How I Organise- Cardstock

MY CARD-STOCK AND INK SWATCH BOOK 

My swatch book is not a new idea and I’m sure you’ve seen loads of different versions of this over the web but I thought I’d share mine with you. Firstly, though, I must give a shout out to Michelle from The Card Grotto as it was seeing her version that inspired me.

I absolutely love my swatch book and it’s one of my most useful organisational tools. I use my card-stock swatch pretty much every time I make a card. I find it so useful when I’m selecting card to match my DPs, I simply flick through my swatches to find the perfect matching colour. Makes the designing process SO much easier! 

I store my swatch book on the top of my cardstock filing cabinet. I use this Simple Stories Snap Binder and these Insta-pocket Page Protectors. 

Right in the front I have my PTI Inventory which lists what card-stock, ink, ribbon and felt I have for each colour. I then have the same for SU though I mainly just have the card-stock and only a few inks and ribbons.

In the first section I have my card-stock swatches. I don’t have these separated by manufacturer- just by colour. This is my personal preference as when I’m searching for some card (usually to match a specific paper), it doesn’t matter to me which manufacturer made it- just whether it matches or not!

I punched out 5.3cm x 5.3cm squares of card-stock using a large punch. Then I labelled each square using white tape and my Dymo Labeller.

I then put these in the inserts and arranged them in the following colour groups: yellow, orange, green, green/blue, blue, pink, purple, red, brown, grey, black. They are arranged from light to dark within these colours. 

CARDSTOCK STORAGE- COLOURED CARDSTOCK

My coloured card-stock is mainly stored in this filing cabinet from Ikea. I used to buy card-stock from all different manufacturers but fairly recently decided to only buy from PTI and SU. I think between them they have a great range of colours to suit my needs and it’s easier to keep track when you need to top up supplies.

The top drawer is almost the entire range of PTI cardstock.

and the bottom is almost all the range from SU. I store them using these hanging files from Ikea and label with my Dymo Labeller. I currently store my whole sheets and any scraps just loose in the individual file.

I have some whole sheets and lots of scraps of card-stock from all different manufacturers stored in my Storage 4 Crafts card storage unit separated by colour. At some point, this may all  be whittled down and I may just use it for storing my PTI and SU scraps and keep the filing cabinet for whole pieces of cardstock.

CARDSTOCK FOR COPIC COLOURING AND CARD BASES

I store my white card-stock (for copic colouring and for card bases) and kraft colouring cardstock in a file box (with hanging files) in the bottom section of the right hand side of of my desk. This is handy  as I only have to lean down to get it! The cardstock I use is Make It Colour and Glitter Pot Extra Smooth card for stamping and copic colouring plus Neenah Desert Storm card for copic colouring on Kraft. For making white card bases (in the case of making an unusual shaped/sized card) I use Glitter Pot Thick White Card Ultra Smooth or in the case of making a card base that I want to directly copic colour on I use PTI Stampers Select.