Let's Talk - Stamp Storage!

And again with the stamp theme... :)
(see T-Shirt Tuesday - Eat, Sleep, Stamp and HOT New Stamps!)

Stamps come in all shapes and sizes: wood mounted, foam, foam mounted to plastic, acrylic, unmounted rubber... you get the idea! So let's talk about how to store them.

Most of the stamps I have are acrylic with a growing number of unmounted rubber stamps. I found it difficult to keep the acrylic stamps in the original packaging and was showed by a friend how to store them in clear cd cases. I loved the idea and really ran with it!


I had a wooden cd tower from my college days so I recruited it to store the cd cases. I labeled the ends of the cd cases with the brand and the name of the stamp collection. If you look closely you can also see a couple rubber mounted stamp cases in the tower also (about halfway down). Those stamps came with their own case, but there's no reason you could not put them in a cd case for storage.




This collection of stamps fit quite nicely in the cd case. I simple cut the plastic that the stamps were attached to in half and attached one to each side of the case. Attaching the plastic backing to the cd case allows you to clearly see the stamps that are inside quickly.


The white arrows are pointing at the strips of adhesive I used to attach the plastic sheet to the case. Just two strips of adhesive. That's it!


Some of my stamp sets are too large to simply cut the plastic backing in half. For my jungle animals stamps I had to actually cut out the backing of each stamp and adhere it to the cd case and arrange it so they all would fit.


Here is a better picture of the stamps organized in the cd case.


These stamps do not have the plastic backing with them, but they still stick great to the cd case. You just can't see as clearly from the outside of the case which stamps are inside.

For the most part, I like to keep my stamp collections together inside each cd case. I don't like for them to mingle. I can find what I'm looking for if the collections stay together. But if I have various word stamps, I'll put them all together. For my random small stamps, I keep them a little differently. I store them in a small clear jar (see below.)




As I use these stamps I tend to keep them out of their wrapping. As you can see, I have several stamps I need to use!

As for my wood mounted stamps, I store them in a plastic bin. I tried to keep them somewhat organized but quickly gave that up. For my foam stamps, they are also in a random plastic bin.

So, how do you store your stamps?

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So you might remember last month I showed you a 12 month album about my son's first year. I just finished his 11th month and wanted to share. I can't believe he's going to be 1 this week! Time really does fly by. I plan to put this album out at his birthday party next weekend so everyone can see how much he as grown (and ooh and ah over how cute is). ;)

HOT New Stamps!

I thought we would keep up with the stamp theme this week (remember T-Shirt Tuesday this week was all about stampers!), and would share some hot new stamps that are debuting this fall. Some are already available, some not just yet, but you can find all of them at Scrapbook.com.


You know I had to find a jungle animal! This acrylic giraffe stamp is just one of the animals available in the Imaginisce Wild Things collection. Not only is this stamp adorable, but its easy on the pocketbook at only $.99! There are also papers, rub-ons, 3-D stickers, flowers, and more available in the Wild Things collection.


Trying to scrapbook the teenagers in your life? Get a little help with these acrylic stamps from the We R Memory Keepers Teen Angst collection. The collection also offers matching paper, chipboard, brads, ribbon, and more.


Robots seem to be the in thing these days, and Sassafras Lass is taking advantage of their popularity by offering these I Heart Robots stamps from their Robotics collection. Also available in this collection are an assortment of papers and stickers.


Does your style lean a little bit more towards baroque? These elegant stamps from Delish Designs are sure to class up any scrapbook layout. I personally love the hands of the clock so I can make my own timepiece. These acrylic stamps are part of Delish Designs' Petite Peppercorn collection with includes more stamps, paper, and ATC cards.


These cute birds and birdhouse really caught my eye. These clear stamps are part of the Lillian collection from Crate Paper which also includes an assortment of paper, rub-ons, die cuts, and more.


Teresa Collins has several new stamps coming out this fall including this clock, dubbed Ornate Clock. I've been looking around for a good clock stamp, and this may be it!


These stamps from Basic Grey are great because you can layer them to give them dimesion. These Pom Bitsy clear stamps are part of the Wisteria collection which offers gorgeous papers, buttons, rub-ons, and brads.


I could not resist sharing this cute Owlet from Basic Grey. He is part of the June Bug collection. While this collection may not be for everyone, its bright colors and retro feel are just too fun!


Who says wood mounted stamps aren't popular anymore? I love this calendar stamp from American Crafts. Its an easy way to date any layout (or birthday card!).


So its not a stamp, but it is for stamping... American Crafts as come out with some super new embossing powder available in 45 fabulous colors. Yes, 45! Not only is the color selection great, but you have a choice of colors in opaque, metallic, glitter, or fluorescent. Many of these colors are available on Scrapbook.com, but to see them all visit the American Crafts website.

You can find any of the products above by visiting Scrapbook.com and typing the brand name and "new stamp" into the search.

T-Shirt Tuesday - Eat, Sleep, Stamp

I have to admit, after paper, buying stamps is one of my biggest addictions! Not only do they make your scrapbooking (or cardmaking!) job easier, they can be really fun to use. Not to mention they come in all shapes and sizes. So, in honor of stampaholics everywhere, today's T-Shirt Tuesday is dedicated to our Eat, Sleep, Stamp design!


