Finding a better use for the plastic boxes from Stampin’ Up! wood mounted stamps.

First, I wish to take a few moments to thank all of the Operation Write Home card makers who stopped by my blog last week.  Seriously, I thought something had gone wrong with my blog stats thing.  Usually my number of visitors, on a high traffic day, is 60.  To see there were 500 that came by totally blew me away.

A heartfelt “Thank You” goes out to all of you who came by to take a gander at my public outing of a problem I have with paper.  I appreciate each and every one of you.

My scrap paper project has been handled and I am quite happy with the results.  This new project is to find out just exactly what kinds of rubber stamps I have hidden away in several drawers.  I don’t consider myself a card maker…mostly because I don’t think I have the knack for it.

I accumulated several Stampin’ Up! stamps a few years back.  Most of which remained in their boxes unused and chucked into the dark cavern of my closet.  Not willing to spend the time involved in becoming a deft rubber stamp artist I pretended those blocks of wood with rubber on them were not even here.  Time to get those stamps out of the dark and into the light.  I need to take an inventory of what I have.  I like the idea of making cards for our military heros to have something to send home to their family members.

I have a small crafting area and those boxes take up a lot of space.  First on the agenda is to get all of the Stampin’ Up! wood mounted stamps unmounted.  That project has been completed.

I have a package of weekly time cards I purchased from my local office supply store about three years ago.  They have sat on a shelf and been forgotten.

These time cards are 4″ wide by 7″ long.  I’ve lopped off the top inch, removing the punched holes, for the cards to measure 4″ x 6″.

I am the proud owner of a recipe box given to me by my daughter, Carissa, a couple years back.  That box will do nicely.

The time cards fit nicely in the box and the stamped images are there for me to see.

I have created a video to show you how I use the plastic boxes for my stamp storage solution.  The lids are cut off, trimmed down, and attached to photo copy paper that I have copied the cards to.  This video takes you, briefly, through the steps of unmounting the rubber stamp and making it sticky backed with the use of Two Way Glue.  I show you what I have come up with to reduce the space taken up by those boxes.  My rubber stamps are going to be in a couple of 3-ring binders when I’m finished.

Once I have completed this project I will have to think about another one.  What to do with all those blasted wood blocks!

The plastic boxes have come in handy for my bead drawer.  That thing is a tangled mess.

What is your system for knowing what rubber stamps you have?  How do you keep track of your stamps?  Do you prefer wood mounted over the cling mount?  I’d love to know what you do with your stamps.

Leslie

Office Supplies Mini Albums

Papers In February Kit

The papers for the February 11, 2011 Crop and Scrap Kit will be one each from the Presto Patterns, First Edition, and Springtime Vintage Designers Series Papers.

The papers will be cut in 4″ widths.  For the back of the pocket area the lengths will be 6″.  The pocket fronts are 4″ x 4-1/2″.

Each of the papers in the kit will be different from the next kit because there are only two of each sheet of paper, except for the First Edition papers which has four of each print.  These three sheets of paper are more than enough to create this one mini album.  Even if you want to cover the front and back of the time cards which are 3-1/2 x 8-3/4″.  Add your own papers into the mix if you choose to.

Time Cards Left Bare

If you choose to leave the Time Cards bare there will be a lot of paper left over and you might think about adding a strip or two to hide the total look of the Time Card.  The coin envelopes will also cover quite a bit of the Time Cards too, saving paper to use on the tags.

Since I don’t have a clue what type of pictures you wish to put in the mini I am leaving the embellishing up to you.  If you are looking for a project to do for your newborn baby or grand baby then the pieces I’ve used won’t work for that.

Time Cards Covered With Papers

If you choose to cover the Time Card with paper you can work around the photos you wish to use from the scraps left over in covering the pocket areas.

Once you have the directions for folding the legal sized file folders into the shape necessary for this mini you can think about using the papers and things you already have on hand.

With Sale-A-Bration going on now and through March 31, 2011 you can take advantage of the FREE stuff when you order the Butterfly Prints, Notably Ornate, or Vintage Vogue stamp sets along with any other items you wish to get in your $50 order.  You can even purchase your very own pack of Presto Patterns Paper and experiment with it.

Watch this video to see what each type of mini album looks like, either fairly plain or totally embellished.