Cardstock Organization and “Harvesting Card Salad” Pieces

Each year when the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog retires, I go through a process of reorganizing and resetting my materials and supplies.

I do this to make sure only my current products are the ones in easy reach when I’m creating. As a demonstrator, I always try to use only current products. That way, I’m never teasing you, with items you can’t purchase. Now, whether you’re a demonstrator or not keeping all your supplies organized is an important (and fun) aspect of the craft. So… as I was resetting my space for the new catalog this year, I thought it might be helpful to share some of my organizing strategies. The main focus of today’s post is card stock organization and reorganization. Since Stampin’ Up! did a huge revamp of the colors offered and the color groups, reorganizing my cardstock has been a pretty big task.

 

Check out how I organize my cardstock and ”Harvest Card Salad" Pieces. What is “card salad” you ask. Find out more in my blog post here.

 

I started by removing all the retiring colors of cardstock, ink pads, and markers, and packaging them up the way I do every year. Yes, I keep most of my retired cardstock. You never know if/when it will return. Plus, I may want to use it on a project in the future. While I keep my retired cardstock, ink pads and markers, I feel strongly that they shouldn’t be taking up “prime real estate” on my shelves that are within easy reach. This prime real estate is reserved for the supplies I’ll be using the most, and want to have easy access to.

So… how do I organize my cardstock?

I have shelves I’ve built from scratch that sit inside a cabinet behind my workspace. This cabinet has sliding doors on it, as I like to keep my cardstock protected from the sun and light. You’d be surprised how quickly cardstock can fade when exposed to sunlight!

 

Here’s a photo of the wall behind my desk. My cabinet with the sliding doors is on the lower right just behind where I sit. This cabinet is part of the Gallant Collection from Ikea.

 

Wall of Organization - Check out how I organize my cardstock and ”Harvest Card Salad" Pieces. What is “card salad” you ask. Find out more in my blog post here.

 

Below you’ll see one side of my cabinet with the sliding doors. This is the bulk of my cardstock storage.

I have a little more, plus overstock in the left side of this cabinet. It’s not perfectly neat but it is very functional. Can you see the sheet protectors that lay on top of each pack of cardstock?

Within each compartment, I have my pack of cardstock and a sheet protector. The sheet protector has a full sheet of cardstock (either white with a label OR the actual color) in it.

– Each sheet protector is used to organize my cardstock pieces and scraps for that particular color.

– I put half and quarter sheets of that color on one side of the full cardstock piece and…

– On the other side, I put my miscellaneous scraps.

When I’m playing with a given color, I often have the corresponding card stock, in their respective sheet protectors, at my desk.

 

Check out how I organize my cardstock and ”Harvest Card Salad" Pieces. What is “card salad” you ask. Find out more in my blog post here.

 

So what about the big picture cardstock organization?

Some people organize their cardstock in rainbow order and ignore the Stampin’ Up! color groups. For me, I like to keep the colors in their respective color groups, but within each color group, I organize them in rainbow order. Since my cubbies were created by me to fit this particular cabinet, the organization system is a bit wonky. I have most of the neutrals and some of the In Colors in the top cubbies, the bolds on the left, subtles in the middle and regals on the right. The rest of the In Colors and other colors that don’t fit here (the colors I like less) are on the left side of my cabinet.

* The important thing is that you pick a method that works!

 

So, when I reorganize to store my retiring card stock, here’s what I do…

– I take out each sheet protector, remove and recycle the smallest pieces so it’s less bulky, and I put it all into a Stampin’ Up! plastic sleeve for storage.

– I often have stacks of same size pieces of cardstock, held together with a binder clip, in with my scraps for a given color. I cut a large amount of cardstock when I’m preparing for clubs and classes. These stacks of same-size scraps really come in handy at times. Sometimes I even design to use up the scraps! That said, when I’m cleaning out, I recycle LOTS of the small strips. They just take up too much room and I may never use them so I purge. That’s why I have a pile of binder clips there.

– After each plastic sleeve is emptied, and the remaining pieces packaged up, I put them all in a box or container to tuck them away for storage. For this set of retiring colors, I’ve re-purposed a plastic container to store my retired card stock. It once contained croissant, from Cost Co.

 

Check out how I organize my cardstock and ”Harvest Card Salad" Pieces. What is “card salad” you ask. Find out more in my blog post here.

