Sunday, February 17, 2013

How To Organize Your Fonts! Freebie, too!

 This is it.  I have finally found a quick and easy way to keep up with all my fonts!
Since the days when I moved away from comic sans as my "go to" font, I have accumulated a lot of awesome, sometimes decorative fonts that I {heart}.  My problem has been that when I am creating a pack or working on a document, I don't have time to scroll through a ton of (sometimes small) fonts to choose one that works from the drop down menu.  So what I usually do is just use a handful of my fonts, even though I have many more.
Not anymore! I have found a way to quickly look over my fonts to choose the PERFECT one!



The small version I printed two copies and laminated them, one is bound with a brad and one with a ring...just to see which works best.  One is with my computer at school and one is next to my computer at home.  When I am working, I flip through the booklet and choose the font that is "just right"!



Another idea is to print them out and place them in plastic sleeves in a notebook.
The cover you see in the picture is my first attempt, I used it in the "test" stage of my new font organizer.


It is also awesome for when you know what a font looks like, but can't remember its name, flip through the book and find it quick!

How to:

You may be thinking that it would take an eternity to do this.  For me, it took about 30 minutes.  I used Pages (or Word) and created a text box, then I looked at my scroll down menu of fonts, chose the first one and typed its name, then the next.  I did NOT type the fonts that are standard or the plain, ugly ones that came with the computer, just my super cool ones =)
I chose an 18point font for each unless it came out too big or small, it ended up that I only had to adjust a few to either larger or smaller.

And for doodles?  I copied and pasted the alphabet with each doodle and have 
it saved as a document also!


(artwork used is from Little Red's Clipart and Kevin& Amanda's fonts)

Hope this helps!  Maybe do it as a summer project?!
Let me know what you think below or share if you have any helpful suggestions for how you organize your fonts!

54 comments:

  1. That has been on my "to do" list forever thinking that it would take me FOREVER. Knowing it took you only 30 minutes makes me want to go ahead and tackle it :)

    Elizabeth
    Fun in Room 4B

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  2. I love this! This will be on my summer to do list!

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  3. Oh, this is awesome!!! I too will put this on the old summer to do list, just like Ms. Arnold. Thanks for sharing
    Kim
    First Grade Journal

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  4. What a great idea! My biggest problem is that the fonts I have at school and the fonts I have at home are different. I need to get them both on the "same page". It is really annoying when I open something at school and it is all off kilter because I don't have that font installed. Guess that might be a project to tackle on my work day on Tuesday! Thanks for the idea!

    Christina :)
    Apples, Books, and Crayons
    applesbooksandcrayons@gmail.com

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  5. This is an amazing idea. I definitely need to do this. I don't do a lot of creating at school, or if I do, I bring my laptop in so the fonts on two different computers wont be an issue for me. And unless it's a font's CD, I cant download and install fonts from the internet on my work computer--boo!!

    Love this idea for home though!

    Erin

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  6. Thanks for sharing. What a fabulous idea! Definitely something I want to do!!
    Chrissy
    First Grade Found Me

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  7. This is a fabulous idea! I have trouble remembering where my fonts are in the long list of fonts that I have. I wish I could download fonts at school, but for some reason I can't. This will be great for home though!

    Ashley

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  8. Fantastic idea!! Definitely adding this to my summer to-do list!!

    Andrew
    Mr. First Grade

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  9. I absolutely LOVE this idea!!!! So smart!!

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  10. Love the idea. On some programs I get a visual of the font and on others I don't. This will be a time saver in the long run!

    Stop by and check out my Give Away and my Vocabulary Activities for Skippyjon Jones in my TPT store!

    :)
    Tamera
    MyHeartBelongsinFirst
    Kaizactan2001@yahoo.com

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  11. That's such a fabulous idea! I'm doing that today. Thanks!
    Barbara
    Grade ONEderful
    Ruby Slippers Blog Designs

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  12. This is a great idea! I really need to do this with my fonts!
    Simply Second

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  13. What a fantastic idea!!! You are so creative!
    Thank you for sharing!
    ❤Mrs. McKown
    Little Literacy Learners

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  14. I need to do something like this for mine, but then I'd have to add commercial or personal. Some of my favorites I can't use for TpT. I guess I could type it up and then use parentheses and put C for commercial and P for personal...Must get busy! :) Thanks! :)

    ღDeAnne
    First Grade and Fabulous

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  15. I love this idea. I'm am for sure going to add this to my to-do list. Even though it seems to be ever growing.

    The Cornerstone Classroom

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  16. I have to admit - I'm clueless about installing fonts. Could you send me a private message how to go about that please? I would like to start using different fonts. I have downloaded a couple free ones - need to know how to use before I invest in more. Probably a simple thing to do. Thanks

    Tonya
    tonya.zinter@k12.sd.us

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  17. Great idea! I hate scrolling through my zillions of fonts when I create things. I'll do this and add the terms of use to it so I keep things legit :)
    Anita
    Mrs. Bremer’s Kindergarten

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  18. I started doing the same thing with my favorite fonts. I need to keep adding to my list.

