You’ve bought a few sets of clear stamps, and unlike rubber stamps, they’re so thin that before you know it, you’ve lost them in a pile of paper. Or you’ve bought a sufficient number of stamp sets that you can no longer easily flip through a pile to find the set you’re looking for.

Sound familiar? Perhaps it’s time for a storage system for your growing collection.

Unlike mounted rubber stamps, clear acrylic stamps are relatively easy to store. A multitude of storage methods exist, each with its pros and cons. Let’s take a look at some of the options available. For each, we’ve include some inspiration from crafters along with commercially available products.

Method #1: Notebook/Binder

A number of stampers use a notebook to store their stamps. In fact, from the research I did, it appears to be one of the most popular systems. Both Nichol Magouirk and Jennifer McGuire use this system.

Pros:

• relatively inexpensive
• easily stores on bookshelf or in a closet
• easy to categorize stamps with notebook dividers
• easily adaptable to stamp sets of different sizes given the variety of page protectors available

Cons:

• “closed” system means that stamps aren’t easily visible
• without categories, stamps might be difficult to find

Product Picks

Tim Holtz – Idea-ology – Unmounted Stamp Binder

Avery Nonstick Heavy-Duty EZD Reference View 2 Inch Black Binder

BCW Pro 4-Pocket Page (3.5 X 5 Cards, Postcards or Photos)

Office Depot® Brand CD/DVD Binder Pages, 6″ x 10 ½”

Avery Top Loading Non-Glare Poly Sheet Protectors 100 Count

Method #2: Spin Rack

Jennifer McGuire uses a spin rack to keep frequently-used stamps at hand.

Pros:

• the spin rack footprint is relatively small
• stamps are highly visible
• system is versatile, as it can be used for other supplies such as stickers and alpha chipboard

Cons:

• high initial expense
• system requires that you reclip when you’re done with the stamp
• each stamp requires a sleeve, as the system does not include them
• less adaptable to sets of stamps of different sizes
• few vendors

Product Pick

Simply Renee – Clip It Up – Base Unit

Method #3: Vertical File

Cheiron Brandon, Marcy Penner and Laura O’Donnell store their clear stamp sets vertically in containers.

Pros:

• relatively inexpensive
• stamps are highly visible
• system is versatile, as the storage container can be used for other supplies
• storage containers available in a variety of materials to match your style and décor
• easily stores on bookshelf or in a closet

Cons:

• less adaptable to sets of stamps of different sizes, especially larger sets, although a workaround would be to divide larger sets into multiple protectors.

Product Picks

Cropper Hopper – Unmounted Stamp File

Spectrum Small Storage Basket

ITSO Bin

Avery Heavyweight Sheet Protectors, 5.5 x 8.5 Inches, Pack of 15

Method #4: CD Cases

An alternative to the aforementioned method, Clare Curd prefers CD cases to sleeve protectors. The pros and cons of this system are similar to those listed above. Additionally, you could use a CD page protector, cut in half, in a CD storage box for a similar system to those used by Cheiron, Marcy and Laura.

Product Picks

Fellowes (R) Loose-Leaf Binder Sheets For CD-ROMs, 2 Capacity, Pack Of 10

KASSETT CD box with lid

Design Ideas CD Box Mesh Silver

Method #5: Zipper Envelopes

Nicole Rixon stores her clear stamps in office-supply zipper envelopes within a box she fashioned after trying a variety of systems, which she describes in her post. Detailed shots of the system show her tabs for categorizing.

Pros:

• relatively inexpensive
• stamps are highly visible
• easily stores on bookshelf or in a closet

Cons:

• less adaptable to sets of stamps of different sizes, especially larger sets, although a workaround would be to divide larger sets into multiple envelopes.

Product Picks

Office Depot® Brand Transparent Zipper Envelopes, Check Size, Pack Of 3

Filexec Zipper Envelope, 4.75″ x 9.5”

Additional Resources

ScrapCessories – Stamp Caddy Case Kit

ScrapOnizer – The Clear Solution – 8.5 x 11 Clear File Folders

Ultimately your storage choice and organizational system will be determined by a variety of factors including budget and personal preferences. Do you like your stamps to be visible? Or are you someone who likes your crafting supplies behind a door?

