.  Now with each color in it’s own place it is very quick and easy to find exactly what I need!  Dh saw what I was doing and said it looked too organized…what’s that!?!

If you are thinking about doing something like this, they often go on sale at Joann’s but the picture is not correct.  See the Amazon link for the correct product but get them at Joann’s.  They come 3 to a pack.  The larger holders and dividers are sold separately.

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The first thing I do when I get a new stamp set is to make a copy of it.  I put the carrier sheet with the stamps right on the copier.  Just make sure that you don’t lose any stamps doing this.  If you don’t get a clear image then take the stamps off and copy just the carrier sheet.  *If the copied image does not have the name of the stamp on it make sure to write it on the sheet.  By doing this I can flip through the book to find a specific image.  So many stamp sets have a variety of images that fit different categories that I wouldn’t find without this or I’d have to pull out the stamps.  (Example: a flower set would go under flowers but it might have a sentiment/word on it.)

These printed sheets go into a 3-ring binder which is sorted by category.  You can use whatever works best for you.  My current categories are: Alphabets, Sentiments, Flowers, Misc.  Within the misc. section I have birthday, borders, and other themes together.  I plan to update this with more dividers like kids, birthday, animals, borders, backgrounds, etc.  Right now those stamps are together, I just don’t have a tab for easy reference.

Then the actual stamp sets themselves are stored in alphabetical order.  So I can look through my book to find a stamp and and look up the set by the name of it.  This also allows me to quickly access stamp sets that I use often and know the names of off the top of my head.  You will see I also have the drawers labeled.  There is really no reason for this other than to keep my drawers in order when I pull them out.  I thought about marking which drawer each stamp set was in but because I have so many stamp sets that come and go I didn’t want to bother with this because some may move to different drawers and I felt it was too time consuming to keep up with a system like that.

This My Acrylix Organizer also works well if you have a smaller amount of stamps.  These also stack well on top of each other.

Once you have a system in place you need to use it and keep it updated.  Every time I get a new stamp set, I need to remember to photocopy it and add it to my book.  Every time I get rid of a stamp set, I need to remember to take the copy out of my book.

I hope this has helped you and maybe given you some ideas.  The main thing is to find something that works best for you so that you are using your stamps and not just letting them sit because you don’t know what you have.

Update: In answer to Juliana’s question, the only Close to My Heart stamp sets that I have that don’t have names are the ones that come in the Workshop Kits and I think their technically called by the name of the workshop so that’s what I use.  I write the name (ex. Pemberley) with permanent marker on the envelope where the name would normally appear.  I do the same with the Stamp of the Month sets, they are sorted by name.  I don’t mark these as SOTM because they sometimes show up in a later Idea Book as a regular stamp set.  The few stamps I have that are not CTMH are stored in a basket on top of my tower.  This is as far as this organization goes because it’s easy enough to look through them and I know from the copy in my binder that they are non-CTMH.

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First, I go through my digital photos on the computer and determine which ones I will print.  I make books for each of the kids and a family set so I go through my pictures with one book in mind at a time.  So I would go through and pick out all the photos I want to scrapbook for my family book.  I copy these photos into a folder on my desktop that is labeled “photos to print – delete when done”.  Inside that folder I have a family one and one for each of the kids.  As photo deals come up, I upload from this folder.  Once uploaded, I move them to another folder (ex. Walgreens).  I know these prints are on the way and within the Walgreens folder they are still sorted into family, kids, so I know where they belong.  Once I receive the prints, I refer back to these folders and from here they go into a photo box with tabs labeled the same as my computer folders (family, kids).  They are filed in the back and I work the oldest (front) pictures first.

Photo Box to store sorted pictures

From the photo box, I will take out a set of pictures and either make a page or create a page kit.  My page kits will consist of pictures, paper, embellishments, and a sketch.  I have 12×12 boxes to hold the page kits.  Once again, these boxes are all labeled the same (family, kids) keeping my system consistent.  The boxes are then filled with pages to scrap or take to a crop.  Once the pages are complete, I write on the back of the page which book it belongs in.

12x12 boxes used to store page kits

Next, I have 3-ring binders for each set of books (family, kids).  Completed pages go in these books and when they are filled I move them to a post-bound album.

Storage for completed pages before they go in post-bound albums

I used to have all my pages chronological by photo dates.  This was a lot of work so I’ve gotten a little slack with this and now just put them in the book as I scrapbook them.  Since I do the oldest photos first and work my way to the current I figure it’s close enough.

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I found this set of drawers at Lowe’s that works perfect to store my CTMH stamps.  Unfortunately, I don’t think they carry it anymore.  You could do something similar with any drawers or I also like to keep my stamps in baskets like at the top of the picture.  Baskets are fun and come in many shapes and sizes and it is easy to flip through the stamp sets.

I have my stamps sorted alphabetically by name.  This makes it quick and easy to pull out the ones I use often and know by name.

Something else I do is flip the stamp set around in the envelope so the images face the front.  With my current system it doesn’t matter much but before I had my stamps cataloged this made it easy to flip through them and see the images.  The easier they are to see, the easier they will be to find and use!

