My August 11, 2010 post on cardstock organization got me to thinking about doing a feature every month on the way I organize some of my crafting materials.  Since that post went live on the 11th, I thought I’d keep that day of the month for the feature.  So if the people involved with the movie “Ocean’s Eleven” will forgive me for taking liberties with their title, here’s the next installment of Organization’s Eleven. 

Today I’m sharing how I organize my Stampin’ Up 12″ x 12″ designer paper.  (Confession time – I haven’t quite gotten my Basic Grey 12″ x 12″ paper into this system yet.)  When I was visiting my friend Lois I noticed that she had her designer paper packages in some great translucent plastic envelopes made by Generations.  I bought my envelopes at Michael’s; a package of 10 costs about $12.99 but you can get a better deal with a weekly coupon or when they put the scrapbooking storage items on sale.  The ones I purchased have a snap closure, but I’ve also seen them online with a string-tie closure.  

I put each package of designer paper in its own envelope.  I keep full sheets of paper toward the back of the envelope and smaller pieces toward the front.  That way if I just need a small piece I can find it pretty easily without having to dig through the entire envelope. 

I used Microsoft Word to type up a label for each envelope.  (You could also handwrite the label.)  On the label I note the name of the designer paper package, that it’s made by Stampin’ Up, and I list the cardstock colors that coordinate with those papers. 

Then, I needed to figure out a way to corral all these envelopes together.  Rather than buying something new, I looked around the house to see if I already had something that would work.  Ah… yes.  I used to be a Longaberger basket consultant, so I have, um, quite a few baskets in my house.  The Large Boardwalk basket was the perfect size to keep my envelopes all together in one place.  It stays on a shelf for easy access.

Because I’ve labelled each envelope, it’s easy for me to store them in alphabetical order by the designer paper package name.  Then, for instance, if I want to create something with my Razzleberry Lemonade papers I can look toward the back of the basket for them instead of hunting through the whole basket.

I have room for a few more envelopes in the basket in case I want to expand my designer paper selection.  Or maybe it’s good that I can’t add much more unless I use a lot of what I already own, LOL!