Stamp Storage for Clear Mount Stamps

Stamp storage got you down? Here’s a little help!

Perhaps you’re like me and you craft in a room about as big as a shoebox, and I mean the kind of box that little kids’ shoes come in… I am so envious of those lucky ducks who have a whole room dedicated to pursue their crafting dreams. Can you imagine? Nah, me neither. So I find myself faced with the unenviable task of trying to figure out different ways to control the hoarding, I mean careful selection of the stamps and supplies that I purchase. (I mean, seriously, I have nowhere near as many as some people I know [um, not personally]).

Okay, back to my stamp storage. I usually buy clear mount stamp sets because, obviously, they take up less room than the wood mounted ones. Not to mention that no trees had to die to feed my obsession. For me personally I find very little difference between clear and wood mount, provided you are using the right size block for the stamp. It’s the same deep etched rubber on both kinds. So in order to conserve space I put two sets of stamps into just one of the clear DVD style cases that the clear mount stamps are packaged in. Here’s what I mean:

These are the two sets I’m going to combine, Gorgeous Grunge and What’s Up. I start by taking the paper insert out of one of the cases – I don’t need to take them both out, but I took them out to be able to show you what they look like side by side. I take my scissors and I cut one of the inserts just below the name of the set, but only as far as the crease. Then I fold the rest of the insert under so that all that’s going to show on the spine are the names of each set.

Then I slip the folded insert back into the case and line up the inserts so the labels on the spine are even. If you look at the case from the inside, now, you will see that one of the inserts is upside down. But that’s intentional. Here’s a look without the case:

Here’s the inside of the case with both sets of stamps:

(P.S.I know you’re probably looking at my pictures and wondering why I don’t have the transparent stamp images on my clear mount. Well, it’s a personal preference. I find the clear mount stamps cling way better without that transparent plastic on them. And if I need to be really precise with the placement of the stamp, I just use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig).

And when the plastic case is closed, it looks like this:

And here are my stamp cases, all nice and neat in my storage box:

Now before I close, I want to tell you about the most amazing perk that comes with my stamp storage system, and it is this:

My husband has no idea that I actually have almost twice as many stamps as it looks like I have. Score!!