Showing posts with label Storage. Show all posts

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Organizing Your Craft Space: Series 8

Secrets for the New Stamp and Die Organizer

I am so excited to share my latest tips for organizing with the Stamp & Die Organizers that I will keep my post brief. Stampin' Up! has changed its packaging, which I described in an earlier post. (Read more here.) Adapting to the new organizers has been a source of reflection for many paper crafters. Follow along for my tips for storing stamps and dies that have been working well.

In Series 8 on organizing your craft space, I am including one of my favorite ideas to provide additional counter area. Do you have ideas to increase your workspace?

Please share your tips in the comments.

Take care,

Linda Ann

Some posts contain Amazon affiliate or Stamp-n-Storage associate links, where I earn a small commission from qualified purchases. It is important to me that I only recommend quality products that I use and enjoy!

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Tips for Storing the Stampin' Up! Stamp & Die Organiziers

Current Products

Begin with the Stamp Set:

1. Start with making a copy of the cover, select one of the following options.

Photo copy the cover using Basic White Cardstock.

To save paper, make a copy of two stamp covers and cut in half.
Mirror image the copy if you desire.
There is a possibility the cover image is scaled at a smaller size.

Copy and paste the online image and print.
Take a photo of the stamp set cover and print.

Recommended photo printers are a Epson PM 400 with Red River Paper Polar Matte 230 or Canon Selphy 1500.

Note: If I am only preparing one stamp set, I will make a copy of the dies at this time.

Copy the stamp and metal die sheets.

2. Using the Paper Trimmer cut the copy so that the dimensions fit inside the Stamp & Die Organizer. An approximate size is 4.5" wide x 7.75" tall.

3. Round the corners using a Corner Chopper punch or cut by hand.

Cut the photo copy to size.

3. Time to laminate! My favorite brand is Scotch Thermal Laminating Pounches, which are photo and document safe. The 3 MIL letter size fits two stamp cover sheets.

I run the pouches through the laminator two times.

I have had my Scotch Laminator for years; therefore, there have been updates to the product. Click here for a current product is you are interested in learning more about a laminator.

Laminate the cover.

4. Tips for selecting a laminator.

Choose a laminating pouch that is photo safe.
Laminates 3 and 5 MIL thicknesses.
Fits a minimum of 8.5" wide paper, 13" opening is recommended.
Has an automatic shutoff.
There is a release slide.
Quick warm up time of one minute or less.
Uses clear laminating pouches.
A brand that eliminates wrinkles.

Competed lamination.

5. Using an older scissor, trim the laminated paper leaving approximately one-eighth of an inch around the edges. In this image, two stamp covers were laminated at the same time.

Trim the laminatated cover.

6. The laminated sheet is ready for your stamps. Remember, the images will be backwards unless you mirror the copies. PicMonkey and Canva are helpful resources to mirror image your photos.

Placing the stamps on the laminated sheet.

Let's Prepare the Dies for Storage in the Stamp & Die Organizer.

1. Keep the dies taped to the packaging cardstock and remove the wrapping materials. Save the heavier plastic to cover the dies when finished.

There are a couple of ways to prepare the dies:

Make a photo copy using Basic White cardstock or choose a lighter weight photo copy paper.
Trace around the outer die shape onto photo copy paper.
Cut the package label to 5" x 6.75". I prefer to use this method because it doesn't require the photocopy step. Note: the package image may not be to scale.

See the photocopied die sheet on the right side.

2. Prepare the magnetic sheet for the die copy. After much searching, I found the Salex brand of Flexible Magnetic Sheets. They are 30 MIL thick and non-adhesive. I prefer to purchase the precut 5" x 7" magnetic sheets for convenience.

The magnetic sheet needs 1/4" cut off the longer side to fit in the clear envelope. I use a Fisker Trimmer or Cutterpillar Pro Paper Trimmer since they are made for heavy duty products. A rotary cutter and self-healing mat works, too. I suggest you keep a rotary blade and older mat for cutting magnetic sheets. The magnetic sheet cuts easily with a scissors, if you prefer this method.

Note: Cutterpillar has discontinued manufacturing its paper trimmers, and only available through second-parties.

Trimming the magnetic sheet.

3. Using two small pieces of Tear & Tape Adhesive, tape them to the top and bottom of the die copy on the backside. Adhere the picture of the dies to the shiny side of the trimmed 5" x 6.75" magnetic sheet. (See image 1.)

4. Add the dies to the magnetic sheet. Yes, they will stick with the image paper on top, if you have 30 MIL sheets. (See image 3.)

5. Next, insert the magnetic sheet with dies inside a 5" x 7" clear envelope with tabbed flap. It took purchasing a few brands until I finally found a size that fit. Hukado Store on Amazon sells the correct size! (See images 2 and 4.)

Finishing adding the dies.

6. Tuck the laminated sheet with stamps into the labeled Stamp & Die Organizer. Place the labeled envelope containing the dies inside, facing the back.

Assembling the Stamp & Die Organizer.

7. The final step is finding a container that holds the Stamp & Die Organizer. I am excited to share TWO containers! (Target and Michael's are not sponsors.) Both the older style containers and the new Stamp & Die Organizer envelopes fit in these two containers.

Target: Brightroom Stackable Bins come in a frosted (white frozen and gray colors) and a clear color. They are 9" long x 6" wide x 6.5" high. Check the bathroom section of Target. I like the smaller bins because they aren't heavy and fit on narrow shelves.

Michael's: Watch for sales when it comes to the Clear Storage Bin, 13" x 6.5", with Handles by Simply Tidy because the price varies. The item number is: 10738096.

The Standard Cases and Stamp & Die Organizers fit in this container. Two bins will fit side-by-side in an IKEA Kallax.

