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I'm a demonstrator that uses unmounted at workshops. I find that the more people use the unmounteds with acrylic blocks the more they become comfortable with them.
I do make sure that I have an acrylic block for each stamp set I'm going to use. Then the participants don't have to wait for a block to become free. However, when I'm doing my own stamping I stick with just one or two different sizes.
If you plan on using EZMount, I HIGHLY recommend a hot knife! I used it for the first time last night and it was so easy. I bought the one at Stamping Bella, but I've read that you can find them elsewhere. I used up a whole sheet of EZMount and wanted to continue on. Previously, I dreaded having to mount and cut out each stamp. I didn't use any baby powder, just cut around and popped the mounted stamp out! SO WONDERFUL and worth every penny!
If you plan on using EZMount, I HIGHLY recommend a hot knife! I used it for the first time last night and it was so easy. I bought the one at Stamping Bella, but I've read that you can find them elsewhere. I used up a whole sheet of EZMount and wanted to continue on. Previously, I dreaded having to mount and cut out each stamp. I didn't use any baby powder, just cut around and popped the mounted stamp out! SO WONDERFUL and worth every penny!
I've been reading about this hot knife thing too because I'm researching
on unmounted stamps, etc. But does this hot knife thing sound kind
of dangerous too? It could heat up to 800+ degrees. Do you buy the
glass thing to cut on top off as well?
Thanks for this tip! It madeit so much easier. I am almost done.... I posted on my blog how I organized them. I just love the ezmount. Now I have enough wood blocks to make my own tree!
Kelly - I love your idea of storage! I have been going back and forth with unmounting my sets, and I may be closer than I think. I do have a question though, do you store 1 set per card or 2? Also, do you find that the stamps stick okay, or would you use a page protector to slide them in? I am worried about losing the itty bitty ones. I guess that was 2 questions. LOL!!
I've been reading about this hot knife thing too because I'm researching
on unmounted stamps, etc. But does this hot knife thing sound kind
of dangerous too? It could heat up to 800+ degrees. Do you buy the
glass thing to cut on top off as well?
YF
I've been unmounting for 2 days and am just lovin' it! I went to Michaels and bought a hot knife (used a 40% off coupon) and then took a piece of glass out of an old frame and am using that as my cutting surface. As for the temperature thing, it has not bothered me. It's a whole lot easier to use the hot knife than it was to use the scissors to cut through the foam.
BTW--I ordered a bunch of foam mounting boards from Beeswax and it is way cheaper than EZMount and just as good.
maybe I will look in my son's room for a discarded CD rack!
hth, gail
I am unmounting my sets and individual stamps right now. I am so excited about how much space will be freed up by doing this.
Just wanted to share my great find. Just browing through my favorite thrift store yesterday and I found a CD holder stand that stores 100 CD cases. Wish I could have found two, cuz I'm afraid I will need more before I am through, but I was so excited with this treasure I was kind of skipping on my way to the check out stand (not a pretty picture, believe me ).
Kelly - I love your idea of storage! I have been going back and forth with unmounting my sets, and I may be closer than I think. I do have a question though, do you store 1 set per card or 2? Also, do you find that the stamps stick okay, or would you use a page protector to slide them in? I am worried about losing the itty bitty ones. I guess that was 2 questions. LOL!!
TIA for your reply!
I only use one set per card. The front has the images stamped and the back holds the set. None of them have fallen off. I was going to try the CD cases,but some of my sets were too large to fit in one case and I wanted them together by sets. So these cards were the next best option for me.
I decided to leave my rare high priced collectable SU sets mounted on wood, but the rest are slowly being remounted on ez mount cushion and stored in binders (sets with large stamps) or in cd cases (for the ones that have small pieces). I love not having to use a stamp positioner and clean up is much easier. I unmount one or two sets a week so it doesn't seem like such a big project.
Okay, I have started to organize my "unmounted" sets that I have accumulated and not used because I don't now what the image looks like or I can't read backwards. Let me tell you, I have picked up some pretty nice sets that have not seen ink until now! LOL!
Anyway, this is what I am doing. I am taking a piece of white cardstock, cutting it in half so that I have two 8 1/2 X 5 1/2 pieces. (I decided on this size so that I could get larger sets on the card, and not have so much waste). Stamp my white cardstock and laminate. A BIG Thank You to FL_Kelly for this GREAT IDEA!! It is working quite well. The cards after they are laminated will fit into a container that I picked up at JoAnns, Iris 16 QT Buckle-Up Box, 11 1/8W X 18L X 7 3/16H.
