Studio and Craft Hacks--Day 1

My stamp box(es)

This week's theme on the blog will be everyday hacks that you can use in your studio or craft room. These are out-of-the-box uses for everyday day items or repurposing items for uses they weren't necessarily intended.

If you have been following along, you know that I collect stamps. I have a wide variety of them and I always had difficulty in deciding how to organize them for when I need to use them for craft purposes. I don't collect stamps for monetary purposes. Because I use them for crafting, I decided to organize primarily by color and some themes which I have purposefully purchased from curators. Themes include: Christmas, Love, Birds, NYC, etc.

In order to find the stamps that I want quickly, I purchases a photo box organizer. The box holds 16 individual 5" by 7" boxes in slots. For me, individual boxes hold a separate color. Some of the themes have their own box.

Brown stamps

I usually buy stamps in bulk and it makes it so much easier to sort when you know where they are going and how they are going to be organized. The first step is to sort out the stamps based on color. As I am sorting, if I notice that a stamp will fit in one of the theme categories and set it aside.

Beginning Sorting

Sorted by color

Once the color sorting is finished, I then move to sorting by theme.

Many times, there are still stamps that have no place to go. All of these stamps go into stamp holding pages that fit in a three ring binder. I sort them into three categories: animals, people and general. These stamp sheets are divided into rows and each row has a sheet of acetate to cover the stamps. The bottom of the acetate is affixed to the page and the top of the sheet is open so it is easy to place, and remove, the stamps. These sheets are an easy way to see the stamps quickly.

When I need a stamp for crafting purposes, I usually go to the binder at first so see if there is something I can use. If not, then I will go to the stamp storage boxes depending on theme or color.

Sometimes, I buy storage items because they are on sale, I have an expiring coupon, or I need some retail therapy. I don't always know how I am going to use the item. The photo case is a perfect example of this. I am always looking to organize my craft room. I didn't know exactly how I was going to use it and initially thought that I might use it for paper ephemera but this worked out perfectly for me. I might go back for another one or two to have on hand.