I was recently asked by someone on Facebook about how to store stickers.
I’ve had two major ways of storing my stickers throughout my scrapbooking life.
Back in 2003, when I really got into scrapbooking, there weren’t many sticker storage options that appealed to me or where affordable. I opted to use what I had on hand and that meant using photo sleeves and basic page protectors in a 3-ring binder. I grew to two binders. I stored alphabet stickers in one binder and all other stickers in the other binder. I tried to sort my alphas by color and other stickers by theme. I used 3-ring binder dividers to separate each color and theme.
This worked for several years, but I eventually grew to buying sticker sheets that didn’t fit neatly into this system. In particular 12-inch border stickers did not fit into this storage system. I shoved them in any way and they often got bent.
As my paper stash grew, I decided to move from a rolling-file system to using the Cropper Hopper Paper Holders. I opted to then move my stickers to these files as well. I use a combination of the sticker envelopes and page planner envelopes.
Blue alphas in a storage envelope
I still store stickers in the photo sleeves I started out with. I simply moved the sleeve to the folder and left it at that when I changed systems. I had also cut sticker sheets down so they would fit in the pocket. If I take them out of the pocket, I might have four or five (if not more) smaller sheets of the same alpha. This keeps them altogether.
I keep my thickers in their original packaging before sticking them in a storage envelope. I think they are the only stickers that even come in packaging, but the letters will get knocked off their sheet without the packaging to protect them. I stick the whole package in the storage envelope
Then the storage envelop goes into the
paper holder, which is organized by color.
Now, all this works fine when you have stickers that are one color. I have another
sticker envelope for alphas that are multi-colored. It then goes into a paper holder that holds various pattern papers.
I rarely use my multi-colored alphas. I’m to the point where I’m not going to be buying anymore. They are difficult to store and I prefer my alphas to be the same font and color on a layout.
That covers alpha stickers.
Storing other types of stickers are a bit more difficult. I have two main storage options for non-alpha stickers.
I use a a sticker/paper envelope to store stickers that go with a paper line. I try to keep entire lines together. This works well for me.
Lastly, I store everything else in a basket. I like this method because when I need another sticker but am not sure what to use, I just look through the basket and usually find something that will work. The only problem is that the basket I’m using isn’t quite big enough.
The basket fits on my shelf like I need it to, it just a bit too small for some of my stickers. Oh well, perhaps in the future I’ll find a better way to store these stickers that don’t fit in anywhere else. It works for me and that’s what matters.
So, to answer the question, how do I store my stickers? Well, it depends on the sticker type.
My best advice for your sticker storage?
Think about how you use your stickers. I think of the color I need first, so that is how I store my supplies. I store my paper by color, then manufacturer, then theme. I do the same with my stickers. I store my stickers with my paper as much as possible. This works for me. Just think about how you use your stickers.
How do you store your stickers? Comment below of join the conversation on
Facebook.
Stephanie
Stephanie Medley-Rath is a sociologist and scrapbooker who studies scrapbooking and memory keeping. Scrapworthy Lives is a blog focused on her sociological analysis of scrapbooking, with a sprinkling of posts about Stephanie's own scrapbooking projects.
