How I organize my UNITY and an update on the GREAT cataloging project of 2011

Lots of pictures coming up!  Be sure you have a fresh drink!  :)

This is my scrap chair, Sassy keeps it warm  :) 

These are my unity wood, I love them out! 

 4 beautiful shelves of Unity *swoon*

 It starts with {ippity}these are in release order.

 This tiny section needs to be blended in I think LOL  They are add-ons to KOM or SMAK

 SMAK I keep them in date order.

 Stamp of the Week, I think I might put these will the other Itty Bitty's what do you guys do?

 This bin has the sets that have Spellbinders, I think I am going to get rid of them and mix them back in and put the dies with all the other dies.  What do you guys do?

The next shelf the first stufftainer is all the awesome singles from grab bags etc. that belong to sets I don't own, no real way to organize them and I won't catalog them either in hopes I get the whole set one day.  :)  Then I have less magazine holders than I need so I just alternate them from their sides to standing up.  The first are full sheet sets and I only separate them because I know I can't squeeze more in there if I move things around. 

 Next up is Unity in order as they will fit.  :)

Then we start with Authentique.... 

 We end with Websters Pages!

The bottom shelf is almost all Kit of the Month and then Unity single stamps and then regular itty bittys.  The co-branded ib's are with their company.  Please tell me how you organize your Unity!

 

Next is the cataloging of all the other brands it has been a VERY  long project!  LOL 

 

Here is the stack I am working on. Look how curled up the strips of post it notes are!

 Princess page is almost full!  

I store them in alpha order divided with pages from this Tag Album

 Here are two drawers open, I keep the stamps pushed up with things like a box of candles that I looked for all over for MONTHS. *gasp* I can't wait until this is finished LOL 

 Here is the completed book.  I have not decorated it or anything and I need to make permanent tabs

Sorry about the glare, in an earlier cataloging post I mentioned that I was worried the Stazon showing through would make it so I needed to ad blank paper between all the pages.  I do not have to do that back to back they work perfectly!  These pages are under 'things' how appropriate right?  LOL

 This box is the stamps that are finished but they need a tag decorated and labeled.

 This is what is left!  The photo box has stamps too big to fit into the drawers.  I guess I am going to buy Amuse DVD holders to store them.  I need them in the drawers so everything is together and easy to find.  All that I have left to do is Inkadinkado, TPC Studio and Hero Arts letters and calendar sets.  I can't wait to be finished and start on my Unity!  I know my Unity so well I thought I would save it for last.  Now I am excited because stamping all the sets separated into the catalog REALLY help you make better use of all the stamps you own.  I can't wait to see all of Unity's butterflies, tickets, owls all the food for recipes pages all together!!

I. AM. SO. EXCITED!

So is my girl!  :)  Thanks for stopping by!

Link me up please so I can see how you organize your stamps!  Are you cataloging them??  How do YOU know what you have?



The cataloging has taken over my life!

My stack is almost 1/2 and inch thick!

LOTS of categories! 

I am filling every spot on each page! 

The Stazon shows on the back.  I might have to slip a blank piece in between the sheets in the protector.  I hope not that will add a lot of weight.

This is the bottom drawer of completed stamps!  It is almost full! 

This is the top drawer also almost full.  I have done so much! 

Here is the basket that is getting worked on. 

I added more categories. 

I am going to keep the catalog in this.  How should I decorate it?  It is by American Crafts, really nice looking and I got it at a store we have called Big Lots for $5.00 YIPPEE!!  SCORE!! 

These are the pages that are full.  I'll make cute tabs once I know what will be where for sure. 

Look at all these Lush brads I got by My Mind;'s Eye!  So pretty!  The Cropping Corner going out of business sale has been VERY kind to me :)  You should check it out if you want great loot at 40-70% off :) 

Do you have Good Will stores?  They are stores where you donate everything you no longer want, because garage sales are cruel and unusual punishment!  LOL  Well I go to these stores all the time.  My biggest quest in to find a container full of notions.  I LOVE that stuff.  I have scored once before.  You can see it HERE.   I scored again!  I got all 3 of these SU stamp sets for $7.50.  SCORE!!

OK, that is all I have for you!  No scrapping, no card making, no house cleaning, lots of cooking, outings and volunteering!  A WHOLE LOT of cataloging going on around here :)  LOL

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope to create again soon  LOL



The cataloging of the stamps cont. LOL

Edited to add: I have been telling you all the wrong name of these containers they are the 'thin' [there are lots of widths] STUFtainers!  I am so sorry for any confusion.  Google Thin Stuftainers by Stampendous and a ton of stores that carry them will pop up!

First the FUN part of it.  Remember this:

Unity on the FLOOR???  In a SHOE BOX?  GASP!  That's just not right. 

No longer!  Not at my house!  :)  The Thintainers by Stampendous arrived and I ADORE them.  They are the perfect ippity/Unity solution for me!  :) 

All of those sets fit in this small of a place!Sorry about that glare, it couldn't be helped.  I put the scissors there so you could see it's only like maybe 4 inches high.  LOTS of stamps can fit in these fantastic containers!

Here they are spread out.  I know!  It pains me too, I hate cutting the darling packaging but I have to.  I attach them on the inside with removable glue dots ['cause I change my mind all. the. time.]  LOL  The KOTM, you can see that on the bottom, I put the whole sheet that comes with it inside!  When I got the naked sets.  I was printing all the pictures from the website and it works great!  The retired sets from 2008 didn't come with the printouts and I almost lost my mind LOL  I was emailing and bugging poor Andrea for the print outs!  But them lucky for me I had the brilliant idea of printing the example picture from the site!  You save a ton of money when Angela puts them on sale and sells them without packaging!