You may also find that no one system works for all of your stamps, in which case, you can use several, the way in which Jennifer McGuire does. Most importantly, consider which system will best enable your crafting and which are you most likely to maintain.

How do you store your clear stamps?

Sometimes there are more stories in our photo sets, just waiting to be discovered and told.

Yesterday Aaron Morris blogged about the idea of reusing photos for more than one scrapbook page. By being a moment scrapper he says, he sometimes does feel comfortable using a photo more than once. His reader’s viewpoints were mixed on the topic.

I don’t frequently scrapbook the exact same photo, but I do often use many photos from the same set (i.e. generally, an event) to tell a variety of stories.

Last night I was editing a few additional photos from Christmas and a series of my daughter really captured my attention. There was a different story there that I wanted to tell.

My first thought, however, was how does this page fit within the family story I am telling? I already scrapped Christmas in my December Daily album. Do I need to do more or should I spend time on something else?

I realized that this story really had nothing to do with Christmas, despite it occurring on the 25th of December and being a part of our Christmas memories. It was more about my attempt to take photos of her and how she was completely distracted by the fabric and color of her dress. In hindsight, I could have taken the story even further to discuss her response to colors and discovery of different textures as she has grown.

This layout will live in my Things We Do album because it is family memory of the holiday season and not solely about my daughter.

More Ideas for Finding the Other Story

So often we have many images from a given time period that a number of stories can be drawn from a single memory, event or photo set.

In the layout on the left, I describe how we waited out a snowstorm at my uncle’s house. On the right, I used an image of my husband from the very same visit to scrapbook about Valentine’s Day two months later.

In this example, I use one photo in a series to discuss how my husband and I had changed in our first year of marriage. In the other, to document how we always seem to post a certain way for photos together.

Try looking for photos that tell these ‘other’ stories when you want to go deeper into personality quirks, growth of a person, or specifics of a relationship. A photo is not the sum of a story, it is just the starting point.

Working with photographs in scrapbooking is like peeling an artichoke. On the surface you have specific (event) details, but as you tear away the layers you can uncover something far richer.

Credits: Say Merry, Layover, Better Half, Then and Now, Kiss

One of the best parts of my job is helping people one-on-one. You give me a challenge and I will do my darndest to figure out a workable solution for you. Sometimes it’s simple and sometimes not-so-much.

A post from Rachel of Small Notebook on letting go of negative self-talk got me thinking about some of the people I’ve helped over the years, through emails, my courses or in the comments here.

As memory keepers, we’re really hard on ourselves.

Whether its feeling dumb about not knowing how to do something or inadequate for not being like other scrapbookers, we (myself included) can sometimes tear ourselves down.

I know, it can seem like everyone else knows what they are doing. Here’s a secret: They probably feel a little insecure too, just like you.

For me, every day is a new thing. I approach each project with a new insecurity, almost like the first project I ever did. And I get the sweats. I go in and start working, I’m not sure where I’m going. If I knew where I was going I wouldn’t do it. – Frank Gehry, (famous) architect

Any creative project requires a leap of faith, that the process will lead to something. Maybe its a beautiful something, a useful something, or maybe you just learned something along the way.

What if we, collectively, would be more gentle and kind with ourselves? What if we embraced more of this and less of the junk that rolls around our brains?

Maybe that something could be even more remarkable. Maybe you would feel awesome about it.

This week, as you embark on new projects, finish up old ones or continue with something you’re loving, I want to challenge you to suspend the disbelief in yourself and keep on creating.

Image Credit: Keep Calm-O-Matic

An empty canvas is full. – Robert Rauschenberg

Weekly Recap

• I rediscovered coffee this week. As Martha says, it’s a good thing.
• I’ve been keeping up with my One Line a Day journal and hope to go through my notes get it updated back to Emily’s birth.
• I made a Valentine’s Day card today; you’ll be able to see it next week on the Ella Publishing blog.
• I caught up with several episodes of Pan Am and Desperate Housewives. Does that count as work?

What did you do this week? Share your recap in the comments.

