Medium-weight colored blank punched catalog cards
blue, green, buff, ivory, white, salmon
Stocking stuffers anyone? Santa brought 6,000 index cards down the proverbial chimney today. Should have enough now to index all the books in the house?
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@chrisaldrich Will each color reflect a different means of cataloguing? I can only think of three (title, author, subject) but it’s been probably a quarter century since I actually used a card catalog…
I catalog lots of things besides books… most libraries only used one color for most of their book cataloging, iirc
@chrisaldrich the drawers of multi-coloured index cards are looking very festive!
This looks very fulfilling!
Wonder how much I had drank to buy $30 worth of index cards…
Ha ha.
That’s awesome. Are you doing author, title, and subject cards?
Oh my god I would be overwhelmed … I think I would do something like a recipes index cards…
I use blank white index cards for everything. One for each plant I have , drawings, notes. Anything I want to organize. You have a lot!
That piece of furniture had me dreaming!
Glad to have met a fellow traveler!
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Omg the typewriter. Do you still use it? Also love the antique file cabinet. And this post, because I have index cards laying around I also should use for something.
Of course I still use it! Almost every day. You may remember I’m the OG typewriter collector here. https://boffosocko.com/research/typewriter-collection/ How are you liking your typewriter? Have you gotten others since?
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Oh yeeeeeah! Hiiiii! I haven’t purchased more since, and I still really like mine, but I haven’t had a chance to use it much recently other than to type up the inside of birthday cards. May I ask what you use yours for?
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Some various recent uses:
At the end of the day though, unless you’re Paul Sheldon, typewriters are unitaskers and are designed to do one thing well: put text on paper. All the rest are just variations on the theme. ☠️
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Wow… what an absolute dream. A house full of typewriters, and all of them being used and enjoyed.
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I take offense to card catalogs that I used through COLLEGE being called antique 🙁 Right up there with American Girl having an historical doll from the 80’s!
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I fold them in half, write a note, add a few stickers and place it in my daughter’s school backpack every day. She loves receiving them and looks forward to them.
I’ve got some to write up recipes from my tatty notebook.
Also a good excuse to use my fountain pens and inks. I have a couple of nice boxes to use.
What are your favorite index cards to use with fountain pens? I enjoy the Exacompta cards for their smoothness, but these Brodart cards (in the photos of the post) aren’t half bad either.
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Mine are Exacompta, just a few for now. I tried some cheaper ones that didn’t work with the pens, too much feathering
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Finally… enough index cards to catalog the index cards.
I would write you 6000 notes begging for that card catalog cabinet, bc omg it is beautiful.
Contact your high school art teacher.
I don’t know but those are highly satisfying!
I use index cards a fair bit but for fairly random purposes. For example, I have my sewing patterns hanging on hooks and I also punch a hole in an index card and list what is on the hook – pattern name, size, things to remember when I make it, etc. I do something similar for fabric.
I would use several of the cards to decorate for journaling cards for junk journals. Then send the cards to my friends.
Wonderful!!
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BEAUTIFUL Royal you got there. What kinds of things do you like to type up on it?
https://preview.redd.it/eqr2weg7c78g1.jpeg?width=1008&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=511d7a1fd01859c6c53765b017cc524a7c5bc170
I use index cards to type lunch menus and notes for my kids and spouse. (Here, I flipped the card as to minimize waste. After being typed and cut, I add a hole punch, and attach to their lunch bags, backpacks, etc.) I also use them to type something that I hope to remember. You have a card catalog, there I would have a drawr of passwords, master or spare keys (make envelopes out of the cards, or use right sized envelope, a little emergency cash, and important missives.
Those cream colored cards are lovely, and I would send messages to a love one with some of them.
Are you familiar with Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies? Take inspiration from it and type out your own prompts, shuffle and use as needed.
You need a drawer with fun affirmations. Things like: “I’m and a clever and pretty dragon” and “I am everything right in the universe!”, and, “Adventure parties summon me for help.” etc… From time to time, when needed or not, select one at random and improve your day.
Are you creative? Do you have lots of ideas? Type out your ideas, with notes on what it means to you, start with a title, a type (writing project, art, poem, etc..) and a date. Then file it away, to clear up some head space. If it a really good idea, you’ll remember it, and get back to it when the time is right.
I need a card catalog…. hummm. So many ideas.
I’ve been on the creativity tip with index cards for a minute or two, but these are some solid suggestions.
You’re definitely going deep with an Eno reference there. I’ve got a couple hundred physical cards on him and Peter Schmidt. Even a few dozen “digital cards”.
I hope you find your own card catalog soon. They’re awesome.
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Movies, dvds, vhs, books, seeds, fabric swatches, thread swatches, pen/ink
Congratz !!
i’d have to add them to my zettelkasten to be used for idea cards and the likes. Indexing my collections as well.
Do you use your typewriter with the index cards?
I have a few dozen typewriters I regularly use with my index cards. in fact, I’ve actually indexed my typewriter collection on index cards. ️
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I’m very happy for you, hoping you’re not paralyzed by different colored cards like I would be 🙂 (I would want to color-code the content and then never get anything done)
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This is sooooo fun what a lovely thing to have
Love everything in these photos! Seeing this is wishful thinking fulfilment for things I shall (hopefully soon) add to my own home aesthetic. I have some favorites, like the card drawer, but most valuable of all has to be the space for 6000 books!
That’s just too much overconsumption. Sad.
SAME!
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@ctietze @CAE I don’t color code very much in my system. I do use a small amount of color code in my math section to differentiate definitions, theorems, proofs, and examples and a small code in my rolodex section, but otherwise, colored cards are more for the fun of having a burst of color than anything else.
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That’s why I would need to stick to white (or one color), because I can’t just mix them 🙂 It’s impossible!
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I … don’t get it.
I have so many thoughts and questions on how you came to procure so many index cards?
I’d love to learn more about the backstory here!
I use them for notes of all sorts, as my journal/diary, my planner, productivity tool, my commonplace book, my zettelkasten, a paper database of books, movies, media, etc. In fact, I use them broadly for all the things people used to use these for on a daily basis before the full blown conversion of filing practices taken over by the computer.
See also the articles and ideas I’ve written about at: https://boffosocko.com/research/zettelkasten-commonplace-books-and-note-taking-collection/ (Caution: This can be a rabbit hole of a most curious sort.)
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I just want to say I love when people are passionate about things. I’m definitely going to be looking through your website because I’m so interested in the cards!!!
I’d fold down their corners, mount them on poles, and turn them into whirligigs. I love low tech outdoor art. Oh, and I’d pass them out to the neighborhood kids for their bicycle wheels. that’s a lost art.
I love index cards, they help me feel organized.
Do you have a link to these same cards? I’d like to buy some for note keeping
Zettelkasten!
Shhhhhh!!!!
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