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If you struggle to find the scraping supply that's perfect for your layout....

Excellent post. Starting now seems daunting but I love your results. When I find more time, I might just do this..
 
I have my kits saved in store folders with each designer having a sub-folder. Each kit then gets a sub-folder in the designer folder. I'm a one kit scrapper in that most layouts I use just one kit so extensive tagging isn't necessary.

What I have done is make another folder called Previews. In it I have a folder structure that matches my main kit folder structure. I have put a copy of all previews in the respective folder. Using Bridge, I have tagged the previews with themes. When I want to look for a kit, I can do a search of all previews or narrow it to store with the theme I'm looking for.

An added element that I have done is use the color labels. I have a red label that I apply to the preview when I've used the kit and a yellow label for used template kits. So I can even narrow it down further to search only kits I've never used.

Has worked quite well and I've been using up the stash this way!
 
I do also use Lightroom to import my digi supplies (and my photos). I no longer tag everything. I only tag previews I have the top level previews tag, and them sub-categories for kit, paper, element, brush - sometimes this includes arty transfers (I need to break these up), alphas, and word art/titles. I also tag templates by 1, 2, 3, or 4+ photos, letter size - as subcategories to the top level template tag.
I tried doing by theme, but so much of what I have is everyday that it wasn't helpful anymore. I use the store for specific theme searches now.

Often I will start a search with applying the previews (this can be all previews or a specific category) keyword tag at the top director level of my stash, if I want a specific designer, I just add the text filter and add the designer name to the search criteria (by filename).

If I need something else I can easily search my entire stash by text using a text search of "contains all" designerA thread. Or heart or button -- I no longer tag by color, i just browse the buttons, flowers, hearts, that come up. Sometimes I try different terms or I'll type lea instead of leaves or leaf, and I use stitch instead of stitches or stitching.

I've started using the native finder to search "images" in my digi stash with specific words if I'm looking for a specific title or journal strip -- it's not perfect, but it does usually turn up plenty of results (I wish they would just add this capability into lightroom).

This is what works for me as it keeps my tagging to a bare minimum. Occasionally i will go through my keywords and delete stray keywords that seem to follow with some designer files.

Also, in lightroom you can create collections -- the beauty of that is that you can rearrange them in a collection. This is helpful when I'm trying to organize my completed layouts for uploading for a printed photobook.

Sometimes I'll use collections to hold photos when I have an idea for a layout, and I can even add specific elements or kit previews if I come across something that I might want to use.

(I've been using Lightroom for a loooooonnnngg time and my catalogue is quite large, I keep photos and supplies in one catalogue so I don't have to switch back and forth. I have exported some items into separate catalogues to archive -- primarily some very old digi files)
 
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HeatherB said:
Excellent post. Starting now seems daunting but I love your results. When I find more time, I might just do this..
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Agreed. I started a while ago and now that I'm a Polly and downloading more kits I'm not keeping up! That said you might try tagging only the Previews so you could easily find the kit or element itself rather than doing every file. Or you could start with the things you use the most?
 
HavaDrPepper said:
I have my kits saved in store folders with each designer having a sub-folder. Each kit then gets a sub-folder in the designer folder. I'm a one kit scrapper in that most layouts I use just one kit so extensive tagging isn't necessary.

What I have done is make another folder called Previews. In it I have a folder structure that matches my main kit folder structure. I have put a copy of all previews in the respective folder. Using Bridge, I have tagged the previews with themes. When I want to look for a kit, I can do a search of all previews or narrow it to store with the theme I'm looking for.

An added element that I have done is use the color labels. I have a red label that I apply to the preview when I've used the kit and a yellow label for used template kits. So I can even narrow it down further to search only kits I've never used.

Has worked quite well and I've been using up the stash this way!
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This sounds like a perfect solution for the way you scrap. I haven't used Bridge but I think it's a bit simpler and easier than Lightroom. I tend to use more than one kit and care more about color than theme. Whatever system one uses needs to work for you and your needs.
 