Weekend Reading

• On staying inspired from Elise Blaha
• Living a good story from Simple Mom
• Rules of (digital) engagement from Be More with Less
• Space for the sentimental from Organizing Your Way
• The habits that crush us from Zen Habits
• Navigation how to begin from Wish Studio
• Stop waiting for your muse from Abundance Blog

Every Friday at Simple Scrapper you are invited to join us for reflection on our memory keeping activities as well as our ongoing tradition of sharing simple tips, tutorials and inspiring ideas from around the web.

This month, I endeavored to create hybrid Valentine’s Day cards using a minimum of supplies. Hybrid card making combines traditional products with digital ones. The extent to which one does so is entirely at the crafter’s discretion.

My intent was to create the cards from digital kits using Photoshop on my computer and print the cards on my computer printer. I wanted to do a minimum amount of cutting and pasting once the cards were printed.

Why did I choose to restrict supplies? If I’m a digital scrapper who wants to dip my toes into hybrid for a product where digital output wouldn’t suffice, as would be the case with a card, then I wouldn’t want to acquire and store a multitude of tools in order to achieve my desired goal.

I chose the Alphas and Journaling Cards pack, Paper Pack #2 and Element Pack #1 from Echo Park Paper Co.’s Yours Truly collection.

I’ve worked with Echo Park’s digital products before, and because the company also manufactures paper products, their digital products have a “paper” feel. In fact, their digital collections closely track their paper ones.

To begin with, I simply played in Photoshop with the papers and journaling cards from the two digital kits, to become accustomed to the various elements. As soon as I began to consider card size, I realized that my computer printer, like most personal printers, prints with a small border around the edge. Therefore, I’d be unable to print two 4 ¼” x 5 ½” cards on letter-size cardstock.

There are several options: 1. Print a slightly smaller card front and adhere it to a cardstock base, in which case you could print four card fronts on a letter-size paper; 2. Create a card that’s slightly smaller in size, in which case you could print two card fronts and backs on a letter-size paper; 3. Create a 4 ¼” x 5 ½” by running the card in the opposite direction of its orientation. I chose to do the latter because I was interested in exploring the benefits of hybrid card making.

Once I was ready to take some of my ideas to the next step, I created a template in Photoshop for a portrait card (longer vertically) and one for a landscape card (longer horizontally).

For my first design, I enlarged a heart element with patterned paper, and added a custom sentiment. I applied a drop shadow to the heart to give it the appearance of being adhered to the paper. Since I was working digitally, I could scale the paper as I wanted, and was able to run the pattern the opposite direction for the backside, something not possible without a seam using traditional supplies.

For the second card, I chose a different patterned paper, one of the journaling cards, and the heart element I used in the first card. Again, I created a custom sentiment, scaled the patterned paper, and applied a drop shadow to both the heart and the journaling card. I also slightly modified the saturation of the journaling card.

For the third card, I used a journaling card, a sentiment element, a heart element, and patterned paper. I scaled the paper so that the vertical stripes of the paper lined up with the card edges. Additionally, I changed the saturation of the journaling card and the color of the heart. Finally, I added a custom date to the heart and “knocked out” the text.

Especially when my sons were younger, I assembled a fair number of treat bags for them to share with classmates. Using one of the elements in the journaling card set, I designed a topper for a 2 ½” wide treat bag. By changing the saturation of the card, which contained shades of pink, and then recoloring parts of it, I designed personalized treat bag toppers suitable for boys and girls.

Unless you’re comfortable cutting out your cards and other projects with scissors, (the perfectionist in me requires more precision), you’ll minimally need a paper cutter, or a mat knife and cutting mat. A bone folder is also a nice addition for scoring and making crisp folds in your cardstock. You’ll also want to use a cardstock that runs easily through your computer printer.

The number of options available with the three kits I chose weren’t quite limitless, but were certainly abundant; the designs I’ve shown barely scratch the surface. Alternatively, I could have chosen to print elements and journaling cards out separately from the card base, cutting them out and adhering them to the paper, which would more closely mimic traditional card making.

Pros and Cons of Hybrid Cards

Hybrid card making has many advantages including:

• Digital products can be resized, recolored and flipped as needed.
• Digital products can be used more than once, are conveniently stored on one’s computer and accessible any time you need them.
• Custom sentiments can be easily created in a range of typefaces.
• Flat cards, (those without dimension), are easier to send in the mail.