Now, my question, does anyone have a good source for the Laminating pouches? I am going to try and use 6 X 9, so that I will not have to do any trimming. TIA
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I am SOOO confused. :confused: How do you unstick the rubber from the block? I'm catching on to the EZ Mount thing but whenever I go to a blog that says how they did it all I get is a screen full of the cards the blogger has made. Not that that's a bad thing...I'm just trying to figure out how this process works. Is ther a tutorial for it somewhere???? :???:
Okay, I have started to organize my "unmounted" sets that I have accumulated and not used because I don't now what the image looks like or I can't read backwards. Let me tell you, I have picked up some pretty nice sets that have not seen ink until now! LOL!
Anyway, this is what I am doing. I am taking a piece of white cardstock, cutting it in half so that I have two 8 1/2 X 5 1/2 pieces. (I decided on this size so that I could get larger sets on the card, and not have so much waste). Stamp my white cardstock and laminate. A BIG Thank You to FL_Kelly for this GREAT IDEA!! It is working quite well. The cards after they are laminated will fit into a container that I picked up at JoAnns, Iris 16 QT Buckle-Up Box, 11 1/8W X 18L X 7 3/16H.
Now, my question, does anyone have a good source for the Laminating pouches? I am going to try and use 6 X 9, so that I will not have to do any trimming. TIA
Doxiegal sent me a PM letting me know that Sams Club has them 200 for $20. HTH
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Last night I posted a question asking how to unmount stamps. This morning I found that my dog chewed the wood off one of my stamps leaving the rubber design untouched....that's not the correct process??? LOL ;)
I am SOOO confused. :confused: How do you unstick the rubber from the block? I'm catching on to the EZ Mount thing but whenever I go to a blog that says how they did it all I get is a screen full of the cards the blogger has made. Not that that's a bad thing...I'm just trying to figure out how this process works. Is ther a tutorial for it somewhere???? :???:
Just put the wood-mounted stamp into the microwave and nuke it for about 20-30 seconds (it varies depending on the size of the stamp and the amount of "stick" the different brands have). This loosens the adhesive so you can peel the whole thing right off the block. If you've heated it enough, it should come off with very little effort.
As far as then separating the rubber from the foam, I'm not sure what the best technique is. I personally leave the foam attached - it's usually still sticky enough to cling to an acrylic block, and if not, I apply a thin layer of Aileen's Tack It Over And Over, let dry, de-stick a few times on jeans or an old towel, and I'm good to go. Saves me the hassle of having to buy a lot of ez-mount and re-mount all those stamps. Just a personal preference.
Last night I posted a question asking how to unmount stamps. This morning I found that my dog chewed the wood off one of my stamps leaving the rubber design untouched....that's not the correct process??? LOL ;)
I WAS using UNDO to unmount mine, but you may have stumbled on a new idea LOL!!!!! That is too funny! I think I would try to do it myself from now on though (giggle, giggle)
Just put the wood-mounted stamp into the microwave and nuke it for about 20-30 seconds (it varies depending on the size of the stamp and the amount of "stick" the different brands have). This loosens the adhesive so you can peel the whole thing right off the block. If you've heated it enough, it should come off with very little effort.
As far as then separating the rubber from the foam, I'm not sure what the best technique is. I personally leave the foam attached - it's usually still sticky enough to cling to an acrylic block, and if not, I apply a thin layer of Aileen's Tack It Over And Over, let dry, de-stick a few times on jeans or an old towel, and I'm good to go. Saves me the hassle of having to buy a lot of ez-mount and re-mount all those stamps. Just a personal preference.
BINGO! I do the same thing only I use the sticker image that comes with the sets and stick it to the foam side of the image so I know which stamp I'm using and how it SHOULD look once I've stamped it. I don't know who I got the idea from. It was some VERY smart SCS chick who I will give all the credit to. I like the visual side of it and I love the recycling part of it too. Hate the waste. I just put the tack it over and over, over the sticker image and it's done! Love this way.
Last night I posted a question asking how to unmount stamps. This morning I found that my dog chewed the wood off one of my stamps leaving the rubber design untouched....that's not the correct process??? LOL ;)
Sounds like he was just trying to help
__________________ Jeanne S - Inky Paws SCS Moderator
I too love the idea of putting the sticker image on the foam so I can see the image as I stamp. Whoever shared that idea deserves an award. I don't even bother with the TIO&O right now. I am just using double sided tape on my acrylic blocks. I haven't had a problem with the image sticker lifting off the foam yet, so I will probably "stick" with this method.
