Posted in Bullet Journal

How I Store and Organize My Clear Stamp Collection

I finally found the best way to organize and store my clear stamp collection. This method has helped me stay on top of my collection and easily find the stamps I need when I need them. Here are all the materials that I used to set this up and organize my collection.

Here is the full list and links for everything in my Amazon Shop:
Stamp Organization Supplies: https://tinyurl.com/3jxj2dzf

Some links in this post will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate shop. Any items purchased using these links will allow me to earn a small kick back at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

The Materials

InterDesign Fridge Binz Deep Split Bin in Clear

The InterDesign Fridge Bin is the perfect size to fit most stamps as they come from the stores. I love this double bin because you can fit even more stamps in the same container. Each side will fit the 5.5″X7.25″ storage folders we are going to talk about next.

Maxtek Clear Stamp and Die Storage Pockets CPP Plastic Pockets, Large 5.5″X7.25″

These have been the best storage folder pockets that I have been able to find. They fit most stamps already in their packaging, and hold them secure. I like that you can fold the top envelope flap down without having to lock it in place with a sticker or closure.

4 Mil Clear Mylar Stencil Sheets, 12″ x 12″ Blank Stencils

If your stamps are too big for the stamp storage pockets, you might have to rehome them. To ensure that they fit in the envelopes and the Bin container, you will need something for the clear stamps to stick to. I have tried a few different products and brands, and I found the 4 mil to be the best. It’s sturdy but still easy to cut and work with. To fit in the envelopes, I needed to cut two 7.25″ x 5.5″ sheets of the mylar. Using the extra pieces, I cut it down to 4 .75″ x 6″ to fit smaller collections that don’t need all the larger space.

To note that for my current collection, I needed to order 2 packs of these sheets to cut.

12″ Paper Cutter, Paper Trimmer 

Having a paper trimmer to cut the mylar sheets is a life saver. When I started, I thought I could do it with an x-acto blade… and I was so wrong. This little baby helped me out and was the perfect size to cut down the 12″x12″ sheets.

DYMO Letratag LT100H Label Maker

I’ve had this label maker for years now and I have loved it the whole time. I used this to label my stamp containers, notebooks boxes, and stationery around the studio. You can really use it for everything. I love the features, muti-line features and built in icons and symbols. It also allows you to print different sized fonts to create a visual hierarchy with your labels. I am using the smallest font for my stamp envelope labels, and the medium sized font for the dividers.

IKONGR Replacement for Dymo LetraTag Refills Plastic Tape

When it comes to tape for your label maker, you can find a ton of them out there. But I have found that some of better made than others. When i was looking for replacement refills for the Dymo, these have been working out great! They stick to everything with no issues, and are easy to use. I loved this collection because there were different colors. This is what helped me color code things by creators, themes, and alphabet.

Chipboard Sheets 8.5″ x 11″

If you’d like to break down and organize your stamps into groups and themes, then I would recommend chip board for dividers. You could also use thick card stock or cardboard. I like the chip because it’s strong without being too thick. The labels also sticks to these really well too!

Organizing The Stamps

Having all of these items will be incredibly helpful in getting you to a stop where you feel good about your stamp collection. But they can only take you so far. Understanding how you are going to organize all these stamps is an exercise all in its own. My first step was to organize all my stamps. Each stamp got a new envelope and label. Then I started to organize my stamps into groups.

Creators (Yellow)

These are collections where I have 2 or more of an artist or brand. Some of my favorites in this section are collections from Eric Small Things, Ink Blot Shop, and Archer & Olive.

Alphabetical (Green)

My next step was to organize the labeled stamps alphabetically. I started by breaking the alphabet down into groups. A–E, F–L, M–S, T–Z

Once I did this, I found that I had a lot of similar types of stamps. Months, Dates, Headers, Titles, etc. So I decided to break those down again in to a smaller groups.

Themes (Blue)

My themes are broken down into groupings of stamps that I had a lot a like of. Right now I only have themes for Headers, Weekdays, and Months – and then one for Botanicals.

It’s time to get to it.

Now that you have all the things you need to get started, you can take your time in getting your stamps in a good place. This process took me a few days to get complete. A lot of it was trial and error, so hopefully my mistakes are your successes.

Let me know in the comments below if this is something that might work for you, or if you have another way you have found to organize your stamp collection. I’d love to hear your ideas.

-Mark @Menwhobullet

Posted in Bullet Journal

Making a Wordle Journal

If you know you know, Wordle is all the rage right now on Twitter and social media. If you don’t know, I’m sure you have seen a few social media posts that look like this.

I’ve fallen to the Wordle bug myself, playing daily to find the 5 letter word of the day. I don’t post my daily score all over social media, only to a few friends in a chat, but I do like to track my own little wins.

I have been looking for a use for one of my tiny B6 notebooks from one of the past Archer & Olive subscription boxes. What a better way to use it than for a Wordle Journal. So here is how I set it up.

First thing, I needed to find a journal to use for this. I didn’t want to use a larger one, but this could totally be something you set up in an A5 notebook. I’ve had these Pocket B6 journals from the September 2021 Archer & Olive Subscription Box for a bit, unused. This one has Kraft paper and makes the tracker notebook even more fun.

Next, I needed a way to get my 5×6 grid to add in my Wordle boxes. This calendar stamp worked out perfectly! I turned it on its side which gave me the 5 columns. I was able to fit 6 grids on this one page. Once I was done, I needed to alter the stamp just a bit. I needed to block out the last row to give me the right amount for the daily guesses.

What’s great about this is that I can add the word of the day in a white or colored gel pen in that space. You could also use a different color here or keep the grid and just know that the letters will go there.

The last thing to do is to block out your rows as you try and guess the daily word. You can fill in the square with the same green and yellow colors as the game ( blue and orange in the color blind mode ). For me, I’m keeping it simple, just using a black fine liner to fill in the squares depending on the correct letters. Once I get the word, if I get the word, I’ll draw a line through the space and then add the puzzle number and guess numbers on the left.

If you don’t have a calendar stamp, feel free to just use the squares you already have in your dot grid journal. No need to make it harder on yourself. Another thing I like about this is that each stamp is blank, so if I miss a day, no big deal. It’s all in the fun of the Wordle.