Retired Products/Designers

[littlekiwi]

Apologies if you have seen this already!

Do you scrap with them after products get retired or designers retire/change stores?

I've always been curious because I have a huge stash from earlier on that I just don't dip into at all.

If you do use those "other" products regularly, how do you remember that you have them? At the moment I have two main store folders and an other designers folder and apart from going into one designers folder for CT work, I really don't use what I've bought over the years?

[laurabobaura]

makes me want to go through my old stuff

[HavaDrPepper]

I took the time to organize the previews of my kits by putting just a copy of the previews into a specified Previews folder. That folder has 7 sub-folders: 2 store sub-folders, a Disney sub-folder, Retired Designers, Other Designers, and 2 other sub-folders (one is for a specific designer, the other is for a store I once CT'd for that shut down many years ago).

I then used Bridge looking at only the Previews folder and tagged all the previews with categories. I then set up 2 colored labels: Red for Kit used and Yellow for Template used.

When I have used a kit or template I add the appropriate label to them so that when I'm going to scrap I can go into Bridge and do a search for a tag then have it filter to show only non-labeled previews.

Yes, some of my kits are really old and not really "in style" anymore but I use them anyway. Some layouts are better with older stuff.

Since I started doing this, I have really used up some of my stash, especially templates since I now search for templates I've never used instead of using my "go - to favorites" all the time.

I now have in my unzipping process, making a copy of the preview to put into the preview folder and tag it (in fact, just did that for this weekend's purchases).

[Brendazzle]

I have a spreadsheet with most of my kits in it. There's a sheet for kits by theme and another one that's more of a brain dump where I'll list kits and ideas for them. Then, when I'm scrapping thematically, I can look at my list of kits for that theme and I am good to go. I have holidays (separated by holiday), seasons, travel (separated by type - ex: general, boats, trains, planes, beach & aquariums, hiking, etc.), and common themes (school, stars/space, doctors, and horses are big ones for us).

It took FOREVER to make but it's so easy to keep updated and find things on now.

[HavaDrPepper]

Originally Posted by Brendazzle

It took FOREVER to make but it's so easy to keep updated and find things on now.

I love spreadsheets and actually tried to set one up to use. Spent a lot of hours on it but when it came to using it, it just wasn't working for me. Glad yours does! I found I needed the visual of the preview so that I could find a color palette that would work for my layout.

However, I do have several other spreadsheets that I use when ever I scrap. One I've been using for 15 years to track my supplies used on each layout! I actually used it to do my labeling in Bridge for kits/templates used.

[Kimberly27]

I have mine organized in a program by type and I search for what I am looking for and use them that way...so for example if I need a pumpkin I search it and all my kits come up that way.
I have over 1500 kits now including some from my own designing days. This helps me find what I need quickly. It was a lot of work to set up but totally worth it for me.

[Brendazzle]

Originally Posted by HavaDrPepper

I found I needed the visual of the preview so that I could find a color palette that would work for my layout.

I have to look at a few kits from the sheet sometimes before I find just the right one. I have 70 kits under "summer" right now and if I had to go through them all...

Technically, if it's not a CT page, I can (and do!) mix a few because I want all the colors.

[LeeAndra]

I don't organize my product by store so I don't really keep track of designers being retired or not unless I'm on their individual CT.

I have a giant "To Be Used" folder where I keep everything that I haven't used yet from my stash. I delete about 75% of the product I have after I use it once so there isn't a lot of used stuff on my EHD to keep track of, either. I have a "Favorites" folder on my HD that has all of my favorite alphas & elements but the stuff on my EHD, besides what I have of KCB's, is generally not more than 4-5 years old.

[HavaDrPepper]

Originally Posted by Brendazzle

I have to look at a few kits from the sheet sometimes before I find just the right one. I have 70 kits under "summer" right now and if I had to go through them all...

Technically, if it's not a CT page, I can (and do!) mix a few because I want all the colors.

I have a really hard time mixing kits! So I need to find a kit that fits my vision. LOL

[jaye]

I need someone to organize my stuff for me. My current system is store->designer sub folders.