I have found it easy to pull most stamps off the wood mount without heating in the microwave. Not all of them come off easily, so if I see it is a problem, I set it aside to nuke later. I do a lot of my unmounting as I watch TV at night with my husband. I pull the stamp off, pull the image sticker off, apply the sticker to the back of the stamp and trim the excess sticker. I then place the stamps in my CD cases and apply the sticker with the set name on the top of the case.
I also have a P-Touch label maker by Brother that I bought at Staples. I make a label with the set name and trim it to fit the end of the CD case. I store my cases in an old CD holder with the names out so I can find the set I want easily.
Now can someone tell me why it is easy for me to unmount my SU stamps, but I have a hard time unmounting my Hero Arts and Stampendous stamps. What is my mental roadblock here? I guess I haven't decided which stamps I want to keep and which I am ready to sell and am a little concerned that I might have a hard time selling the Hero Arts, etc., if they are unmounted. Oh well, I will get over that road bump I am sure.
I really am loving the space I have freed up by unmounting these stamps. Just have to figure out what to do with the wood mounts and plastic cases. I guess we're never really finished organizing are we?
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I am using some of my empty cases to hold 1/4 sheets of cardstock that my grands have embossed with my cuttlebug. I also use the some of the smaller cases to hold punched cardstock embellishments (flowers/snowflakes etc) that grands like to punch.
I have put my cuttlebug dies and embossing folders into cases too.
The wood blocks that have sticky residue on them, I threw them into a box to use for firewood when camping. The clean/new blocks, I am setting aside to use for younger grands to play with.
__________________ Who would have thought that paper, ink & rubber could create a priceless keepsake or give me treasured friends.
You don't need the foam. KPHorse has some pictures of hers with TIOAO directly on the rubber. I am in the process of doing mine like that! If you need cushion for a larger stamp you can use a mouse pad. So far the ones I've tried have worked well without anything at all. The rubber are SO much easier to cut out and you can trim them much closer. It is a job and a half getting the foam off some of them, but it will be well worth it.
__________________ Sally Taylor, Fun Stampers Journey Coach #1118
I was doing the EZ Mount or Creative Cling for a while and now switched to the Aleen's Tack It Over and Over. Man, it works great. It is easy and very inexpensive. I found it at a craft store for less than $3 a bottle which will last years. All the sets that hadn't been switched to EZ mount were a breeze. I just took my little spatula (Pampered Chef) and slid them off the wooden blocks, then I peeled the sticker off and put it on the foam part and then painted over with the ATOAO and let dry over night. It is very sticky and holds really well to the acrylic. I love it!!!
Where did you find the Aleen's Tack It Over and Over? I checked Michael's AC Moore and Joanns. They had other types from the same company, but looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked about the Tack It Over and Over...
Where did you find the Aleen's Tack It Over and Over? I checked Michael's AC Moore and Joanns. They had other types from the same company, but looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked about the Tack It Over and Over...
I was doing the EZ Mount or Creative Cling for a while and now switched to the Aleen's Tack It Over and Over. Man, it works great. It is easy and very inexpensive. I found it at a craft store for less than $3 a bottle which will last years. All the sets that hadn't been switched to EZ mount were a breeze. I just took my little spatula (Pampered Chef) and slid them off the wooden blocks, then I peeled the sticker off and put it on the foam part and then painted over with the ATOAO and let dry over night. It is very sticky and holds really well to the acrylic. I love it!!!
Could you please post some pictures, as I am not understanding why you put the sticker on the sticky part of the foam and paint it with the ATOAO? Dumb question I know, but I am a "visual" person. Thanks for the help.
Could you please post some pictures, as I am not understanding why you put the sticker on the sticky part of the foam and paint it with the ATOAO? Dumb question I know, but I am a "visual" person. Thanks for the help.
I can't find the blog right now, but they put the sticker on the sticky part of the foam so it's like the index on a wood stamp - you can see a picture of what you're stamping. The tack-it-over on top of the sticker makes the stamp stick to the see-thru acrylic block.
I have mostly CTMH stamps but am want to UM my SU stamps. Great ideas! I especially like the idea of putting the sticker on the foam so I can see where I'm stamping. Thanks for the tips!