There are a few disadvantages to making cards with digital elements, but for the making of a few cards, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages:

• True dimension and realistic layering is only possible with additional supplies such as dimensional adhesive and chipboard elements.
• The expense of printing patterned paper on your computer printer, to make a few cards, is not a significant savings over the purchase of scrapbook paper.
• Crafting on the computer does not provide the “hands-on” aspect that paper crafting does.

Jean Manis contributes to Simple Scrapper each month, sharing her own creative ideas for simple scrapbooking. She is also the Simple Scrapper Team Leader.

Giveaway

Echo Park Paper Company is giving away a copy of its most recent title–Echo Park’s Yours Truly Idea Book (digital format)–to a Simple Scrapper reader. Yours Truly features handmade ideas from designers Tamara Tripodi, Amy Heller, Wendy Sue Anderson, Leslie Ashe, and Kandis Smith, including: Handcrafted Valentines, Valentine/Anniversary Cards, Layouts and Home Decor/Valentine Gift Projects.

To enter the giveaway, share with us in the comments one simple way to do something special for a loved one on Valentine’s Day by 11:59 pm on Friday, January 27.

While I did participate in December Daily in 2010, it was on a totally-not-daily basis. I created an album that I loved, but it wasn’t a big undertaking. Thus, 2011 was my first year going whole-hog and December Dailying in full paper scrapbook glory.

I finished my album on my birthday, January 14. I am so glad that it is done and love how many album came together. The process taught me a lot about my own creative process as well as informed how I might undertake the project in the future.

In this post I will share days fourteen through twenty-five of my album as well as my top lessons learned from the whole shebang. You can see my first thirteen pages in A Simple December Daily: Days 1-13.

December 2011: Days 14-25

Lessons Learned from December Daily 2011

• The most simple spreads are my favorites and my plan to have controlled creativity through the grid design may have been unnecessary. Note for 2012: Embrace the beauty of more open space and wide swatches of patterned paper over too many details.
• I really enjoyed finding new ways to include the daily number, but I should have created all of those in advance. This project was the first time I really got into using a lot (for me) of embellishments, but by the end I was so ready for the project to be finished that I went back to my minimalist roots. Note for 2012: Prepare even more in advance.
• The 6×6 size is great for trimming 12×12 paper, but is inefficient for printing photos commercially. A 5.5×8.5 album would make full page photos even easier to trim. Note for 2012: Consider an alternate size and include even more full page photos.
• I had so many photos and so much to do creative-wise, that I was skimpy on my journaling (which was all hidden on shipping tags in pockets). Since writing is not a problem for me, I would have liked to include even more of my personal thoughts on the season. Note for 2012: Plan the album around the journaling, not the other way around, and intend to go hybrid for extra wordiness.

What did you learn from your December Daily experience? How will you change your approach this year?

Way back in the day I collected baseball cards and even sold sports card supplies for the family business. A few weeks ago, I did some searching for odd-sized pocket page protectors; I knew there were configurations in the 8.5×11 size that scrapbookers hadn’t considered.

I wasn’t sure I would find anything inspiring, but I wanted to look. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that pocket page protectors for coins have 2 inch by 2 inch slots. And what else is often 2×2?

Instagrams.

Last week I wrote about how I prepare my Instagram photos for printing. This post is about what I am doing with some of those images.

This year I am participating in the Take Twelve Project with Ella Publishing. On the 12th day of each month, I’m snapping twelve photos that document my life, right now. I think I might even skip Week in the Life this year because this project will capture a lot of those little bits of our days in the year 2012.

I’m using my iPhone and the Instagram app because I like how the vintage filters help celebrate the smallness of life. There is something about retro-style photo processing that can elevate the most mundane image to something truly special.

I also appreciate the ease of sharing my images via Instagram, taking just a fraction of the time for uploading the same image via the HootSuite app.

I didn’t want to just include my images by themselves in a page protector, but I also didn’t see the need for a ton of journaling. I wanted to scrap them in an easy and fun way that told its own story.