Also, in honor of our stampaholic friends, we've added several new pieces of flair to Facebook for you to add to your flair boards. Simply type "The Scrap Shoppe" into the flair search.







All of these stamping designs are also available at The Scrap Shoppe with the exception of the "stamp ho" design. We are currently in the process of adding it and should have it available by the end of the week!

Let's Recycle!Altered Peanut Can

If you're looking to make a new project, instead of heading to the store just have a look around your house for inspiration! There are so many things we throw away on a daily basis that can be saved and altered into something fun and new.

Today I'm going to show you how I altered a peanut can and made it into a mini album.

The first thing you need to do with any recycled object that you plan to use in a craft project is clean it. I washed the inside of my peanut can really well and took the label off of the outside of the can and made sure there was no leftover residue from the label adhesive. We want to start with a smooth surface!


I wrapped the can with two different green patterned papers (any adhesive will work here, but I used a thin layer of Mod Podge), added some green ribbon to cover the seam between the papers (use Glue Dots or run your ribbon through a Xyron machine to attach it to the papers), and started decorating.


I cut some various-sized circles out of the same patterned paper I used to cover the can. I crumpled them and layered them. I also cut some of the green ribbon to look like leaves and stuck it between the layers. I then used my Crop-A-Dile to punch a hole through each set of flowers and leaves and used a small green brad to connect them. I used glue dots to attach the flowers to the can.


I stamped my Heidi Swapp *love* stamp with some green ink on some white cardstock and cut it out with my X-acto knife. I then ran the word through my Xyron sticker maker to attach it to the can.


I cut more circles, all of the same size this time, crumpled them, added leaves made out of ribbon and layered all of this to make a large flower to go on the top of my can.


Surprise! Take the lid off of the can and a mini accordian album comes out (attached to the lid of the can).

I cut more circles to use as the pages of my mini album. I'll explain the pieces of paper I used to connect the circles to each other in just a minute.




Adhering paper to a flexible lid can be a little tricky, as I found out. I started out thinking glue stick, but once the glue tried it became rigid, same with Mod Podge. I ended up attaching the paper with a few glue dots just around the edges of the paper every inch or so. Worked like a dream!


To attach the circles to each other and create the accordian album, I cut 2 rectangles of paper, scored the middle of each one, and adhered one on each side of the circle pages. Voilà! An accordian album!


I think for my next recycled project I may try to do something with this bubble gum jar. I love the shape of it! I'm thinking a toy container for my son or maybe something for my scrap desk like a ribbon holder maybe... We'll have to see!

My husband, son, and I headed to the Nashville flea market yesterday morning. It was a lovely day for shopping around if you can believe that for an August day in TN. All of our finds and purchases were for my son. But we found some good ones!


This rocking chair (it bounces, too!) was too cool to pass up. And the price really wasn't too bad. We're trying to decide if we want to repaint the it or just leave it as is. I'm all for the vintage look!


We also scored a few more books for my son's collection and a VERY cute little umbrella. If you love this umbrella as much as me you can find it on the Stephen Joseph website. I managed to get it for a few $$ cheaper than online though. ;)

The Slice

It's not a new product. It's been available for about a year now. And when I first heard about it roughly two and a half years ago, I knew I wanted one! Its the first (and only) electronic die cut machine that I own. I'm talking about the Slice from Making Memories!

So, why am I talking about it now? Making Memories has just released a new version of the Slice in pink, but more importantly, they are in the process of releasing 15 new design cards! While you won't find me repurchasing the Slice just to have it in pink, I do think its great that Making Memories is donating a portion of its earnings to help in the fight against breast cancer. As for the new design cards, let's just say several of these just moved to the top of my Christmas list!

Jungle

If you remember back to my Jungle Party post, you'll know this is a must have design card for me! I just love the jungle animals!

Handwritten Fonts

Mistletoe

The Mistletoe design card coordinates with the Mistletoe collection from Making Memories.

Vintage Findings

The Vintage Findings design card coordinates with the Vintage Findings collection from Making Memories.

Spook Alley

The Spook Alley design card coordinates with the Spook Alley collection from Making Memories.

Other new design card themes are Dance & Music, Faith, Farm Life, Home Sweet Home, Mix & Mingle Fonts, Playground Fonts, Studio Essentials, Think Pink (included when you purchase the pink Slice), Under the Sea, and Words & Expressions for holidays.

Most of the new cartridges being released are MS+ cards which means you have the ability to mirror and shadow your die cuts. Mirroring will allow you to emboss each side of a die cut to add extra dimension. (Did I mention there are embossing tips available? Another thing to add to my Christmas list!)

So, to wrap up this post...
The Slice = not so new, but still a cool tool. And available in pink if you so desire.
The Slice design cards = super cute and about to be released in overwhelming numbers!

T-Shirt Tuesday - Therapy

Today's T-Shirt Tuesday design was just added to The Scrap Shoppe yesterday! So its brand spankin' new!

There's a semi-famous saying out there in the scrapbooking community that scrapbooking is cheaper than therapy. This design is just a little twist on that. Because, as scrapbookers, we all know that cheaper may not necessarily be the best word to use here! But there is no better therapy than scrapbooking!


Add to this fun phrase a cute little bluebird on a whimsical branch and you're all set for some peace and quiet and scrapbooking!

You can find our Therapy t-shirts here.