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I know this topic has probably been discussed here in the past, but I just found out that Penny Black now has acrylic stamps and I almost cried! I LOVE Penny Black and acrylic stamps!!!!
What do most of your prefer...acrylic, unmounted, or block?
As for me, you can tell I prefer acrylic because they are so much easier to store, take up less space, and cheaper.
__________________ Jeannie God still answers prayers and does miracles!
I love them all, if the image is really cute. I do have to say though that I tend to reach for the acrylic stamps more often though because they are easier to see where you are placing them.
acrylic for me too. i wish stampin up would make acrylic ones. i love that look, especially cause i'm not very good at coloring in stamps yet. i love the ones that are just the impressions, like the coneflower ones they have. i can hear you stampin up fans just cringing when i say "i wish they made acrylic." lolol
I partially solved the "being able to see it" problem by unmounting my rubber stamps, putting Tack N Peel on some acrylic blocks and stamping like that. I can align things MUCH better even though I can 't see through the rubber.
Before, it was a running joke in stamp class about how uneven I would stamp stuff! LOL!
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If I like it, I buy it. But I love anything unmounted. I love placing my stamps, rubber and clear, on acrylic blocking. I like to see where it's going!! And my storage is so much LESS!!!!
I started with acrylic first and absolutely love them - I agree about placement even though you can line up a wooden block sometimes the rubber is a hair off and you don't see that until you stamp. The Penny Black acrylics are excellent quality although the image is a tad smaller than wooden blocks but I love them. I have a large number of Close To My Heart acrylics and they are also a great quality. I'm going to apologize in advance....I am reluctant to buy more SU stamps because I stink at mounting them. I see they are now offering some cut which I would buy. Anyhow back to the orginal post both have their good qualities!
I love 'em all really. The image is everything! If I don't have to worry about lining things up, I love the feel of wood-mounted stamps, but storage issues and the lower cost make unmounted the best choice for me.
i get a better impression with rubber. Haven't ever had much luck with clear, acrylic, polymer with any ink but staz-on. I only have the black in it, and it stains the clear ones.
Another vote for anything but wood - which is incredible when I remember I put off buying Bellas forever because I was scared of unmounted stamps. Finally I couldn't resist any longer and it was all downhill from there....
I am new to stamping and the first stamps I bought were mounted on wood blocks. The first stamp I used was not mounted squarely on the block, so the image was off-center and ****-eyed. I have a few clear stamps that I like, but I don't like having to attach and detach them to the acrylic blocks. But I must say that the clear stamps are so much easier to line up when lining up is necessary. I have been taking heed of all your comments on these forums, thank you.
I know this topic has probably been discussed here in the past, but I just found out that Penny Black now has acrylic stamps and I almost cried! I LOVE Penny Black and acrylic stamps!!!!
What do most of your prefer...acrylic, unmounted, or block?
As for me, you can tell I prefer acrylic because they are so much easier to store, take up less space, and cheaper.
I've been curious. never used unmounted stamps, do they work like acrylic ones do? are they temporary mounts? how do you keep them on there?
Wow, I was hoping against hope that SU would give us an option to get just the rubber, please, this time around. Apparently, as leadership demos have catalogs in their hot little hands now ... it is not happening. Maybe one day!
Personally, I'd take the rubber as it comes now, with the sticky foam on. I can either pull off the rubber or just leave the backing paper on and use it with Tack'n'Peel. I wonder if it's holding them up thinking that we'd have to get just bare rubber? Really ~ if they would only just stop sending the cases and blocks, I'd be happier
I prefer acrylic stamps and unmounted. I don't buy wood mounted stamps. I have no room for them. Acrylic are my favorite for anything intricate that requires layering the stamps. I like to be able to see what I am doing. For images to color, unmounted are great, too.
I just like the unmounted because of storage problems and placement problems. I really wish SU would give a choice. Lots of companies do now. Guess if they ever feel a financial pinch they'll try giving choice.
__________________ Keep what is worth keeping
and with the breath of kindness
blow the rest away.
Same questions here...I haven't used unmounted stamps either. What's the process?
When you use an unmounted stamp, all you have to do is "stick" it onto an acrylic block and the use it like a wooden stamp! What is so cool is that you can see through the acrylic block, so you know exactly where you are stamping. When you are finished, you clean it as usual, peel it off the block, and put it away.
__________________ Jeannie God still answers prayers and does miracles!
Definitely polymer stamps have a first with me! followed by unmounted/cling cushion rubber, forget wood mounted... I live in a forest, I have enough wood around me
__________________
currently designing for: Clear Artistic Stamps, Elemental Doodles and RubberRoadAdventures!
I'm one of those "If I love it, I buy it" girls. . . I'm a sucker for florals and anything botanical, so those find their way to me no matter how they come! Now I just need to make time to play with 'em!
Same questions here...I haven't used unmounted stamps either. What's the process?
Rubber dies, the actual stamp, mounted to a cling foam such as EZmount (I purchased mine from Sunday International) are often referred to as "unmounted" also ~ it is a popular and very reliable way to convert wood-mounted stamps for use with an acrylic block.