[HavaDrPepper]

Originally Posted by jaye

I need someone to organize my stuff for me. My current system is store->designer sub folders.

Nothing wrong with that system. I've used it for over 15 years. Makes it easy when a designer moves to a different store. All I had to do for FDD was move it from my TLP folder to my SSD folder.

I'm also a kit scrapper so mixing things up would never work for me.

[Txcorey]

I organize a couple of different ways. I use ACDSee and tag every kit I have by theme and also by designer. So typically when I scrap, I start with the theme first. I only use the designer name if I'm looking to add certain colored elements to a layout and there aren't enough in the kit I'm working with. I also have my folders a specific way-everything is by kit, alpha, template, etc, then by store and then designer. The only store I shop at regularly is here, so it's SSD_designer. I don't really care if the items is retired or if the designer is retired. Most of the time I don't change that designation on my folder if they leave here. If I associate them with SSD, then that stays in the name. If it fits my page, then I use it and don't care if it's from a retired designer or a retired item. However, I rarely do challenges or any of that, so it doesn't matter to me if it wouldn't be usable for a challenge.

[Cath]

Originally Posted by jaye

I need someone to organize my stuff for me. My current system is store->designer sub folders.

havent unipped in 7 years, unknown where pre 2014 is, found drive with some but it corrupted. seeing that, afraid to plug in any drives. i took off everything but tlp kits awhile back, will they be ok.

i save my purchases in a folder by paypal payment, by months. daily stuff by month, on another partion. do have a preview for what i bought in there also. and a spread sheet of purchases needing 3 months added. Everyday i think ohh i do something, but lost on where to start. designer yea be nice, theme also.

to many computers over the years, with limited drive space, and next opperating system, seems to do some thing brings something to change what i had, when moved.

I envy you all with your order.

[aussiegirl]

I responded, but I don't see my response (I think it was while the site was acting up for me).

I organize my kits by theme (only a few by store). When a designer is retired, I still keep the kits that are a special theme to scrap with. But unless I am combining the layout with another item that is actually sold in a store or from a current designer, those layouts are just scrapped for me and not posted around digiland. If it is a retired kit but the designer is still active, I scrap with those as I would normally (just not linking to the kit or template).

I do go through my EHD every once in a while and delete older things that I know I will get more of (ex Birthday kits, Valentines, Christmas). I will keep ones that I absolutely love or the theme is very unique.

I went through a computer and an EHD crash in 2020 and did lost quite a bit of things, but was also able to redownload a lot! That "cleared" my stash out of a lot of freebies and older kits that I mostly don't miss.

I think it's fully up to you. If it's a kit you love, but it's retired or the designer is...there's no reason you can't keep it to still scrap with!

[chinagrrl]

Originally Posted by Kimberly27

I have mine organized in a program by type and I search for what I am looking for and use them that way...so for example if I need a pumpkin I search it and all my kits come up that way.
I have over 1500 kits now including some from my own designing days. This helps me find what I need quickly. It was a lot of work to set up but totally worth it for me.

what program is this, if you don't mind my asking? thanks!

[tjscraps]

Originally Posted by chinagrrl

what program is this, if you don't mind my asking? thanks!

I don't use the same program but I use my Mac Finder tabs and labels to do the same thing

I stopped organizing by store a long time ago after reading Traci Reed's organizing system - my system is based on hers, tweaked to work for me:
https://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/t...o-little-time/



Mine in more detail:
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...6&postcount=15


I label a colour by store for ease of searching, and I label them for retired too if I know they're retired completely, but otherwise I use my stash equally. I like playing stash roulette when I don't know what to use - pick a number for the theme folder then between 1-XX in there, and I either have to use the kit or delete it ... I can always find something to use my CT kits for, so I try to think about it the same way.

[bienejen]

I have my stash organized by store and then alphabetically by designers initials. I also have a spreadsheet of all my kits with columns for themes, colors and whether it's retired. I only look at the retired box if I can't find it in the store to include the link in the credits. If I bought it, I use it.

