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I am wanting to unmount my SU wooden stamps...questions!
Hello everyone! I have been out of the stamping world for about 4 or 5 years...finally coming back! I have a ton of Stampin Up wooden stamp sets. I am very intrigued by how people are unmounting them to save space! I really want to do this! I was going to sell a bunch of them because I don't have a place to store all of them, but if I can unmount them, I can keep them.
So I have been looking at tons of YouTube videos and reading threads on here. Unfortunately I've looked at so much that it's all jumbled in my brain, and I can't remember some of the "how-to's" and where I saw what.
So here is some of my questions:
* What is the benefit of going bare rubber over keeping the foam? It seems like the foam will come off intact on my SU stamps. But I was wondering if there is a benefit of going bare?
* I know I've seen somewhere of what to do with the sticker picture of the stamp. I know you can use a hair dryer or microwave to peel them off......but what do you do with it then?? I cannot remember!
* I like the idea of the Avery Elle pocket storage. But all I've seen are videos of using them with the poly stamps. Can you use them with unmounted rubber stamps?? If so, how? What do you stick them to?
Okay, I think that's all for now. I appreciate any advice you have!!
Here's my input, and I know others will have additional info for you.
I prefer having foam on the back of my rubber, but I don't keep the SU foam. I put the rubber on EZ Mount cling foam. I don't have an image on the back of my foam, whether stamped or with a sticker.
As for storage, I use a different kind of pouch, but Avery Elle would be comparable. I have a laminated card that I attach my cling mounted stamps to, and an index sheet on plain cardstock. I place both in the pouch.
Some random thoughts.
Most of my SU rubber came off the foam easily. The foam didn't seem to come off the block quite as easy.
I don't like putting the sticker on the back of either foam or bare rubber, because then the only way to get that to stick anywhere is to use glue like Alene's Tack it Over and Over on the surface of the sticker...and I HATE the way it works. Yuck! Nope. Not here.
That's all I can think of right now. If I have more thoughts I'll chime in again.
If you like to use EZ mount, you can stamp the image onto the EZ mount sheet with StazOn ink before you remove rubber from the wooden block. I prefer to just have bare rubber and adhere the rubber to my MISTI or acrylic block using a Bostik glue stick, completely covering the rubber surface. Wipe clean with a baby wipe. I stamped 60 of the same image yesterday, using my MISTI. Each card took 2 to 3 inkings - the rubber doesn't move or slip. Hope this helps.
__________________ Susie
Please don't take your organs to heaven - heaven knows we need them here.
Thank you, everyone!! Lots of great info!! I really appreciate it!
Diane - why do you not like Tack It Over and Over? Just wondering because I had just placed an order for some right before I read your post! Lol! I thought I would try it out on a few stamps that I don't want anymore.
Well, to be honest, many people just love it! So you might be one of those. But I find that its stickiness is erratic. I put a nice thin layer on, and then touch it to my hands or jeans...it works great...until it gets wet when I clean my stamps. Then it gets stickier than ever. I've had some stamps stick so tightly to my storage boards that I can't get them off without tearing the foam.
It's just too temperamental for me. I'll stick with what's reliable for me.
I use Sailor 2-in1 Glue on my bare rubber, but it's getting harder to find. When I took the stickers of of my wood mounts I added them to my index of stamp sets, rather than stamping the images. I don't use foam of any kind because (for me) it takes up too much space. I do have a few sets still on foam because they refuse to let go, lol. I agree with Diane about the Tack It Over and Over - somewhat hit-and-miss... Also like Diane, I use laminated cardstock to store ALL of my stamps - rubber, photopolymer, cling foam, etc. I use 4" x 6" photo sleeves in my storage system.
I also went over to TIOO. When I first started stamping, I put all my u/m's on EZ mount. However, over time, that still takes up more space than bare rubber, as you collect more stamps. I've also found, especially with stamps that have been on EZ mount for 10 or more years, that the EZ mount starts to shrink, making the stamps concave, and not sticking well to either mounting sheet or acrylic block. Also, when I decided I was going bare rubber as much as possible, I also found that in many cases, the stamp peeled straight off the foam- the glue layer had dried up completely. So don't see EZ mount as a 'once and for all' solution. And, by the way, here in the UK we don't have a humidity problem- I wish- but I think that could make matters worse if you do.
I've never bothered putting the image on the back of my stamps. Most are pretty easy to tell which way is up- any doubtfuls, like maps for instance, I just write 'top' on the back with a cd marker pen.
When you unmount- remember any small wood blocks can be saved and turned into blending tools, with the addition of a handle & some cheap velcro.
I am wanting to unmount my SU wooden stamps...questions!