 

I also often keep a small sleeve in with each color, that contains die cut or punched pieces. These pieces were cut while experimenting with a design but were never used.

These pieces will go into my “Card Salad” bin to package up with other coordinating items to make what I call, “Creative Kick-Start Project Kits”. I give these away as little gifts for customers to play with. Click HERE to check out what my customers made with their Creative Kick-Start Project Kits, at my annual Creative Escape Day event! Here’s the pile of die cut and punched pieces I “harvested” while sorting through my retired cardstock:

 

Check out how I organize my cardstock and ”Harvest Card Salad" Pieces. What is “card salad” you ask. Find out more in my blog post here.

Here you see all my retired card stock packaged up neatly in my re-purposed Croissant container.

I love how it all fits perfectly in this container! I slipped the “Colors Going Away” document, in this box when I was done. That way I’ll have an easy reference of what’s contained inside when I pull it out later.

 

Check out how I organize my cardstock and ”Harvest Card Salad" Pieces. What is “card salad” you ask. Find out more in my blog post here.

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about my method for organizing card stock. Let me know if there’s a tip or method you think you’ll use in your crafting space! Please leave a comment and let me know!

 

More Going On Now…

Check out My NEW WEBSITE – Participate in my Website Launch Party Scavenger Hunt!

  • Launch day is Friday 8/3/2018
  • Participate in the Scavenger Hunt to win prizes!
  • Participate in my Facebook Live Event at 7pm on 8/3 OR Watch the Replay!
  • Click HERE to go to the Scavenger Hunt page
  • To be eligible for prizes you must respond by Thursday 8/9/18

Bonus Days are Here!

  • Get a $5 Coupon for EACH $50 spent during the month of August
  • Redeem your Coupon(s) in September
  • There’s no limit to how many coupons you can get!
  • Click HERE to Shop Now

Color Your Season Limited Time Offer!

  • Get Exclusive Products through 8/31 or while supplies last
  • Get the NEW Blended Seasons Stamp Set and coordinating framelits
  • Save 10% when you purchase the Stamp Set and framelits together
  • Get NEW Watercolor Pencils Assortment 2
  • Click HERE to see the products available through this promotion

Paper Pumpkin On Sale!

  • Get 50% off your first Paper Pumpkin Kit
  • Only first time subscribers are eligible for this offer
  • Offer ends on 8/10/18
  • Applies only to month to month subscriptions
  • Must use Promo Code: BLOOM0818
  • Click HERE to sign up for Paper Pumpkin

 

Happy Crafting AND Organizing friends!

Melissa 🙂

 

 

Tags:

About Me Page

I am a seeker of that crazy, excited feeling that comes when you've created something that’s unique, beautiful and expresses who you are in some small way. It’s like making a new discovery, when you find a unique combination of color, layout, dimension and texture. I call it a creative spark and it makes me giddy! Through sharing and teaching I hope to help others find this amazing feeling of creative bliss!

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

Fun with Die Cut Masking

March 25, 2023
Posted in ,
Learn how to do the die cut masking technique with the Brilliant Wings dies, the amazing Naturally Gilded Specialty Designer paper and more!

In today’s post, you’ll see several projects made with the Die Cut Masking Technique. Die Cut Masking is super easy. Plus, there are tons of creative possibilities with this technique. For today’s projects, I’ve used the Brilliant Wings dies to create my mask. On some of the projects, I’ve also used the amazing Naturally Gilded […]

Watercolor Technique with Acrylic Blocks

March 18, 2023
Posted in ,
Check out one of the easiest Watercolor Techniques ever! We'll use acrylic blocks, ink pads, a spritzer and the Greatest Journey Stamp Set.

Check out my projects with an easy Watercolor Technique and the Greatest Journey Stamp Set! This watercolor technique is so addictive! I could not stop playing with this and ended up making 8 cards each with a unique watercolored background! This is just soooo fun! The images here were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink […]

Mystery Boxes 20th Anniversary Offer!

March 14, 2023
Posted in
I'm celebrating 20 years as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator by purging my retired items. Get a Mystery Box with over $200 in products - 2 ways!

I’m super excited to share my Mystery Box 20th Anniversary offer! This month marks my 20th Anniversary as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. One of the ways I’m celebrating is to do a massive purge of the many retired crafting items I own. All of my old Stampin’ Up! crafting products need good homes! Mystery Boxes […]

Fun Fold Cards Tutorial with the Hello Irresistible DSP!

