Monday 31 August 2015

Evidence in the case against...

For the last couple of weeks, I've been getting that build up. You know the one where you know that something isn't working for you but to change it is going to cause uproar and take time and ohemgee you don't wanna.
Seriously, this is not a decoy..it was one of Thursday's workshop cards. 
It erupted on Friday when I tried to very quickly put away some stamps we'd used in the workshop on Thursday evening. They were Christmas stamps. They were clear stamps. They have their own drawer. And clearly, one drawer is no longer enough. That's bad enough...but it started the normal 'gets worse before it gets better' thing and I ended up taking the whole lot with me when I went to see my parents, hoping that Mama may find some pleasure in helping. She didn't help much but she did enjoy going through them with me, so it was worth it really! 

How can this pile of storage boxes and drawers be an improvement on the way I store my wood mounts? I mean, seriously, how?  I've got the clears in loose categories in boxes and drawers. I have to go through the box or drawer to find the one I have in mind or to browse my choices. My wood mounts just stand quietly facing me..again, loosely categorised. Yes I have to stand up to shuffle them about so I can see the ones behind (they are about 4 deep), but it's no more onerous than heaving the boxes or drawers about. 
The trouble is that wood mounted stamps are rare now...certainly in the workshops - one has to use current designs for workshops of course, so my wood mounts get very little use these days. I'm probably going to have to cave in. Pack some of the wood mounts away for posterity and use the shelves to hold these hideous boxes of clear stamps. Not as pretty, or inspiring, but practical. And reasonably short term I think. When the building work starts, I think my space will be reallocated to other uses and my craft space will permanently re-locate. So possibly a bit of packing now might save a lot of packing then. But it doesn't stop me whining now.  I think I might ask my neighbours to move so that I can have a craft house. It would just be easier. I envision an entire wall coated with acrylic sheets to which I can stick these damn stamps. Now there gentle reader, is a really good idea. Maybe the inside of a cupboard door or two to start with. Ohmygosh, I need to go whine in Mr Dunnit's ear before I forget!

22 comments:

Sue Jones said...

Ha Ha - I too do not get to use some of the gorgeous wooden stamps i have hoarded over the years! If you put them in boxes - then things always are stored ontop of the boxes :/ I agree - I think all crafters need TWO homes so we can just pop ( or live) next door and just come home for meals and sleeping ;) Good luck with the sortingx

Sue said...

Love the card.

What about putting your clear stamps into folders like photo albums. That way you could group them together and only have to flip through a folder or two, rather than rummaging in clear boxes. I have my clear stamps stamped onto paper and it is filed, so I can look and see what I want. I don't have many clear stamps, so confess they are in a small clear box. My wooden stamps are in an organiser on the door, so I can see what I have at a glance.

Hope you have a good week ahead. Sue

Helen said...

I don't believe what I am reading about your beloved wooden stamps.. although mine are equally rarely used much now (except the greetings ones which are behind a box of stencils and .... you get the idea) so I hope you find a storage solution that suits (I do like the sound of a wall of acrylic though!! now, where can I find space for a wall...lol!!

MaggieC (Silvercrafter) said...

Talk to Shaz. She has removed all her stamps from their wooden mounts, which makes storage much easier. All my clear stamps, and I have a lot, are stored on heavy duty acetate in A4 folders. I keep a sheet of card behind each acetate sheet with the stamped images on so that I can work out what is missing. xxx Maggie

Barb said...

Oh goodness Julia I know just what you mean. I hate to think what some of my wooden stamps look like with others on top for years. I have my clear in those plastic boxes and have to tip out onto the floor to find what I want. The problem is I keep using the same ones over and over because it's easier.Barbxx

Aileen said...

You will be amazed once you have them all organised. I hate organised, I use to have them all in draws and spent more time looking than crafting. I bit the bullet and categorised mine, by type. Yep I split the sets now I want an elephant I know where to find it. Only problem is if people what to know what brand it is, but I just play so doesnt matter to me. Imagine if you did all your walls and stuck all the stamps up but you would need the picture too as its hard to see what they are when in the raw. Actually there probably wouldnt be enough wall in the room!!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I must have missed a post, because I had no idea you were planning to have building work done.

It's true I don't have many stamps, but the ones I DO have are mostly wood mounted rubber. I don't need to keep up with the latest anything, so I have my stamps in categories, like things that fly. If I need to see the manufacturer (which I don't think I'll ever need to), I can just look on the side of the wood.

My UM rubber has all been treated with Wacky Tac, a repositionable glue that I love. It keeps the rubber on the acrylic block until I'm ready to remove it. A quick few swipes and the rubber is clean and ready to return to the drawer, where it sits on a sheet of plastic until I remove it again.