[SeattleSheri]

I have a Mac, so I use the Finder tagging system. If a designer changes stores or retires, I can easily change the tags on everything in couple key strokes. Mostly I just scrap with new releases, so I don't go into my stash often unless I'm doing a very specific challenge.

[Kiana]

Originally Posted by jaye

I need someone to organize my stuff for me. My current system is store->designer sub folders.

Same here, and it makes moving designers easy when they do move.
I am on Windows so I just use the Windows search feature to find what I need...looking for flower, or button etc can find most of what I am looking for. If I need to get more visual I will use Adobe Bridge and I have all my product previews named the "folder" so I just that as a visual search if I'm looking for certain colors or themes.

SSD is awesome because we can use retired product for challenges so no need to file those retired kits away, you can keep scrapping with them for years to come

[stasianary]

Originally Posted by Brendazzle

I have a spreadsheet with most of my kits in it. There's a sheet for kits by theme and another one that's more of a brain dump where I'll list kits and ideas for them. Then, when I'm scrapping thematically, I can look at my list of kits for that theme and I am good to go. I have holidays (separated by holiday), seasons, travel (separated by type - ex: general, boats, trains, planes, beach & aquariums, hiking, etc.), and common themes (school, stars/space, doctors, and horses are big ones for us).

It took FOREVER to make but it's so easy to keep updated and find things on now.

Wow, what a fantastic idea!

[stasianary]

Originally Posted by tjscraps

I don't use the same program but I use my Mac Finder tabs and labels to do the same thing

I use a Mac, but never thought to use the finder tabs.

[stasianary]

My organization system is where all the kits I have downloaded (post the EHD loss of my oldest supplies), I have by big shop (SSD, TLP, OS, etc.), and then designer --> kit name. My recent files are in my download folder by designer --> kit.

If a kit isn't associated with a shop, it's just in the Digi Scraps folder as a designer --> kit.

I pretty much only use SSD kits though, minus for templates.

[tgmousechick]

Oh my, what did I get myself into?

I opened Photoshop Elements Organizer and started organizing my stash. I started with photos, but I'll set up a separate catalog for my scrapbooking kits.

Anyone willing to share tag ideas or lists? I realize that everyone has individual traditions and such, but there's a part of me that thinks I might benefit on seeing how others are tagging and the terms you use.

[bestcee]

I tried by theme once, but it didn't work for me. Plus, I will use off-theme kits all the time. I've been surprising myself in the summer challenges with some of my off-theme scrap pages.

I've been through a lot of different programs and tried a bunch of different things and copied a lot of scrappers organizing ways. But, the thing I struggled with was color. I see pages in color. And it is totally impractical in my world to split kits up by color because I would agonize over sticking to Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Pink, Purple, Black, White, or adding in teal and Grey and all the things. And then one day I stumbled on a program that does color amazing for me with no work on my part.

I use a program called Eagle.cool. And yep, you've probably never heard of it unless you've heard me talk about it at Watch Cheryl Scrap. It's not marketed at scrappers.

So, I like that I can make each kit visually the preview of the kit. I can open a designer's folder and scroll by the previews. And you can make them bigger than this, there's a zoom at the top. I like being able to glance at the kits as I scroll, kinda like my own personal store.


I also like the things I can do to each kit. I like to add photo spot numbers to my templates. Yep, I can adjust how many photos spots are there, but I hate looking for templates that will hold 8 photos and having to browse forever. I'm lenient on this - 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6+, and pocket style. But I just add a tag and it's good.
I also like the spot for URL. I use it for quick linking, especially for CT work. Click the link and I can check that it's still active and link credits.

In the notes field, I sometimes add things like "Thickers" or "Use with blah photos". The notes field searches just like the name.



But like I said. Color is my friend. Color is my BFF. So, I can search for a pink button (as long as the designer labeled it a button). And because of the search feature, I still keep my kits by store -designer. That way I can search the store I'm playing at quickly and easily. And it searches all the kits including retired as long as they are in program.


So, more than you probably wanted to know. But the biggest piece of organizing advice I like to give is: Think about how YOU scrap.

