Expedit Handmade Number Labels

Remember these Expedits?

I said I made numbered labels for the cubes. Here are the tricks to doing this! There are several supplies needed...a punch, number stamps, ink, dauber, stamp cleaner, cardstock, glue dots, and a stamp block if you're using clear stamps or unmounted rubber stamps.

I punched out 50 - yes really 50 - of these labels using one of my punches from EK Success. The size is perfect to fit on the edge of the Expedit shelves. I used the top label and only put the cardstock in the punch far enough to punch those out. I was using scraps of Colonial White cardstock from Close To My Heart.

In this dvd case are the clear number stamps I used. No idea who they are from. Judging by my post it (I love those things!) inside the case, the stamps are from either Clear Dollar Stamps (no longer in business) or Studio G. I used Black Distress Ink from Close To My Heart. That ink is still available and comes paired with a Chocolate Distress Ink cube.

I decided to number the cubes with a 3 digit number. I have 2 Expedits so I figured starting with 101 would let me know something was in paper Expedit in the 1st cube. So I had to stamp 101 -125 and 201 -225. The 200's are my albums and cardstocks.

Here they are all stamped. That took the longest amount of time because I had to keep swapping numbers and cleaning stamps. I used a dauber to make the edges a distressed, roughed up black. I didn't want them to look brand new. I attached them to the Expedit shelves with glue dots! So they are very easily removable and won't damage the finish on the face of the shelf.

I tried for weeks to find some cute metal numbered tags. I didn't want to spend a ton of money. I found some cute Tim Holtz ones, but the package didn't contain enough numbers. I looked on Etsy and found great stuff, but they were over $50 for I needed. No way was I spending 50 bucks on some numbered plates. That's 50 bucks I wouldn't be able to use on scrapping goodies!!! Then I realized something.....how on earth do I attach them? What if I drill holes into my Expedits and hate them or need to make a change later? I'm totally up a creek with holes! No thanks. What I came up with cost me zip. Zero. Zilch. Nothing! I used scraps of cardstock even! I'm very happy with this system and I can always change it and there's no damage.

Album, Cardstock & Paper Organization

Today, I'm going to share with you my organization for my albums, cardstock, and papers. This system is all being changed up now that I have made a 100% commitment to pocket scrapbooking, but I will share with you the changes when they are finished.

I love paper. I make no bones about it. If you don't absolutely love pretty paper, I am not sure we can be friends. I mean, how can you not love paper? I mean seriously!

I have tens of thousands of sheets of paper. No joke. I used to buy multiple sheets of my favorites, the ones I couldn't live without, the ones I knew I would use over and over and over and over etc. I have paper for almost every theme imaginable. I even had cowboy paper....I'm not a cowboy. Don't know any....don't ride horses either. One of our dogs used to wear bandanas so I think I started adding to the theme because of Oscar. I'll use the paper with some of my farm visits. No shortage of them around here! That's one of the reasons I absolutely looooooooooove living in the Finger Lakes.

All of my 12x12 papers are in 13x15 zipper bags. Each bags contains one collection. And by collection I mean Apple Cider from BoBunny, Silhouette from Close to My Heart, Alpine Frost from SEI, Cupcake from Basic Grey....does that give you an idea what I mean? I sort by theme not brand because...well...you'll see in a minute. A picture is worth a thousand words or 12 thousand in this case. :)

Each cubby on my Expedit contains a theme or several themes. The Expedit isn't labeled with the categories.  I kept that list on my MacBook. I made numbered labels for my Expedits....yup that is plural. I have 2 of the 25 cube Expedits. You'll see the second one soon! I should do a blog post about the labels I made, too.

So that's my messy paper collection. Ugh. Remember, I don't like messy. I'm probably the most anal scrapbooker alive. I have to clean as I scrapbook. I can't stand having the table covered with stuff. I just get so stressed. It's so weird. Anyway, this paper arrangement is in for a major overhaul!

My second Expedit holds my mountain of cardstock and my completely and empty albums. A few themes of my paper collection are stored here.....they don't fit in the other one. The top rows have empty and full albums. The bottom contains fabric bins from Ikea that hold my cardstock. The cardstock is all sorted by color. I have plastic inserts in each bin that divide the colors. I sort the cardstock by ROY G BIV and Browns and Blacks. Browns include the creams and ivories. Backs include the greys and whites. The cardstock sheets are all standing up in these bins. This Expedit, too, is going to be remodeled in the near future.

I know Ikea does not make the Expedit anymore. Big, huge sad face. I love them! I know I'm not the only crafter who loves them. Ikea replaced the Expedit with the Kallax. I believe the Kallax only comes in 20 cubes though. I could be totally wrong! I haven't seen them in person yet. I will next month when I go to Charlotte! I'm off to Raleigh for a huge crop. My understanding is that inside of the cubes are the same dimensions so they will still hold scrapbook albums!

Stop back tomorrow for a post on the numbered labels I created for my Expedits. I'm going to dig out the photos right now! :)