I found a selection of coordinating papers from my stash and trimmed them to 2×2. I then used just a few embellishments to add some dimension and tell more of the story. Though I am not participating in Project Life, the wealth of inspiration for modular, smaller-scale scrapbooking was certainly an influence on my creative choices.

The goal of the 2012 Take Twelve Project is to take 12 photos on the 12th day of each month for a full 12 months—and scrapbook them! You can join in the fun any month of the year. Get the scoop at ellapublishing.com/taketwelve.

Supplies

Cease trying to work everything out with your minds. It will get you nowhere. Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be revelation. – Eileen Caddy

Weekly Recap

Last weekend I celebrated my birthday by scrapbooking! I was able to finish up my December Daily album (so glad it’s done!) and put together my first Take Twelve page. I’ll have posts on these both at the beginning of next week. I love projects with a clear beginning and end!

I’m really feeling quite positive about this year. I’m trying hard to develop new routines to make life easier, finding shortcuts where I can. I’m sensing a new confidence building, feeling that I do actually have some intuition in this motherhood thing as well as in business.

What did you do this week? Share your recap in the comments.

Weekend Reading

• Cut Digital Elements with a Silhouette from Listgirl
• Be Wonder-full from Be More with Less
• How to Recolor Journal Cards from Paislee Press
• Setting Intentions from Wish Studio
• Typewriter Fonts from The Daily Digi
• 50 Things You’re Putting Off from Time Mgmt. Ninja
• Proper Care of Memory Cards from Photo Focus
• When You Fall Behind on 365 from Amy Kingsford
• Starting your Morning Slowly from Minimalist at Home

Every Friday at Simple Scrapper you are invited to join us for reflection on our memory keeping activities as well as our ongoing tradition of  sharing simple tips, tutorials and inspiring ideas from around the web.

I love lists. In fact, I pretty much run my life by lists. I have a notebook full of lists: to do lists, shopping lists, lists of upcoming lessons. For me, lists are the best tool I have in keeping my life organized and productive. The thing is though, sometimes, these lists can be totally overwhelming. Sitting down to look at a list of things to do that is one or two pages long is a surefire way to kill all hopes of productivity. I had to find a better way.

That’s when I started working with five. Every night, I would look at my to do list, and on a Post It I would write down five things I wanted to accomplish on the following day. They could be things that I needed to do, or just things that I wanted to get done. The most important thing was that there was only five things on the list. Five things would be manageable; I knew that I could get five things done.

So the next day, I would take out the Post It and get started. Those five things would be the first things I would work on for the day. Starting with the first thing on the list, I would work through the projects, marking them off as I completed them. When I checked something off it really made it seem like I was making good progress. Having successes like that motivated me to keep working and get more done.

Starting with five things on my list was a success. I was working through my long to do lists five items at a time. Everyday I would focus on completing the five tasks I had assigned myself the night before. If I finished with time to spare in the day, I would go back to my list and pick a few tasks off it and work on them. Some days, I would get more than the five done, other days it would just be the five. I would always work to get the five tasks on my Post It done by the end of the day. I could finally get through my to do list without feeling too overwhelmed to start.

I’ve been using this system for about three months now, and I can say that it is by far the most effective time management strategy I’ve employed in a long time. By using the lists of five tasks, I have seen my productivity increase exponentially.

Is your to-do list overwhelming you? Share your current task management strategy and changes you’re considering for 2012.

Aaron Morris contributes to Simple Scrapper each month, sharing his expertise and life experiences on time management.

Scrapbookers far and wide are in love with the iPhone-based photo sharing service Instagram. These adorable vintage-style photos could even be called the Polaroids of our time. But how do you get your photos off your phone and into your hands for scrapbooking? This video post will show you one way to do just that!

The following tutorial demonstrates where I download my Instagram photos and what I use to prepare them for printing. There are other methods for both steps, but this is the one I use the most. (Note: You may need to click over to the site to view the video.)

To download the free printing template featured in the video, log in to our members area or register for a free site account.

Have you printed your Instagram photos? What procedure do you follow?

P.S. You can get those fun page protectors here, but I’ll be sharing more details on what exactly I’m doing with them in a future post.