Great blog post, @StoryKeeperBeth. And yes, I do struggle to find papers and elements to suit my project, which is why I often stick to one kit/collection for a layout. I wish I had developed some sort of tagging system when I first started digi-scrapping: it seems almost overwhelming to start now, given the size of my stash.

I love how you've used your expertise as a librarian to create a system of organization for your digital scrapbooking supplies!
 
StoryKeeperBeth said:
This sounds like a perfect solution for the way you scrap. I haven't used Bridge but I think it's a bit simpler and easier than Lightroom. I tend to use more than one kit and care more about color than theme. Whatever system one uses needs to work for you and your needs.
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What I didn't include in my original post is that I actually use Picasa to pull my papers/elements/photos into my layouts. I tried Lightroom and it just didn't work for me since I use Picasa. I have multiple copies of the Picasa EXE file so that I can install it on any new computers since they shut it down years ago. I haven't found a program to replace it yet. Bridge is free which is a plus!
 
HavaDrPepper said:
What I didn't include in my original post is that I actually use Picasa to pull my papers/elements/photos into my layouts. I tried Lightroom and it just didn't work for me since I use Picasa. I have multiple copies of the Picasa EXE file so that I can install it on any new computers since they shut it down years ago. I haven't found a program to replace it yet. Bridge is free which is a plus!
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I used to use Picasa but switched when Google stopped supporting it. That was a sad day!
 
StoryKeeperBeth said:
I used to use Picasa but switched when Google stopped supporting it. That was a sad day!
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Truly a sad day. What I love about it is that I can just scroll through all of my folders and see everything without have to open them like other programs I've tried. That is as long as the main folder is open.
 
HavaDrPepper said:
What I didn't include in my original post is that I actually use Picasa to pull my papers/elements/photos into my layouts. I tried Lightroom and it just didn't work for me since I use Picasa. I have multiple copies of the Picasa EXE file so that I can install it on any new computers since they shut it down years ago. I haven't found a program to replace it yet. Bridge is free which is a plus!
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I liked Picassa, but I had it on PC and I don't think I ever had the version for Macs, not sure if it would still work if I did.
 
Great info and system. I did this in Bridge a long time ago, but it is a daunting task to start and keep up. And I was only doing it for previews like Jennifer mentioned.

Once I'm retired, then maybe I'll try again.
 
I am SOOOO jealous that your stash is organized by colors! That would be so amazing! I can't tell you how many times I just wanted to search by colors rather than a theme! I usually just go to my BYOC folders then and look at the previews until something catches my eye, but your system would be so much faster!

When I started digi 20 years ago I created a system that sorts by store, then designer. I also keep BYOC, DYD and those types of collections together since they are the same colors and were made to coordinate.

At first I could usually remember everything in my stash and knew where to find things... but now there just so much and I can't always think of a kit based on them, so several years ago I started a "Themed" folder too. Inside that folder I have sub-folders for a bunch of themes I use over and over again. In each folder I copy the preview of a kit that would work for that theme and then I create a link in that folder that will take me to the kits location. That was the best way I could sort of replicate tags without having to go back and tags my whole insanely large stash. :giggle
 
Karen said:
I am SOOOO jealous that your stash is organized by colors! That would be so amazing! I can't tell you how many times I just wanted to search by colors rather than a theme! I usually just go to my BYOC folders then and look at the previews until something catches my eye, but your system would be so much faster!

When I started digi 20 years ago I created a system that sorts by store, then designer. I also keep BYOC, DYD and those types of collections together since they are the same colors and were made to coordinate.

At first I could usually remember everything in my stash and knew where to find things... but now there just so much and I can't always think of a kit based on them, so several years ago I started a "Themed" folder too. Inside that folder I have sub-folders for a bunch of themes I use over and over again. In each folder I copy the preview of a kit that would work for that theme and then I create a link in that folder that will take me to the kits location. That was the best way I could sort of replicate tags without having to go back and tags my whole insanely large stash. :giggle
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I have tags for BYOC [date} as well so I can filter and get all of these together.
 
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