How to Keep Inventory of Your Scrapbook Paper

If you are an avid papercrafter, you more than likely have sheets and sheets of scrapbook paper in your possession. Many papercrafters will refer to this stash as an “obsession”, claiming that they just can’t help but buy more and more of it. Let’s face it. Scrapbook paper is fun! It comes in different sizes, patterns and textures and can be used for so many different projects.

Nowadays, a wide variety of bins, storage containers, folders and cabinets are available to hold all of your scrapbook paper, but even with a neatly organized stash, it can sometimes be overwhelming when you are trying to coordinate your paper together for projects and it’s all over your craft room. What has perhaps made this feat even more challenging is the fact that large paper stacks are now available. These stacks are extremely helpful in your attempt to create a matchy-matchy ensemble, but that’s only if you can remember what stack the pattern of your choice is in!

In my own experience, when it came to making greeting cards specifically, I would tend to color my images during week nights when I would come home from work, and assemble my cards on the weekends. This process worked for me because I always had a finished product in mind beforehand and didn’t need to take up much time coming up with a plan all at once. However, I found that I was coloring my images based on what my vision was, not necessarily based on the paper I had to match it, so when it came time to “build” my card, I would sometimes get into a situation where I hadn’t necessarily selected the right color palette, and spent more time fixing my mistake. It was then that I realized I needed some way to organize my scrapbook paper stash in a way that I could quickly get a feel for what I had in my possession without going through bins and bins of storage.

I bought a plain, three-ring binder from my local office supplies store, some crystal clear page protectors, and a glue gun and got to work. I cut all of my scrapbook paper into 2x2 squares, just large enough to get the gist of the pattern, and glued them in rows of three on plain white cardstock. I tried to keep color families together, even if it meant breaking up a “set” in one of my paper stacks. Though it was a time consuming task, I have found it to be completely worth it in the long run. Now, when I buy paper, I simply have to maintain my inventory.

A scrapbook paper inventory can definitely be a blessing to get your creative juices flowing.