Sunday, November 25, 2012

Organizing your Punches with the ScrapRack


I own many of the martha stewart punches (in all varieties), Stampin' Up! punches and ones from EK Success. They live in drawers, on shelves, etc. and thus I hardly ever remember to use them. It's like a punch museum! .Tiffany Spaulding, inventor of the ScrapRack and the pioneer of 4 section organization seminars, taught me how to bring my punches out of their museum-like state and into my every day crafting again. I am so grateful!




 
By using my scrap cardstock I was able to punch out the images that each punch cuts and place it in my ScrapRack. Because the pages are see through and I needed to label each cut, I placed a white piece of cardstock behind each cut. That way I can easily see what I have, what the sizes are and I can even use that example as a placeholder (or test) on my project to see if I like it before actually punching. That's golden because I have thought I would like a punched element many times only to be disappionted after punching my almost done project. Having to settle or start over is the pits!
 
 
 
 

 
 






These Martha Stewart punch around the page punches come with a corner and a straight punch in the set. First I punched both together. Then I thought about it... a lot of times I use just the corners so I'd like to see those by themselves. Next I punched just the corners and added them to the sweet sixteen scrap rack page.

 




These last few images are from a Stampin' Up punch that punches 5 different shapes. It is really helpful to see which layer cuts on this type of punch.

A final note --- Tiffany suggests that the punches be sorted by theme. I will make a second set and do that some day but have decided to put all my punches together for now. I like the idea of being able to look at everything in one place. I'm a winner anyway because it's all in my ScrapRack and that's the best place to have it (no matter how it's organized). I can easily move things around at my leisure.



If you'd like to see where I started and the things I learned along the way, check out:
And here's some storage tips:
 
 
La-Vie

4 comments:

  1. What a great way to organize your punches and especially a great way to figure out which cut you'd like to use on a project. I cannot count the times I thought one punched edge would be perfect, only to be disappointed. I'm definitely going to try this!

    Thanks for the info and the inspiration!
    Merilee

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    1. Hi Merilee. I hope your holidays are off to a great start. You're very welcome. Thanks for stopping by and commenting today. I'd love to see how your punch organization turns out. Please post about it when you can. I've heard there are pocket pages (maybe meant for coupons) in 8 1/2 x 11" size at the dollar store. If not, I have seen them at walmart and hobby lobby as well. good luck!

      La-Vie

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  2. La-Vie,
    Hi! I'm new to ScrapRack and the FB Org. group. I found your terrific post on your punches, so I came on over to investigate! I'll be bookmarking this post to go with all the great org ideas I'm getting from the ScrapRack group.
    Guess what? My first, new ScrapRack should arrive Friday. I'm a little nervous about having to go through EVERYTHING I own (I'm a gottalot). I hope the videos will help me know where to start. Oh, and the new challenge that starts in January. Sounds like by the end of this winter, I'll have my ScrapRack loaded. That's my goal, anyway. Any sage advice for a newbie??
    Thanks!
    Rhonda H

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    1. Hi Rhonda H! Thanks for stopping by. I'm excited that you're getting your SR soon and going to start the challenge. I have posted links to my other organization posts at the end of this post. Check those out and learn from my mistakes. Do it the way Tiffany suggests. Never bite more than you can chew. I always did and wore myself out. The recorded organization sessions are online on the SR website and youtube. I bought them so I could listen at my leisure. I started on my own in Aug but the seminars started in Sept. Maybe you can start listening and watching the videos on the SR website to familiarize yourself and get the things you need together that you'll need before the challenge begins in January. I've got lots to say... we'll chat again soon!

      La-Vie

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Your comments bring me SO much Joy! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and view my creations. If you love what you see, please share my posts and invite your friends to follow me as well! ~XXX La-Vie B.