I have unmounted some of the stamps and since I am now a TAC consultant all of my stamps from now on will be unmounted. I have one of the hot knifes and I wouldn't be without one. I cut my rubber out and then place it on the sticky side of the mounting cushion. I can place the cut rubber closer and usually have cushion left over. The hot knife goes through the cushion like cutting through butter. It saves on my problem hands and takes up alot less time. Currently, I am storing in CD cases. I do like the idea of laminating cardstock and putting the stamps on that. May try that. I also have the cling sheets in a 3-ring binder. Guess I've tried everything. Maybe some day I will have them all in one spot.
I'm new too. With clear stamps you can see right thru it, but with "red" rubber, how can you tell where to stamp?
You can't really see the image the way you can with a clear stamp. However, you can see the outline or back of the stamp through the clear block. This gives me a better idea of where the stamped image is going to end up. I hope that explanation helps!!
I'm new too. With clear stamps you can see right thru it, but with "red" rubber, how can you tell where to stamp?
I've just recently unmounted - almost finished anyway. One great thing I've learned - I love the acrylic blocks with lines or grids on them! When you put the stamp on the block, look at the rubber and line up the words or whatever with one of the lines on the block. Then when you stamp, just line up the line parallel to the edge of your card, and magically the words (or image) come out perfectly straight!
Definitely agree with Chris about the grids on the acrylic blocks! When you worry about things like this, it's sooo helpful. I say when b/c some people aren't as, um, neurotic as others. ;)
Susan
__________________ Susan
~ Daughter, Sister, Friend, Aggie, Mama - all me! ~
I Store More Stamps - do you?
Last night I was in the process of figuring out storage for my Clear stamps and discovered quite by accident that the stamps clung very very very well to glossy card stock. Bingo the lightbulb went on and I got a piece of storyboard that I had in my craft room (I also stitch and story board is used a lot for finishing) and on one side cut a piece of glossy cardstock to fit the size of the story board (4.5" x 7 3/8") and stamped the images of the stamps on the other side of the story board. So one side has the glossy card stock where I store my stamps and the other side has the images stamped on it. I am also putting a label in the upper right hand corner of the image side and putting the pertinent stamp information on it.
I then put them all in a photo box like you get from michaels. I am not sure if the EZ mount will stick to the glossy card stock but I will give it a shot. If not then I will put packing tape on the story board and use that for the rubber mounted sets. I am just in the process of going um for my rubber stamps.
[quote=babyclaire;6641705]Question..... I hear you say that you can line up the stamps and see the placement better after they are unmounted.... however, how can you see through the colored rubber that you take off? Am I missing something??? Thanks ~~~~ Carol[/quote
I have an index image on the ez mount and when you use the clear acrylic blocks you can see right where you are placing a stamp. It is great for 2 step stamping. I could never get it lined up right before and now there's a huge difference.
I unmounted ALL my stamps 4 years ago and have never looked back.
Not to sound like a salesman but I always get my supplies from Beeswax.com Their EZ mount is cheaper than anywhere else in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD I promise! And I recently sold all my old acrylic blocks and replaced them with the ones they sell at Beeswax because they are so slim, lightweight and comfortable to hold. They are only 1/4 inch thick instead of the standard 1/2 inch and it makes them SO much more comfortable!
I have been purchasing some unmounted stamps and plan to start unmounting all of my SU backgrounders first. For dexterity purposes I moved to the cuttlebug B plates for my acrylic stamping blocks. Two come in a pack really cheap. Also....they are easy to spot on my craft desk with the cuttlebug logo stuff. They are lightweight and really big.
Note....I do keep my stamping CB acrylics separate from the ones I run through the machine....no ink residue on my paper. Thanks for the note about the cheaper EZ mount!!!!!
Last night I was in the process of figuring out storage for my Clear stamps and discovered quite by accident that the stamps clung very very very well to glossy card stock. Bingo the lightbulb went on and I got a piece of storyboard that I had in my craft room (I also stitch and story board is used a lot for finishing) and on one side cut a piece of glossy cardstock to fit the size of the story board (4.5" x 7 3/8") and stamped the images of the stamps on the other side of the story board. So one side has the glossy card stock where I store my stamps and the other side has the images stamped on it. I am also putting a label in the upper right hand corner of the image side and putting the pertinent stamp information on it.
I then put them all in a photo box like you get from michaels. I am not sure if the EZ mount will stick to the glossy card stock but I will give it a shot. If not then I will put packing tape on the story board and use that for the rubber mounted sets. I am just in the process of going um for my rubber stamps.
Hugs and thanks for the great information.
Jaunice Minor
Utah
Update.. this was a bad idea for acrylic stamps... I went and bought some CD cases and have put everything in there. I will be in the process of making index cards for all the CD cases. I am loving all the ideas on here.
