Right as Rain - Cardmaking and Scrapbooking with Jean Manis

My Embossing Folders Needed a System

Hello! I’m continuing my creativity reset, and this time I’m tackling my embossing folders. Like my background stamps, they’ve accumulated over the years, and they’ve ended up in a variety of places and configurations. As I sort through them, I’m trying to make them easier to find, which means giving them a system that makes sense to me.

I’m storing the folders by manufacturer and size, keeping 2D and 3D folders separate. For example, within the Spellbinders bins, I have A2-size folders, 2D large-format folders, 3D large-format folders, and kit club folders. The Taylored Expressions folders are shown below; they are all the same size. As I sort through all of my embossing folders, I am putting the fall-themed, Halloween, and Christmas ones towards the front of the bins.

I pulled out some seasonal cardstock colors and created swatch cards, then used several fall-themed embossing folders to create sample panels. If I don’t use the panels on cards, I can keep them with the folders as examples of the designs.

Embossing Folder Pros: Quick and easy; use cardstock you already have; add subtle texture that does not compete with the focal image; little mess; switch the cardstock color for a different look.

Embossing Folder Cons: Require an embossing machine; you need to know the correct machine “sandwich” for different folders; some folders work better on certain machines; folders take up storage space and can accumulate quickly; some designs are less versatile; and advanced techniques, like inking, add supplies and cleanup.

Do I need more? After sorting through my embossing folders and seeing what I already have, I’d have a hard time justifying the purchase of any more. Sometimes buying something new is easier than doing the less exciting work of sorting through what we already own. We see a card we love, decide we need the same supplies, and never stop to consider that we may already have something that would work just as well.

Taylored Expressions | Fall Farm Scene

There’s something especially satisfying about building a little scene on a card. For this farm-themed design, I pulled out older Taylored Expressions supplies (from 2016). I combined them to create a cozy farm scene with a pickup truck, pumpkins, a barn, a tractor, and a windmill. An embossing folder adds texture to the foreground, suggesting a hayfield. I used an Elizabeth Craft Designs sentiment stamped on a cloud. This card came together with supplies I already had, and I enjoyed creating a seasonal card.

Supply List
Taylored Expressions dies: On the Road – Truck, Cloud Duo, Build a Scene – Rolling Hills, Little Bits – Halloween Scene, Little Bits – Fall Harvest, Build a Scene – Farm Fence, Little Bits – Barn, Little Bits – Tractor, Little Bits – Windmill
Taylored Expressions Weathered embossing folder
Taylored Expressions cardstock: Cherry Pop, Candy Corn, Sweet Potato Pie, Pineapple, Sweet Basil, Blueberry, Earl Gray, Sugar Cube, Black Licorice
Elizabeth Craft Designs Autumn Words sentiment set

Crafting Is an Inventory Problem

Hello! When you see a beautiful card on Instagram, Pinterest, or a blog, it’s easy to focus on the supplies that went into making it. What you don’t see is where all those supplies will live after you buy them. Every new product becomes one more thing to store, organize, and find. That’s especially apparent as I work through my crafting supplies. As part of my creative reset, I’ve been sorting my background stamps and moving them into consistent storage pockets. I’m also pulling seasonal stamps forward so I can actually see what I have when I’m ready to make fall, Halloween, or Christmas cards.

It’s a small shift, but it changes how I think about buying supplies. Before buying a product I see online, I’m asking: Do I already have something I could use? And if I buy this, where will I keep it?

Background stamps are versatile and relatively inexpensive. One stamp can create dozens of looks by changing the ink and cardstock. But they’re also another category to store, along with the inks and cardstock needed to use them.

And that’s what I’m realizing through this reset: crafting is an inventory and organizational problem. The more supplies I accumulate, the more important it becomes to know what I have and where it is. That matters to my cardmaking mojo. Good organization reduces the friction between having an idea and actually making something.

While sorting my background stamps, I found several I’d completely forgotten about. I pulled out some neutral cardstock and stamped them.

I didn’t need anything new. I just needed to find what I already had. And on that note, I’m back to my sorting.

