Scrapbookers love cardstock and patterned paper. It’s fun to look at, inexpensive, and a great way to add pizzazz to your layouts without mastering complicated crafting techniques. There are several possible approaches to keeping your paper collection neatly organized.
Color. Cardstock is generally sorted by color and placed in rainbow order. If you’re a fan of Bazzill Basics or other brands of textured cardstock, you may want to subdivide your colors into similar textures. Sorting your patterned paper by color will make easy to pick out coordinating cardstock at a glance. The only real drawback to this method is that multi-colored patterned paper can be difficult to classify by color.
Type of pattern. This option works well for sorting patterned paper if you tend to gravitate towards stripes, florals, or other specific patterns.
Theme. If you’re primarily an events scrapbooker, grouping your patterned paper into themes such as baby, vacation, or wedding is a logical choice.
Manufacturer. This system works best for advanced scrapbookers with a preference for KI Memories, BasicGrey or other specific patterned paper lines. If you decide to organize your patterned paper by manufacturer, it may be the most convenient to keep coordinating cardstock in the same categories.
Paper storage systems can be either horizontal or vertical and are usually designed to fit 12x12 sheets of paper. Horizontal systems, like the P3 paper tote from Crop In Style, are great for scrapbookers who frequently travel to classes or crops. Vertical storage systems, like the plastic paper holders from Cropper Hopper, will most efficiently maximize a small workspace and can be easily expanded to accommodate a growing collection of supplies. No matter what organizational system you choose, paper should be stored in an area protected from dust, direct sunlight, and any possible water damage.
Saving paper scraps is a somewhat controversial issue among scrapbookers. It’s a great cost-cutting tactic, but only if you actually use the scraps. Otherwise, they just take up valuable space. If you do decide to save your cardstock and patterned paper scraps, only save the larger pieces and file them into the same categories as your whole sheets of paper. When you’re working on a layout, check your collection of scraps for appropriate cardstock or patterned paper before using a new sheet.