    Shelly
    Smiling and Shining in Second Grade

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  19. Oh my word I do this too! I thought I was the only one!!! You rock girl!

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  20. I like this idea! I think I might have to organize my fonts over spring break. I don't think I can't wait until summer! :)

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  21. Yep...I really love this idea..perhaps it'll be something for me to do tomorrow when I have off! ;)

    Sarah
    teachingiscolorful.blogspot.com

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  22. You are amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this fabulous idea! Now, do you have any ideas on how to mangage graphics?!

    Karen
    anappleadayinfirstgrade.blogspot.com

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  23. I SOOOOOOOO need to do this!!! Thanks for the great inspiration!!!

    Jen

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  24. This is a CUTE idea! I really need to do this. I'm adding it to my to-do list for this summer to get myself organized! Thanks for sharing! :)

    Sarah
    Permanently Primary

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  25. OMG, I am so excited about organizing all of my fonts now! Thank you so much!

    Susie
    www.shafersshenanigans@blogspot.com

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  26. I have a list like this that I saved into a word doc so I can easily add new ones to it. Love your cute book though!
    Jenn
    Finally in First

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  27. I keep a document in Word {like Jenn}. I love how you printed yours out and made a cute booklet, though! What happens when you download a new one, though? :)

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    Replies
    1. I use a Sharpie marker to write on the back of one of the pages and every once in a while I edit the document to include the new ones and print them out and replace the old ones on the ring.

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  28. Great idea! I am putting it on my to do list.
    Sharon McBee
    Buggyforfirstgrade.blogspot.com

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  29. What a great idea. I started something similar when I began accumulating all my fonts (after I also grew out of Comic Sans!) so hopefully this will motivate me to go back to that project and finish it!

    Love to Learn

    Love to Learn

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  30. Brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing this great idea!

    Linda Nelson

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  31. This is such a great idea! I have so many fonts that I don't even know what I have half the time!
    So funny about Comic Sans. That used to be my go to font and I thought it was so cute, too! Ha! Thanks for sharing this and for motivating me to finally get organized!!
    Linda
    AroundtheKampfire

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  32. Oh, great idea, I definitely have to bookmark this!!

    Angela
    The Daily Alphabet

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  33. Such a GENIUS idea! I also have some wonderful fonts buried in my computer that I have completely forgotten about. I am adding this to my "to do" list! Thank you for sharing!

    Maria
    Kinder-Craze

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  34. Fantastic Idea Jennifer!
    Thanks so much for sharing your cover with me!
    Now I have no excuse to get started right away!
    Julie
    Ms. Marciniak's First Grade Critter Cafe

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  35. I love this! I think my computer is on its last leg, so this would be a great way for me to round up the fonts I love and want to put on my new computer. Thanks for the great idea!


    Angie
    The First Grade Scoop
    I'll be having a 100 follower giveaway - stop by, follow my blog, and get ready for some goodies!

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  36. great idea! I will be doing this this weekend! Thanks for sharing

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  37. Awesome idea. It takes me forever to look up fonts! This will definitely be a shortcut. Thanks girl. =)


    Just Wild About Teaching

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  38. For me looking for the perfect font is the equivalent of looking for the perfect greeting card at the Hallmark store, I LOVE them all and could spend hours making a decision. What a Fantabulous idea, thanks for sharing.

    Alison

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  39. Just saw this on Pinterest. Great idea! Why didn't I think of that?! ;) Pinning it again. :) Thanks!

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  40. Awesome idea, I am definitely doing this!! :)

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  41. Great idea! I did something similar year ago, but need to make a new one. Which font does the monkey doodle come from? Love it!

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    Replies
    1. It is a Doodle from Kevin and Amanda..."Pea Jelene" is the name! =)

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  42. Been meaning to do this for a LONG time!!! You've inspired me to get it done!

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  43. Love the idea. I had recently just started adding fonts to my new computer and so far have simply printed them out on a regular 8x11 sheet of paper, but like your flip book better. I have separated my list by categories also - holidays (Christmas, patriotic, Halloween), Disney, and misc. I then alphabetized them within each category as this makes it easier to find on the computer when you actually do them.

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  44. hello my name is Sara I am a teacher in Mexico, I like the things you do and I would like to use in my class would have to make some modifications such language: C as I can acquire that beautiful fountains, have for sale? thank you very much for sharing such beautiful creations my email is sara_altamirano@live.com.mx

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  45. Jennifer - Better late than never? Just now saw this post. I've been organizing my clipart and other TPT finds. Love this idea for fonts. Thanks this will be a great project for the weekend.
    Mrs. Brown Loves Bookworms

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