If you are strictly a one kit scrapper, then organize your kits how you would look for them - theme, designer, year, whatever works for you.
If you like to mix and match, then how do you find those mix and match pieces? Is tagging realistic for you? Do you have something that searches your stash well? Would a spreadsheet help or hinder?

Paper scrappers talk about color all the time, and until I realized that's how I scrap, I couldn't find an organizing system that worked for me.

[kimingvtx]

Originally Posted by Brendazzle

I have a spreadsheet with most of my kits in it. There's a sheet for kits by theme and another one that's more of a brain dump where I'll list kits and ideas for them. Then, when I'm scrapping thematically, I can look at my list of kits for that theme and I am good to go. I have holidays (separated by holiday), seasons, travel (separated by type - ex: general, boats, trains, planes, beach & aquariums, hiking, etc.), and common themes (school, stars/space, doctors, and horses are big ones for us).

It took FOREVER to make but it's so easy to keep updated and find things on now.

I keep a spreadsheet too but then I love Excel and Google Sheets. Each has a keyword, like Christmas or birthday or even everyday. It also has the designer, store, and date bought. Use it all the time!

[Brendazzle]

Originally Posted by kimingvtx

I keep a spreadsheet too but then I love Excel and Google Sheets. Each has a keyword, like Christmas or birthday or even everyday. It also has the designer, store, and date bought. Use it all the time!

You sound even more organized than I am.

[vicky23ny]

I had my kits in folders, by store and dates till now. It didn't help at all, once I started scrapping. I'm not a one kit scrapper. So I decided to make a huge SSD folder, with a folder for each designer and organize all my digi stuff by designer. Once I find retired products, I mark them with this ## after the products title. A quick and easy way to see which ones are retired.

[vicky23ny]

Thank you for referring this app. I just downloaded it. I'm always searching for these type of apps and websites.

Originally Posted by bestcee

I tried by theme once, but it didn't work for me. Plus, I will use off-theme kits all the time. I've been surprising myself in the summer challenges with some of my off-theme scrap pages.

I've been through a lot of different programs and tried a bunch of different things and copied a lot of scrappers organizing ways. But, the thing I struggled with was color. I see pages in color. And it is totally impractical in my world to split kits up by color because I would agonize over sticking to Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Pink, Purple, Black, White, or adding in teal and Grey and all the things. And then one day I stumbled on a program that does color amazing for me with no work on my part.

I use a program called Eagle.cool. And yep, you've probably never heard of it unless you've heard me talk about it at Watch Cheryl Scrap. It's not marketed at scrappers.

So, I like that I can make each kit visually the preview of the kit. I can open a designer's folder and scroll by the previews. And you can make them bigger than this, there's a zoom at the top. I like being able to glance at the kits as I scroll, kinda like my own personal store.


I also like the things I can do to each kit. I like to add photo spot numbers to my templates. Yep, I can adjust how many photos spots are there, but I hate looking for templates that will hold 8 photos and having to browse forever. I'm lenient on this - 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6+, and pocket style. But I just add a tag and it's good.
I also like the spot for URL. I use it for quick linking, especially for CT work. Click the link and I can check that it's still active and link credits.

In the notes field, I sometimes add things like "Thickers" or "Use with blah photos". The notes field searches just like the name.



But like I said. Color is my friend. Color is my BFF. So, I can search for a pink button (as long as the designer labeled it a button). And because of the search feature, I still keep my kits by store -designer. That way I can search the store I'm playing at quickly and easily. And it searches all the kits including retired as long as they are in program.


So, more than you probably wanted to know. But the biggest piece of organizing advice I like to give is: Think about how YOU scrap.

If you are strictly a one kit scrapper, then organize your kits how you would look for them - theme, designer, year, whatever works for you.
If you like to mix and match, then how do you find those mix and match pieces? Is tagging realistic for you? Do you have something that searches your stash well? Would a spreadsheet help or hinder?

Paper scrappers talk about color all the time, and until I realized that's how I scrap, I couldn't find an organizing system that worked for me.