Blog post 1: Adding labels to my stamp sets: Why? What? Where?

¡Hola!

January is organization month, right?!

And although I have yet to organize any closets in my home,

my craft room is looking good!

Today I want to share my adding labels to my stamp sets.  

In this blog post and in the corresponding You Tube Video (linked below)

 I answer the following questions:

1. Why?

2. What I used?

3. What information I added?

4. Where to place the labels?

1. Why do I need to add labels to my stamp sets? 

Reason 1:

I want to locate the stamp information quickly.  I find myself making more cards, videos, and blog posts and not having stamp set information readily available.  As you know I store my stamps in Stamp Storage Pockets, and I don't usually save original packaging.

Reason 2:

How many times have you finished creating and thought you were missing a stamp, but weren't sure? This happens to me a lot.  Maybe you don't have a picture of the stamp set in the storage pocket.  Maybe that tiny, little heart got stuck to your ATG gun. 

Or one of your kids called you while you were putting things away.... 

Having this information in the label helps me keep all my stamp sets together!

Now I know if I start with 10 stamps and 10 stamps made it back in the storage pocket.  

If I only have 9...let the search party begin!

I have lost stamps and dies before....it is not a happy moment.

BTW: my lost stamp and die are still lost!

Labeling might not help you if you loose things, 

but it will help you realize you lost something sooner. 

While you are still at your desk or work station.

2. What I used?

There are many ways to create labels.  I used AVERY 8257 Return address labels.

I have over 200+ stamp sets, plus dies, embossing folders, stencils... 

So I needed something economical and that I could do quickly.  

My plan was to do all of them in one weekend.  If you are like me, and a project is longer than one weekend it may or may not get finished. :)  I see you nodding your head!

Besides the Avery 8257 labels, I needed a computer, and a printer.  I followed the Avery 8257 template online, so I had to download that as well.  I also created an account at Avery, since I do not want to save all of these labels to my own computer and I could save them to their site for free.  

If you are like me, I break a computer every few years :) my husband thinks its a mystery.  

If I save them to my MAC and I loose my computer they are all gone. 

If I save them in AVERY's site they are there forever.

I may never need them, but I have them if I do!

The last thing I needed was a list of my stamps.  

I am pretty organized already, so I have a list of my stamps with stamp number, stamp name, etc. on my computer.  I printed it to have it handy, but found I was able to grab the information right from my computer and save time on re typing all of that stuff!!

I keep my Stamp List on Excel.

3. What information I added?

I chose to add four things:

The Stamp Number*
Manufacturer's name
Stamp set's name
Number of stamps within the stamp set  
&
If a stamp set has a coordinating set of dies, I added that as well.
Including: the die set number and the number of dies in the set. 

S stands for stamps and F stands for framelit dies.

*The Stamp Number: This is how I catalog my stamps, each stamp set has a number and it gets added to my stamp catalog.  I keep a digital copy of my huge catalog on my iPhone - always with me. 
I never buy two of anything anymore!  
My catalog follows Tiffany Spaulding's The Scraprack Organization system. 
She offers free webinar and it amazing!

Other important details:
Font: Georgia
Size: 12
Centered
I chose to use only 2 lines of text instead of 3.
I felt with 3 it was too crowded.

In the video I show you how a 12 Font and 14  compare. 
I also show you a label with 3 lines and compare it to the 2 line label.

4. Where to place the labels?

I placed them on the top right corner of my stamp storage pocket.

Example of where I placed the labels: Top right corner of pocket.

I thought I knew where I wanted them before I started, then I changed my mind. 
Here is my thought process...Everyone I saw on YouTube has their labels on the top left corner of their pockets, and I liked that.  However, my storage system is comprised of cubbies. 
Which means I can't see the left side of my stamps sets, I can only see the right side.
And that is how I chose!
 Here some pictures of my cubbies! 
I got these cubbies a while back at Staples.

My stamp storage: cubbies.

A closer look at one of the cubbies.
You can see the stamps with the new labels.

Next blog post is COMING UP SOON

on: How to create the labels?

I am sure you can't wait!

Gracias!!

Now go get organized too!! 

Adiós,

--Yar