As the founder of Scrapbook.com and with many years of craft space organizational knowledge, Jill Davis would like to share her experiences and advice with you. Let her and organizational master Stacy Boatman lead you in the right direction! Browse the entire Scrapbook.com store for all things card making and all of your craft storage and organization needs!
Materials Needed for Organizing Cards and Card Making Supplies
- Containers
- Notebook/Filing System
- Label Maker
How to Organize Card Making Supplies
You'll be getting your card making supplies and cards into a system that will help keep you creating cards to share with others. Yay!
We’re going to tackle card storage - both pre-made cards and supplies to make cards. Most of our card making gear is interchangeable with our scrapping supplies and tools, so you may not want to set up another system. There are a few odds and ends that need unique storage solutions, including pre-folded cards (printed cards you embellish), any cards you have made that are ready-to-give, and card ideas.
I’m going to combine both pre-folded cards and handmade cards into the same category since their storage options are pretty identical. If you don’t have a large stash, then they can be stored together in the same type of container. The following are some storage options:
- The Totally Tiffany/ScrapRack System
- Clear Craft Storage Box with 4" x 6" separate compartments
- Accordion File System and Labels
- 3-ring binder and Page Protectors
- Mini Album
- Container and Labeled Divider Tabs (organized by theme)
Nancy Haworth of On Task Organizing demonstrates how she organized card making supplies into plastic bins that were then placed in a re-purposed, old bookshelf in her article called Craft Room Organizing for Card Making.
Once you determine your stash size and which storage method best suits your card collection, it’s time to decide how you want to organize them. For handmade cards, you can divide by theme (i.e., Birthday, Thanks, Get Well, etc.), by month (Valentines in Feb, etc.), or by person (Mom, Dad, Friends, etc.). For pre-folded cards, you can divide by size, color, or style. Figure out which system works best for you and start filing away!
Card Making Organization Idea One
Stacy finds it difficult to make a card from scrap paper, but she’s addicted to the pre-folded, pre-printed cards that come in boxes with matching envelopes! She has a cabinet devoted to her card making supplies and instead of placing them in photo storage boxes on shelves, she has two large bins that pull out of a cabinet. She cuts the tops off all of the boxes the cards come in and stacks them in these drawers. All she has to do is grab the color of the card she needs and a matching envelope and she’s ready to start embellishing!
For organizing completed cards, Stacy previously used a clip-it-up system, but found it took up too much desktop space. Instead, she files all of her cards by theme in photo storage boxes. The tops don’t fit anymore because the cards stick up too high, but that’s ok with her. Having the lid off is actually one less barrier to entry. The boxes sit on a shelf and it’s easy to flip through them when she needs to find a card. If she makes multiples of the same card to use up her scraps, she files them together in a zip-style bag.
Card Making Organization Idea Two
We live in a two-story home with my studio upstairs. I often want to watch TV downstairs with the family and work on cards at the same time, but don’t want to lug a bunch of supplies down. My first storage system was a small carry-on vintage suitcase converted into a card making “tote.” Its permanent home was on the side of the kick space of the desk in my studio. I converted the inside top into a cork board and tool organizer, which left room in the cavity for my pre-made cards, card making papers, and embellishment left-overs from layouts. I decided to keep all of my card making supplies in two open bins in my embellishment center so it would be easier to get supplies in and out and would also be portable. The first bin holds pre-made cards and coordinating embellishments. The second holds scrap papers that are large enough to be a full card or a card front. When cleaning up, I can simply slip scraps into this bin effortlessly.
For card idea storage, I have a photo carousel filled with card samples that might spark inspiration. When I receive a card that I want to keep for this purpose, I cut the card apart and place the card front into this system. The page protectors are a bit smaller than some card fronts so I often need to trim them to fit.
Handmade cards to give away are stored downstairs in our copy center in the laundry room. They’re in a storage box organized by theme. I’m more often downstairs than upstairs when thinking about sending a card so I moved them from my studio to this more convenient location.
Card Storage Summary
Having organized scraps, supplies, and ideas easily accessible for card making purposes can help you focus on creating, instead of looking for supplies and ideas. Card makers have studios that are set up to produce cards.
When cards are looked at like miniature layouts without photos, you can understand how a good system to get them created is just as valuable to a card maker as an efficient work place is for a scrapbooker.
We’re going to turn your neatly organized space into a vision of creative grandeur! Ok, maybe not with so much drama, but you’ll feel happy and full of creative energy when you walk in.
Excited about expanding your organizational insight? Check these out...
How to Organize New Items and Keeping Your Space Maintained
How to Organize Embellishments