Fall Card Made with What I Already Have

Hello! As you may have read in my recent posts, I’ve been trying to approach cardmaking a little differently. Instead of looking for something new to make, I’m looking at what I already have with fresh eyes. I’m also trying to craft for the season I’m in. Right now, that means pulling out the autumn stamps, dies, and cardstock I already own and letting them inspire me. This card is a good example. The formula includes a stamped background, a dry-embossed panel, an oval mat, and a focal watering-can image.

As I organize my supplies, I’m pulling fall stamps and dies forward in their storage boxes, so I see and use them. The shift is helping me rediscover supplies I already own rather than automatically adding something new to the collection. It also ties into some of my recent thoughts about cardmaking mojo.

Supply List
Penny Black 51-766 Watering Can, 51-754 Pumpkin Parade,
51-360 Pumpkins & Leaves, 51-653 Autumn Décor dies
Spellbinders Fancy Edge Ovals dies
MFT tag die
Penny Black 65-012 Allover Stitches embossing folder
Taylored Expressions Buffalo Plaid background stamp
Hero Arts Message Strips stamp set
Taylored Expressions Toffee cardstock; Lawn Fawn Vanilla Malt cardstock; Bazzill Candy Corn cardstock; Bristol colored with Distress Oxide inks
VersaFine ink; Archival Potting Soil ink
May Arts twine

You can see that I used quite a few different supplies to make this card. But before you decide you need something new, take a look at what you already own. When I went through my blog posts, searching by keyword, I discovered that I have four different sets of medium-sized watering-can dies. Four! Clearly, I have enough watering cans.

What about you? What background stamp do you already own? An oval die? An embossing folder? A few seasonal images or embellishments that could change the look of a familiar design?

Sometimes, when you look at a finished card, you don’t immediately see everything that went into it. The background stamp, embossing folder, die-cut shape, or small supporting elements can be easy to overlook. That’s part of why I’m trying to look at my supplies differently and craft with what I already have.

Creativity Reset Step One

Crafting Seasonally + Stamping Backgrounds

In my recent article about finding my crafting mojo again, I talked about cardmaking seasonally and stamping more backgrounds. Seasonal cardmaking means thinking about what fall looks and feels like to me, while stamping backgrounds means choosing cardstock and ink colors, as well as patterns.

Starting with color, I chose cream and toffee as my neutrals, then added orange and navy. Orange feels more like a focal color for pumpkins, and navy gives me a darker background option. Rather than choosing colors for each card individually, I want a palette I can return to throughout the season.

Finding the Right Cardstock and Inks

Once I had my colors, I discovered that choosing them was the easy part. Finding the right cream, toffee, orange, and navy cardstock took more time.

Then I had to find inks that worked with those papers. I pulled out supplies, compared colors, tested combinations, and rediscovered things I had forgotten I owned. The process revealed that my supplies aren’t as organized as I thought they were.

I have accumulated a lot of cardstock and ink over the years, particularly through design-team work. Having a lot of supplies doesn’t necessarily mean having the right supplies, or knowing exactly where they are. But the process had an unexpected benefit. It reinvigorated me and made me want to experiment.

From Having Supplies to Knowing What I Need

This experience also made me ask, “What do I want to have?” Going forward, I don’t need every color from every manufacturer. I’d rather identify the cardstock and inks I genuinely love using and create a core supply list that I can restock regardless of the manufacturer. That’s a shift from collecting supplies to curating supplies. I can still enjoy new products, but not every new product needs to become part of my permanent stash.

Creating a Swatch and Inventory System

Obviously, I need a better way to see and track what I own. I’m looking at different systems for cardstock and ink swatches, including inventory templates and downloads offered by manufacturers and ideas Jennifer McGuire has shared about organizing her supplies. I haven’t settled on a system yet, but it’s on my to-do list, along with more labeling.

Note: Another change I’m making is in how I photograph my projects. Instead of moving everything to my photo booth setup, I’m willing to take photos right where I’m working. I want to share more of the process and less of the perfectly staged version of crafting.