Art Journal Every Day: Stamp Storage

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here.  All of the previous posts can be found archived here.  Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day!  No need to finish anything or even like it. If you've done some art journaling this week, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek.  Even if you're not on social media, you can see everything (from twitter, pinterest, instagram, and facebook) that uses that hashtag here. 

As you know, I love to use stamps in my art journal!  But, like any supply, they're difficult to use if you can't find what you're looking for.  Today I thought that I would share how I store and organize my stamps.  Like any organizational system, you must customize it to fit the way your brain works or it won't work for you.  This system is based on how I think about my stamps.

With some exceptions (notably alphabets) I store my stamps by type: 

• Foam
• Silicone
• Rubber on Wood Block
• Unmounted Rubber
• Hand Carved
• Wood

The smaller collections, like silicone -- or even wood mounted -- just get stuck in a drawer. 

The larger collections, like hand carved, get further sub-divided.  First, there are three major categories:

• Text
• Icons
• Pattern

Then there are a million minor categories.  These minor categories are the ones I use for labeling my storage containers:

I use a lot of plastic boxes of all shapes and sizes to store my stamps.  And I make sure to label every single box clearly so that I can easily grab what I'm looking for.  I also use some unconventional storage, like Altoid tins, for small collections.

I would never tell anybody to store their stamps the way that I do.  My stamp storage system has evolved over time as a reflection of the way I work.  When I'm creating, what am I looking for?  I say things like:

• I need that flower stamp I carved a few years ago.
• I want to create a background pattern.
• I need some text here.

Therefore, this system makes sense.  Stamps are stored based on my thought process and how I mentally catalogue what I've got in my stash.  Whatever system you have has to work the way your brain works, otherwise you'll never find anything!

If you don't have weekend plans, how about getting out your stamps and using them in your art journal?!

Just a thought.

Thanks for stopping by!