I absolutely HATE clear acrylic stamps. The first time you remove them from their backing sheet, they loose their ability to stick. They don't stick to the backing sheet after I've used them, either. So I have lots of acrylic stamps getting tossed around in a drawer because they don't stick to anything. And yes, I assure you, I use mild soap and water to try to get them to stick again, which they never do.

I can't be any help at all, because I'll keep my good old wood mounted stamps and love them till I can't find a use for them anymore. And I'll be glad to send you all those cheap and useless acrylic stamps, their backing sheets, and their front sheets. Of course, you'll have to figure out how to put them back together and what goes where (grin).

I won't be able to join you this Wednesday, because about the time you are posting your link, I'll be posting my Second on the 2nd link. Sad but true, sometimes the 2nd comes on Wednesday.

misteejay said...

I'm sure you will come up with a fabulous solution.
My stamps are all over the place at the moment and I really do need to get some sort of organisation.
Toni xx

Christine said...

He! He! Job and a half to organise stamps..... unless you have a weekend free!!!
I am with Sue as I spent a fruitful week last month making a folder of all my stamps. Does work as I found a box of magazines (as one does!), one with a stamp still attached and, after a quick skim through my file, found it wasn't a duplicate. Saved by a file!!
As you pack them away, stamp a copy on some printer paper and then you can sort and file at your leisure!
Above all have fun....
Xx

Christine said...

He! He! Job and a half to organise stamps..... unless you have a weekend free!!!
I am with Sue as I spent a fruitful week last month making a folder of all my stamps. Does work as I found a box of magazines (as one does!), one with a stamp still attached and, after a quick skim through my file, found it wasn't a duplicate. Saved by a file!!
As you pack them away, stamp a copy on some printer paper and then you can sort and file at your leisure!
Above all have fun....
Xx

Cardarian said...

He, he yes whine in Mr. Dunnits ear that will help! When I come back to England I will start work on my craft room, need lots of space and all I have is a very small room. I like the idea of a craft house!.
Lots of hugs Cardarian

Cardarian said...

He, he yes whine in Mr. Dunnits ear that will help! When I come back to England I will start work on my craft room, need lots of space and all I have is a very small room. I like the idea of a craft house!.
Lots of hugs Cardarian

Anonymous said...

Why not get Mr Dunnit to build you a flip-rack with hanging acrylic sheets? So you can flick thru them like th pages of a book? You just need a bit of a curtain over the to protect them from the sunlight..or is tht just red rubber that deteriorates?

Put him to use!

MA

sandra de said...

Time to cull.... otherwise those little stamps get up to no good in boxes.

Di said...

Hi Julia - if you have the time, which I know is at a premium and you might feel that sticking pins in your eyes is preferable - why not set up a little index filing box (ahe, or two or three!!). I posted about mine on WOYWW ages ago here http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/woyww-140-stamp-storage-part-2.html and in several other WOYWW posts (just search under the word 'index').

In a nutshell, it doesn't matter HOW I store/categorise my stamps but it makes locating them a breeze - so long as I keep the corresponding index cards categorised. The wooden stamps are in numbered Really Useful Boxes, each stamp has its own index card in the centralised file with stamped image and description/name - and also which tells me the number of the box it's stored in (only stored two stamps deep for ease). Unmounted stamps are in folders - photo/postcard albums are great for the unmounted rubber ones. I use laminated sheets for clear ones.

Confession here though - life has been too busy lately to keep up with the cataloging of new stamps (and even joining in WOYWW) and that's where any system can fall down, sigh :( Mine fell down big time right now - but you've spurred me on to get back on the horse again!!

Bet you wish you never mentioned it :)

Hugs

Di xx

Kim said...

Oddly, with a 50/50 split now of wood/cling...I still go to wood mount first; only go to cling stamps are the sayings. All are in drawers, but I love your idea of cling sheets on the wall though....that would definitely keep them out and motivating! I wonder if I can rig them on clothes hangers and use the closet rail , so they would be above all my drawers of wood mounts....hmmmmm. You have got my mind humming....

Nikki said...

I have most of all my stamps in two binders and that seems to work they are attached on acetate and slide into a folder other side has the stamp stamped on it so when I see what I'm looking for its easy I do find that the clear stamps in a folder I remove them every once in a while cause they are too stuck down I've only had one that was never sticky and reading up on it was because it was from a small company that used poor quality polymer that shouldn't have been used have fun figuring it all out

Princess Judy Palmer said...

I still use my wood mount stamps a lot, but not all of them. I've purged a huge number of them but there are some old favorites that you'll never be able to pry out of my cold, dead, inky hands! UMs are such hassle to store. thre are so many different kinds, like pure UM, then with foam, then clear, some in boxes, some on sheets, some loose.... I like that Stampin' Up and A Muse come in those DVD style boxes but I don't think that is the answer for all UMs. Sometimes I think organization and sorting is half the fun!

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