Now tell me, wouldn't you love to sit in my chair and scrap every night!  I get inspired just looking at the organization  LOL  My next plan is to number the containers and stamp every single stamp into a catalog like below!  That will have to wait!  I can't have 2 enormous projects at once.  LOL 

OK, here is what I have done so far!  It doesn't look like much, but it is quite the stack and I am LOVING it!  I know I will use all my stamps so much more once I am done!

I spread them out a little so you can see.

All of these have been finished.  They are in alphabetical order by brand then stamp set name.  I'll make little dividers with the brand on them soon.  I think I will be able to fit all of my stamps in one 3 drawer container on wheels!  How great will that be?  I am so excited!  It will take me a year and my fingernails are permanently black  LOL

Here is a close up.  Under each stamp I wrote the brand then the stamp name.  Stampabilities and Stampendous are very long names LOL

I wrote the categories so far in alphabetical order so I can just glance at it and see where each stamp should go.  So far I have had issues with a chandelier.  We decided house would be a fine category LOL  Umm, a phone I decided Things and Kim suggested Objects.  I like both.  I don't have to totally make up my mind until they are in the page protector and I make a tab divider.  Owls and Birds have to be separated.  I collect those and they will need their own spot!  Food is seeming to vague so I might make a drink page too.  I haven't decided.  Please feel free to throw out any suggestions you have.  Oh and bugs include snails.  LOL  Are snails a bug?  They are at my house LOL

Thanks for stopping by today!

Have you cataloged your stamps?

This project will likely take me a year!  I really am leaning towards it.

Let me show you what I am dealing with here.  I am not bragging, I have been buying stamp sets for about 14 years now.  I use them nearly every day.  The problem is, take this old Inkadinkado set that happens to be on my desk right now.

I keep it in my Cookbook stuff.  So I have never used it on a Birthday card.  I have never used it on a Party Invite.  The when, Where, Who and Notes stamps would be so darling on a tag for some journaling on a scrapbook page right?  I have used the soup pot, the place setting, the ice cream and the cupcake all on recipe pages.  Now if I stamped the BIRTHDAY on a B-Day sheet and the soiree, and it's a freakin; party on a party sheet and the glass of wine and the cocktail on a Drink sheet etc wouldn't I use so many more stamps?

Let me show you the mess I am dealing with:

I did this a few years go.  It is all my dollar stamps separated and themed.  I LOVE it!  I use them way more now!  But it is a very small project compared to the big sets LOL  Plus I want to keep the big sets together I think.

See what a mess these stamps are?  Just thrown in containers.  Journaling, alphabets and borders is as good as the organization gets!

This shelf is a COMPLETE mess.  I have no clue what is in there.  NONE!  I have to dig around and see if anything strikes my fancy!

Look at how organized my SU sets are, they are THROWN in a bucket LOL

See the rest of them?  Stacked behind my paper scraps?  I use those a TON [total sarcasm].  Why yes that is Minnie Mouse's head stuck to the floor.  Carlee sticks stickers EVERYWHERE!  No surface is off limits in her opinion!

The House Mouse and Changito are in the wall because they are cute.  Do I use them?  Not so much.  If I had a bunny drinking a bottle on the baby page maybe I would don't you think?  Or a Monkey swinging on a swing on a outdoor page??

I ran out of stuftainers so my poor Unity stamps are in a shoe box on the floor?  GASP!

These are all my {ippity} and Unity sets.  They are my favorite so they are right in front of me!  I do use them a lot.  One of the things I love about Unity is their Kit's of the month are all over the place.  Such a fantastic variety of stamps on an 8.5 x 11 piece of rubber awesomeness.  BUT if I had them cataloged I would know right where to go when I was scrapping a page don't you think?

These are my recipe album stamps.  Aren't they so organized? You are with my on the sarcasm right?

These need to be unmounted and put away! 

Oh!  Look another shoebox of stamps.  These are baby!

A random tiny container of word stamps that I never use because I don't know what words are in there!  And it looks like a set of Brackets.  Those should be in the with the journaling stamps???

Here we have some randomness to beat all.  QK stamps and dies plus stamps that came in CD cases.  Sored by containers I guess???

No organization at all just a box full of random sets.

The ones not in the container are Halloween, the ones in the container?  No organization at all.  See my problem?  I am not using these because they are a mess.  I start something and just walk away it's too much.

This was my last organization of the stamps project!  I flip through them, they fall on the ground.  They rip the cellophanee covers....... 

I LOVE Owls, Birds and Butterflies!  These stamps are committed to memory but still a mess  LOL 

This is how I started 14 years ago.  Above and below are wood mounted and thrown in a drawer.  They are still there.  These must be unmounted and used!

More stamps just shoved behind my Embossing Powder! 

A clear drawer of Love themed stamps.  Those stars have a heart on the set.  Am I going to look in the love drawer for a star?  No!

This drawer here, they are small.  That is the whole organization!  These sets are small?  Who does that? 

Christmas!  Why I decided that gift should be Christmas instead of birthday I am not sure.....

Random monkey stamps with my ribbon? 

House Mouse that won't fit on the wall wasting space tiny spice rack. 

These darling Gruffies have never seen ink!  They are shoved behind my Expression!

Of you made it this far, Thank You!

Am I CRAZY for even attempting to start this?  I did start it last night.  I did 7 random sets.  They are stamped on 15 different themed sheets.  I think this just might work.  I understand that it will take me over a year to really get this in order.  Do you think it is possible?  I really think I am going to try!