March 11, 2023
Posted in ,
The Hello Irresistible Designer Paper is today's featured product. Subscribe to my newsletter to get the Fun Fold Cards Tutorial for FREE!

Todays Fun Fold Cards Tutorial is a blast from the past, in honor of my 20th Anniversary as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator! Each year on my Stampin’ Up! anniversary one of my favorite things to do is pull out a project made earlier in my time as a demonstrator, and remake it with current Stampin’ […]

March 2023 Color Challenge & Blog Hop

March 6, 2023
Posted in ,
Check out the March 2023 Color Challenge & Color Fusers Blog Hop! The color combination today is Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron & Soft Sea Foam.

Welcome to the Color Fusers Blog Hop and March 2023 Color Challenge! If you’ve already started the blog hop you should be coming from the talented Janneke Dijkstra de Jong’s blog post. If you’ve just joined in, make sure to do the full hop and see all the wonderful projects created by the Color Fusers Design team! […]

How to make a card with the Irresistible Blooms Bundle & Emboss Resist Technique

March 4, 2023
Posted in ,
The Irresistible blooms bundle is gorgeous when paired with the emboss resist technique. Learn how to make this project here!

In today’s post, I’ll be sharing a gorgeous project made with the Irresistible Blooms Bundle which is a new Online Exclusive item! So, what that means is that the Irresistible Blooms bundle and other Online Exclusive products will NOT appear in a paper catalog probably ever! You’ll only be able to see and find these […]

Mystery Host Party Opportunity & More!

February 22, 2023
Posted in
Mystery Host

Place a qualifying order and you could be the Mystery Host or win a FREE Stamp Set! Scroll down to see all the details! To Participate: Additional Details: Deadline to Participate: February 28, 2023 at 5 pm ET! Click “Shop Now” and the Mystery Host Party host code will automatically be applied to your order: […]

Learn How to Get Color Inspiration from Designer Paper!

February 18, 2023
Posted in ,
Get color inspiration from designer papers you love! The "Enjoy the Journey" designer paper was the inspiration for today's color scheme!

Do you ever struggle with finding color combinations you love? If so you are going to love today’s post for finding color inspiration ideas! Each month I have an Idea Sharing Challenge in my Treehouse Chicks Team Facebook Group. Team members earn Chicks Bucks for sharing project ideas that they can redeem for product credits […]

February 2023 Color Challenge & Blog Hop

February 6, 2023
Posted in ,
Check out the February 2023 Color Challenge and Blog Hop! My project features new products from the January to April 2023 mini-catalog.

Welcome to the Color Fusers Blog Hop and February 2023 Color Challenge! If you’ve already started the blog hop you should be coming from the talented Melanie Hockin’s blog post. If you’ve just joined in, make sure to do the full hop and see all the wonderful projects created by the Color Fusers Design team! The color […]

Unique & Easy Card with Dainty Flowers Designer Paper

February 4, 2023
Posted in ,
I am in love with this unique & easy card made with the Dainty Flowers Designer Paper and the Stampin' Up! Easter Bunny Bundle!

I am in love with this unique & easy card made with the Dainty Flowers Designer Paper. Get this paper FREE with a $50 order during Sale-A-Bration! This card design came together so quickly and it was such an easy card to make. I sort of stumbled onto this design when I was noodling around […]

DIY Valentine Treats – 2 Quick & Easy Projects!

January 21, 2023
Posted in ,
Check out these two quick and easy, diy Valentine treats! They are made with the Stampin' Up, Country Floral Lane Suite.

In today’s post, I’ll be sharing two quick and easy DIY Valentine Treats. These DIY Valentine Treats feature the Country Floral Lane Suite and the Dandy Designs Sale-A-Bration designer paper. I’ve made two versions of my pop-up chocolate bar sleeve (shown just below) and two versions of the simplest pouch you’ll ever make (shown later […]

January 2023 Color Challenge & Blog Hop

January 2, 2023
Posted in ,
My January 2023 Color Challenge project features the Ginkgo Branch Bundle from the January - April mini-catalog which is live on 1/5/23.

Welcome to the Color Fusers Blog Hop and January 2023 Color Challenge! If you’ve already started the blog hop you should be coming from the talented Melanie Hockin’s blog post. If you’ve just joined in, make sure to do the full hop and see all the wonderful projects created by the Color Fusers Design team! The color […]