You stick your plain rubber to the appropriate side of the EZmount. Then peel off the backing (exposing the cling side) and lay your EZmount sheet with your rubber stamps in place (laid out like a jigsaw puzzle with a little space between each one) onto a surface such as a glass cutting board. The cling will keep it in place for you. Then you can use a hot knife to carve around the rubber (a hot knife is just like an X-acto knife but it plugs in and warms up). A hot knife cuts through the foam like butter! You want to be sure to make completely vertical cuts - no undercutting - just like with scissors. Of course, in lieu of a hot knife, you can just use regular rubber-cutting scissors as from SU or Tonic, or I believe they are called, Kai scissors ~ just keep the backing paper in place until you're done. Now your stamps are ready to use with an acrylic block.
You can also use the plain rubber on an acrylic block. Some people use Aileen's Tack It Over and Over which is a glue. I've never used it but I believe you simply brush it onto the back of the rubber and let it dry. It becomes tacky and can be used this way plenty of times before you need to brush more on again. Anyone else more familiar with it can give you more info.
You also can purchase a sheet of Tack'n'Peel. I get mine online from Barnes & Noble. It comes in a small sheet (maybe 5 x 6?) for about $8. You cut it to fit your acrylic block and adhere it. One side is very sticky and attaches to the block. The other side is tacky and that's where you stick the rubber die. It leaves no residue on your rubber. You can also use new SU stamps with the backing paper in place with T'n'P. They will peel right up again leaving the backing paper intact. The T'n'P comes with a protective cover so that you can cover the tacky side of the acrylic block when not in use. If it does get dirty (dust, etc.) and doesn't seem as tacky after awhile, you simply rinse it under warm water with your fingers and then let it air dry.
I hope this helps. There are many threads that cover every aspect of this in detail so you can always just do a search in the forums for more information. A very good thread from awhile back was titled something like "do you have any regrets about unmounting?" I've searched "regrets" and found it in the past.
Good luck ~ unmounting has a lot of advantages and I would never go back. I still have some wood-mounted stamps ~ and as long as I have space for them, that's okay. But I would never be able to have as many stamps as I do if I hadn't unmounted.
Ditto. I am very wood-stamp-placement challenged, and I hate to have to use the Stamp a ma jig for every project! It's too much of a hassle. Also love how much space I save storing my unmounted and acrylic stamps.
You stick your plain rubber to the appropriate side of the EZmount. Then peel off the backing (exposing the cling side) and lay your EZmount sheet with your rubber stamps in place (laid out like a jigsaw puzzle with a little space between each one) onto a surface such as a glass cutting board. The cling will keep it in place for you.
I take this one step further, and actually stamp the image on the cling side of the EZMount with StazOn before I stick it on the sticky side. Makes placement even easier!
I've had a lot of people ask me how I line up the stamped image when I flip it over to adhere it to the sticky side. I take a ball point pen, and draw a little mark on the edge of the rubber and down the side of the foam in a couple of places, then when I flip it over, I just have to align the little marks and I know it's exactly in the right spot. THEN I cut it out. Haven't tried the hot knife yet, but it sounds great.
I've been wanting to try the Tack it Over and Over on the bare rubber.. but first putting the original sticker on the back of the rubber. I just haven't been brave enough yet. I guess the worst thing that can happen is I don't like it, so just go back to my EZMount.
Beeswaxrubberstamps.com has their own Static Cling Mounting Foam and it's the cheapest I've seen anywhere.. only $3.15 per sheet. I have found the foam to be "softer" than the EZMount, but really, that's the only difference I've noticed. The sticky side is really sticky, and the cling sticks just fine. If I get the cling mucked up, I just wipe it off with a warm wash cloth, and it sticks just fine again.
I prefer unmounted rubber - I'm still not convinced that acrylic will last as long as rubber.
I'm in the process of unmounting some of my older stamps to save space and so far I'm pretty happy about it as I've always bought unmounted rubber over mounted when I had an option.
It would be great if SU! offered the unmounted option, but I would not want them to go to acrylic.
I love love love unmounted rubber. I also have quite a few acrylic stamps as well. I really try not to buy wood mounted stamps anymore becuase I'm just going to unmount them in the end because of space issues.
Hi, I just put aleene's tack-it-over and over on some river city stamps I just got and it seems like that will work...
I would like to put them in binders but what can I put them on that they will come off of easy?....right now I just put them in cd holders....but I would prefer binders for storage.,
Hi, I just put aleene's tack-it-over and over on some river city stamps I just got and it seems like that will work...
I would like to put them in binders but what can I put them on that they will come off of easy?....right now I just put them in cd holders....but I would prefer binders for storage.,
thanks...
I researched the costs of the various storage sheets for unmounted and the cost was prohibitive for the number of stamps I have so I came up with something that is working well for me. This idea might help but maybe not, as I'm not using binders as I would need to many binders to keep the weight down.
I cut mat board to 4 1/2 x 6 1/2" pieces and covered one side with self-sealing laminate sheets I bought at the office supply store. The stamps are sticking on the laminate and not falling off. On the other side I either stamped the image or I pulled the label off the wood mount and taped it down. I store these little sheets in Iris carts and I can flip through the cards to see what I want. So far, I love it - cheap and easy.
Acrylic VS Block VS unmounted
