Repurposing Items for Organizing

Good Morning Everyone,

We all know that custom cabinets and shelves would be wonderful to organize all of our craft needs but for most of us this is not an option for our budgets.  So I like to look for things that can be repurposed or serve a dual purpose. 

One suggestion I have is think hard about any item before you buy to make sure it will stand the test of time.  I can't tell you how many things I purchased thinking this is the perfect solution to my needs only to discover within 6 months that I had outgrown it or that it wasn't the best quality item. 

If you are going to purchase bins or fabric colored boxes for storage stick with solid colors.  Then no matter where you move or how you choose to decorate the rest of the room the items will continue to match.

One of the things I found very useful in my craft room is my pegboard and it was so easy to make.  I purchased an old frame at an estate sale and measured the inside.  How big your pegboard is depends on the inside dimensions of your frame.  Then I visited my local Home Depot store where they cut the peg board and 1 X 1 boards to the size I needed.  No charge! Spray paint the peg board and frame the desired colors. I used an off white for the peg board and a cabernet for the frame.  After everything is dry place the peg board on the back of the frame.  Nail the 1 X 1 boards around the inside back inside edge of the frame.  This holds the peg board in place.  Buy pegs and you are in business.

 

 

 

Happy Organizing,

 



Storing Seasonal Stamp Sets

Today's tip comes from Patty Bennett at Patty's Stamping Spot.  http://www.pattystamps.typepad.com/pattys_stamping_spot/organization/

Most of us are storing our stamps on shelves that are much deeper than the stamp cases.  By storing your seasonal stamps behind your all occasion stamps you will double your storage space on some shelves and have all your Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving Hanukah, and Halloween stamps all in one place.

After reading this on Patty's blog I moved all my Christmas stamps behind the stamps on the last shelf containing stamps on my bookcase of stamps.  I was amazed how much extra room I had made available for, yes you guessed it, more stamps. 

Customizable Stamp Catalog Sheets

Stamp Catalog

Hi Stampin Friends,

Today I found a great blog offering us another free organization tool.  Qbee's Quest blog by Brenda Quintana offers us a template for a stamp catalog we can customize. 

Currently, my stamps are on shelves in mostly clear mount cases.  When deciding on the image to use on a card, sometimes it is tough to find just the right one.

I modified Brenda's idea to make an easy to create a catalog of my stamps so I will be able to flip through and find just the right image to use.  

Below is a link to a Word document you can download from Scrib and use to create your own Catalog of Stamps.  Also, below you will see photos of pages from my catalog.

You will see from my photos that I cut the images from a Stampin UP catalog and simply taped them to the pages.  I then put the pages in sheet protectors in a binder.  Voila!  Catalog of stamps. 


Stamp Catalog Page

I will bring you another organizing idea very soon along with more then one idea for using some of my favorite stamps.  Don't forget to follow my blog so you won't miss any of my organizing ideas.

Until then happy stamping,

The Organized Stamper

Free Stamp Set Cataloging Website

These Are My Stamps

Hi Stamping Friends,

Get ready to be organized.  With the beginning of a new year many of us begin thinking about becoming more organized and for those of us who are stampers or crafters of any kind this can be a daunting task.  That's where I come in. 

I absolutely love finding organizing ideas and tools that will make your life easier and of course more organized. 

Today I am bringing you one of the best organizing applications I have seen in a very long time.  On the right side of my home page under the heading "A Few of My Favorite Things" you will find a link to "These Are My Stamps". 

These Are My Stamps is a free, yes I said free, online program where you can enter in the stamps, paper, and accessories you own with just a few clicks.  There is even a great youtube video explaining how to use the program.

Soon I will bring you another organizing idea along with more then one idea for using some of my favorite stamps.  Don't forget to follow my blog so you won't miss any of my organizing tips.

Until then happy stamping,

The Organized Stamper