You may be wondering what is he purpose of the colored dots. The colors represent the release of a product. This image was taken before the annual catalog was discontinued.

Current Color Coding:

Green - Online Exclusive

Yellow - May to August Catalog
Red - August to November Catalog
Blue - December to April Catalog
No Dot - Last Chance Product

What dividers label the stamp categories?

The tabbed Henoyso Comic Book Dividers are available here. The width is trimmed and one corner cropped to fit into the bin. Watch for more information in the Organizational Series #9.

Idea for Storing My Most Used Dies:

In a rolling cart next to my desk, I keep my current and most-used dies organized on Stamp-n-Storage 6" x 7" Magnet Cards inserted into Storage Pockets.

I recommend two containers to hold the pockets: The iDesign clear plastic refrigerator container with a handle and Target's Large 9" x 6" x 6.5" Bathroom Organizer Bin with Handles, White Frozen - Brightroom™: Polypropylene Storage Solution. The iDesign fits in the Michael's rolling cart.

There's a corner of my studio that is a cozy collection of supplies, which I am sharing in the picture. The frosted container in the cart is a Brightroom bin, and the longer container on the shelf is the iDesign organizer. I placed the magnet and pocket inside the iDesign as a reference to show the size. I store my 6" x 6" papers in this container. Read more about this storage organization here.

Retired Products:

I prefer to keep my current and retired Stampin' Up! separated; therefore, two storage symptoms are used in the studio cottage. Years ago, I bought four mini cubes to hold retired standard containers.

If the dies are specific to the stamp set, I store the bundle together. The Magnetic Cards from Stamp-n-Storage are sturdy and strong to hold a large assortment of smaller dies, while the bundles with less dies are stored in the same manner as the organizers.

This past year, I switched from alphabetizing stamp cases to using categories. I am finding this system easier to use when Memory Keeping.

My Favorite Extra Storage Tip

Looking for extra storage in your studio or craft space? Open cabinets or drawers and lay a piece of shelving across them. I purchased an eight-foot shelf from a hardware store. The extra space was beneficial when I was working on a card share.

For the Alex drawers, I use a shelf divider from a hobby store. It's important to keep the items on the "drawer shelf" lightweight so the drawer hinges don't bend. A Brother P-touch label maker, Cricut Joy 2, and an Epson PM 400 are a few of the items that sit on the shelves when I am in need of extra room.

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Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Tips on Organizing Cardstock, Ink, and Blends

Tip on Organizing Cardstock, Ink, and Blends

My order for the new cardstock from Stampin' Up! is complete. I'm eager to try the mixed-color packages while scrapbooking and designing cards. Watch for my fall ideas!

Two-tone cardstock offers a wealth of possibilities. It's an ideal layering option without adding bulk, and its white core means you can tear, crumple, sand, and emboss your way to fun effects, whatever your crafting skill level. Its smooth texture is ideal for stamping, making clean cuts, achieving crisp folds, and applying seamless colors. And because it's 12" x 12", you can use it as a scrapbook base or cut it to use as part of your card-making projects.

Today, I am sharing tips and a free PDF on how to organizing cardstock. Check out the helpful ways to organize inks and Blends using a color chart.

Take care,

Linda Ann

Questions? Click on the navy button for additional blog information and quick resource inks.

Tips on Organizing Stampin' Up! Cardstock

For years, I have been collecting organizational supplies. Cardstock was my Achilles heel. I tried expanding portfolios, paper sleeves, hanging files, vertical paper holders, and plastic totes. All of the products worked well for storing my supplies - until I started working on my paper crafts. One day, I saw an advertisement for Stamp-n-Storage located in Minnesota. They were having a sale with free shipping, so I decided to try one of their crafted wooden Paper Holders for 8.5" x 11" cardstock. Eventually, I became a Stamp-n-Storage Affiliate because I wanted to "spread the word" about their storage!

Stamp-n-Storage Image

Shop: New 12" x 12" Two-Toned Cardstock

After creating a spreadsheet by sorting the colors according to the Hex Colors, I placed fifteen sheets of cardstock into the IKEA-sized Paper Holder. Each color had its very own slot! After a day of card making, I immediately ordered more Paper Holders. A few months later, I ordered two of the 12" x 12" units for my DSP.

Inside each slot, I placed a Stamp-n-Storage Paper Sleeve for my scraps! Since each tab is labeled with the name of the cardstock, this idea works well to keep the paper organized. For my Designer Series Papers (DSP), I placed the cardboard info sheet inside the folder for two reasons: to reference the coordinating cardstock colors and to protect my precious paper from the sun's rays. A piece of typing paper works well in the cardstock folders, too.

One of my favorite tips for storing small leftover cardstock is using the stackable storage containers from Dollar General. (I am not an affiliate.) I found these handy containers in the cake decorating department! The containers come in various sizes. Remember to use their Saturday coupon to save money.

Sorting Cardstock, Ink Pads, and Stampin' Blends by Hues

Stamp-n-Storage Image

After some organization, I will be adding my newly purchased 12" x 12" Two-Toned Cardstock to the larger holders. I have a link below for a free copy of the Color Chart on how I organize the cardstock. Not only is the chart handy for use with paper, but it is also a practical way to organize Stampin' Ink Pads in the Carousel and Blends in the Marker Holder.

Captured Section of the Printable Color Chart Spread Sheet

Have you used the Color Coach?

Images Stampin’ Up!®

Another tool that I recommend for color organizing is the Color Coach. This wheel includes the colors in the Annual Catalog, but not the In Colors.

Read more about the Stampin' Up! handy Color Coach:

https://www.stampinup.com/products/color-coach-english?demoid=2254893

Click on the yellow maple leaf for further disclosure details.