The best part of my stamp organization process is my binder where I have made a catalog of all my stamps.  When I used wooden stamps I actually stamped all the images (this is a lot of work) but for my acrylics I just lay the stamp set on my scanner and print.  I do one set per sheet because as a consultant I go through a lot of stamps and do a lot of buying and selling.  This system is easy to keep updated.  My previous catalog I had the stamps on 6×6 cardstock pieces and they were on the front and back.  That was hard to update.  In my new catalog I just make a copy and add when I get a new stamp set and I toss the sheet when I get rid of one.  When choosing the categories for your own catalog, think about how you search for stamps and what you have in your collection.  My categories are Alphabets, Sentiments, Flowers, Holiday, Misc.  I have a flowers section because it’s an obsession.  You may not have this issue but you may have a shapes or backgrounds section instead or in addition to some of the categories I have.

Other ideas:
For wooden stamps you can store them in short drawers so you can see all the images.  I used this system before I went to all acrylic.  I had an iris cart and the stamps were laid out in the drawers so I could open a drawer and easily see all the stamp images.  I had each drawer organized and labeled by category.

Good luck and I hope you find an organizational style that suits your needs.  What works for one person may not work for the next but the one thing that holds true for us all is that we work better when organized!

Now hop to Ramona’s Blog and see what she has come up with for ink pad storage.

Here is a list of all the participants:
Photograph Storage – Leanne
Embellishment Storage – Jo
Ribbon & Fiber Storage – Shellie
Stamp Storage – Wendy K. <—–You are here!
Ink Pad Storage – Ramona
Pen & Pencil Storage – Jeanne M.
Sticker, Die Cuts and Rub-On Storage -Amanda
Tools Storage and Paper Storage – Mary

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That tall cabinet in the corner is a favorite of mine.  I bought it on sale at K-Mart.  It holds all of my 12×12 papers.  The shelves are the perfect height and I love that it is behind closed doors because (1) it looks neater and (2) my papers are out of the sun and protected from fading.

The clipboard to the left is on my to-do list; I want to alter it.  It holds my layout goal list for the year and is a reminder of what I’ve completed and what I still need to do!  Notice how I fit the lamp through the middle of the desk.  I like lots of light!

This is the girls area.  I don’t think it was clean much more than 5 minutes after I took the picture.  We’ll have to work on that.

Not sure anyone wants to see my closet, but here it is.  In addition to scrapbooking stuff, the closet also stores PTA stuff, Girl Scout stuff, a stash of last-minute gifts, and more.  Since I have no shelving, the organizer with baskets (from Target) is a good substitute.

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Closeup of the plastic jars on top, check out that sparkle!

Here’s another shelf I have that I recently reorganized:
Closeup of the decorated jars:

Well, I guess this is what you do when you have an overabundance of supplies….  I have wanted to do this for a long time and finally got around to decorating these cute plastic jars by Making Memories.  They would also be great for decorating and adding candy for a nice little gift.  The first shelf is Making Memories as well and is one of my favorite purchases from Crop Chocolate.  I love the spots for photos on the drawers.  It adds a personal feel.  You could also use these to add a label of what’s inside the drawer.  The second shelf was a great rummage sale find.  I just love to have things look so pretty in my creative space.  It is much more inspiring!

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If you post this on your blog after seeing it, please leave me a comment to let me know, thanks.

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It was a bit tricky to punch near the bottom of the purse but with a little twisting I got the job accomplished.  If you try this I would suggest planning a break because my hand was sore when I was finished from holding the Big Bite (not because it’s hard to punch but because I was holding it upright with the purse wrapped around and underneath it).  Next was the really fun part of stringing all my ribbons through the holes.  I used the 1/8 size hole punch and I like that size.  Most of my ribbons are 3/8 inch wide and they are snug so they won’t fall out but it’s still easy enough to pull them through.  if the majority of your ribbon is over 1/2 inch I would suggest using the 3/16 hole.  I would recommend to start stringing them in the bottom of the purse first and let them hang out until you are finished filling all the holes.  Like this:

Next stuff all the ribbons in the purse and zip it up.  Here is the finished product:

This tiny purse holds A LOT of ribbon!  I emptied a large jar and a drawer.  It’s great because it will hang on a doorknob, like my closet so now I have my ribbons out in the open where I can see them and they are more likely to get used rather than forgotten.

Side note: I saw the actual ribbon purse in my local scrapbooking store yesterday by Your Pictured Memories.  I didn’t look at the price but it came empty so I’m sure that it was much more reasonable than the one I saw online.  It is bigger than I thought and if my little homemade one holds all that it does I can’t imagine the amount you could put in this one.  I am tempted to go back and check the price and get it!

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Here is a before picture of the bins on my scrapbooking desk (yellow/pink/blue in the center) and it also gives you a better idea of their size:

I use these bins to hold chalks, acrylic blocks, stamps, tags, foam brushes, adhesive, and lots of other things.  Your challenge for this week is to find something in your scrapbook room that needs to be organized and come up with a way that works for you.  Don’t organize all your supplies, just pick one thing.  Once you have that one thing organized, focus on keeping it that way.  Then it will be time to move on….baby steps!!  If you need help with something specific or would like ideas on a organizing a particular supply, leave me a comment and I will post at least one idea for you!

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