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I must try this when I finish remodeling the room I will use for crafting. I am always looking for space saving ideas. Thanks for sharing this information.
I warm the stamp in the microwave for a bit (depends on how strong your microwave is); for me...about 10 seconds? then I gently pull off the rubber. If it is still sticky, I take my adhesive remover I bought from SU! and rub that over the rubber to take off any residual stickiness. Then I smear the Aileen's Tack it Over and Over and let it dry. I then take the rubber and press it in my palm, lifting it up and pressing it down again. This is to remove some of the excessive stickiness.
You are now ready to go! I store the rubber in CD cases and stamp with the rubber using acrylic blocks.
HTHs!
I tried to unmount one of my stamps and can't remove all of the foam. The foam peeled off in chunks so the back of the stamp isn't smooth. Do you have any suggestions for removal? I am thinking I could purchase some Goo Gone and soak just the foam part:confused: Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks, Rebecca
I tried the Goo Gone today and it worked really well! I put the stamp into a tin foil boat (just something I folded) and then put just a little Goo Gone on the "chunky foam" and let it sit for about 1/2 and hour. Then I used a table knife to scrape off the foam. Then I rinsed really well and patted dry. Now I have a smooth back on this rubber stamp.
I'm going to start unmounting my stamps. Can't wait! What is everyone doing with the wood blocks? It's hard for me to just toss them, and my kids are too big to use as toy building blocks...Can I avoid saving them?? What's your advise?
I would try to sell the wood blocks on the b/s/t forums. Many people are asking for blocks to put stamps on, say if they want to separate the saying from the image. It is worth a try!
Sue
__________________ Take a peek at my gallery and my new albums!
I received SU's Serene Spring Stamp today and used the TIO&O. This stuff works great!. I will mount another stamp to a wooden block again. LOL Now I have to find some empty thick CD cases around the house so that I can start unmounted other stamps.
Thank you ladies for sharing all of the valuable info in this thread.
I used atio&o for about a year, and I noticed the glue turning yellow and bubbling it would peel off the rubber and stay on the clear block. I just didn't agree with it. It was messy and it would leave residue in the cd cases and blocks I now go with ezmount. still trying to find something else besides removing the original foam and adding a whole new foam?
I use poster tape on my acrylic blocks .It is the same as tack n peel but can be found in the office supply section of Target.I am guessing that it's cheaper as it isn't marketed to stampers. :-)
When a strip gets dirty or looses it's stickiness I just replace it.
I love my unmounted stamps! When I get new SU stamps, I put the indexing sticker on the sticky part of the foam (sticky side of foam to sticker) so I have an image I can see through my acrylic block. Then I put the Tio&o on the sticker.
Can someone explain what this means as I'm still confused how you can use the indexing sticker - sticky side of foam? what foam? the foam that was formerly mounted to the block?
I'm trying to decide if I want to UM my stamps while my collection is still small so I'm doing research for now. TIA!
I love my unmounted stamps! When I get new SU stamps, I put the indexing sticker on the sticky part of the foam (sticky side of foam to sticker) so I have an image I can see through my acrylic block. Then I put the Tio&o on the sticker.
I have not unmounted any sets yet but did get some acrylic blocks and tack it over and over from Michaels to try it. I think this is what I will do, put the image of the stamp on the sticky part of the foam and then the tioao on top of this. I don't have too many stamp sets so storage of lots of sets is not an issue. I like the idea of not having to go through all the storage boxes trying to find what I am looking for. I also like the idea of seeing the image on top of the unmounted stamp through the acrylic block. So I will have to try this!!
So far I am lovin the TIO&O too. I have done around 25 long retired sets. I tried to sell them at a garage sale and was SO grateful no one even looked at them..... As I was unmounting, I fell in love again with them! haha
What does everyone do with the stickers on the blocks????
My first thought was to keep them on the blocks and in the cases - store somewhere and if I ever sell, at least it may appeal to both buyers on ebay ( match unmounted set with the original box and blocks) BUT that seems to give me something else to store...... I guess I am not ready to 'break up' completely with the old system yet.
i use tio&o and it is wonderful. now i can buy unmounted stamps for less and increase my addiction to....er...collection of stamps.
i never thought about stamping image first on transparency...will do that for the next ones though. now, i just look at the stamp before stamping and it works for me. it is easier to gauge the size and placement now that there are no wood blocks in the way.
i had to make myself get rid of the blocks !! wanted to save all of them but then i thought the reason to unmount was to save space. i kept a few and use one with hook and loop tape and felt pads (cut from a felt square..cheap) for my alcohol inks as an applicator.
I put up a quick tutorial about how to use the tack n peel on my blog. I would suggest using the links above in order because I'm super new to the blogging world and put them in backwards. For those worried about pet hair it washes right off with no problems. I live with two kitties on a regular basis and one is a long hair.
I'm a Tack N Peel gal, too. I just LOVE this stuff. Life is so much easier since I unmounted all those stamps-more sotrage place, less clutter from boxes of SU sets stashed all over the house. And it is soooo much easier to put this stuff on the block and not some stuff on each unmounted stamp I buy. Once I get the stamp, I'm ready to use it.
And as far as cat hair goes, like you said, just wash it off. We live with MANY kitties and I never worry about the Tack N Peel.:-D
I've read a lot about going unmounted and am convinced that's what I need to do since I'm running out of space to store my SU stamps. These are all great suggestions - thanks a bunch.
__________________ Carolyn
Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and Lovin' it!
I am preferring to keep the foam on the stamp. Can i still do that, and store in CD cases?
Any suggestions about cd cases. I read they can't be made of acetate. So, where would I look to purchase them.
Thank you.
__________________ Paula Anne www.candywrapsandmore.com
Can I make a suggestion that is even lazier than using tack it over and over glue. Get some tack n peel and put it on your acrylic blocks. Then you don't even have to have the tack it over and over on the rubber and you can just slap the stamp right on.
:oops: Sorry for the long post, but I thought I'd share my saga.
Yup, that's why I'm currently experimenting with the TIOAO. I never bought many wood mounted stamps and those I did I unmounted. I used to store my umounteds in the cd cases but had to stop because 1. even that starts to take up too much space after your collecton grows past 2000 and 2. I got tired of my stamps spilling out when I opened the case or when it fell open. So I switched to baggies in the sterilite drawers....no good,no matter how well labled the baggies are I still have to sift thru a bunch of rubber to find one stamp. I tried using the EZ mount on some stamps, oh how I hate that, pain in the tootie to put on and cut thru, takes up too much space (which I'm trying to avoid) and Expensive...I'd rather spend my money on stamps.
So, I spent $30 on some supplies and I've made my own mounting boards (100) but I am trying a few different ways to use the glue to see which way I like best. I laminated some boards with contact paper, put the glue on the stamps and slapped them on both sides of the board. I think I will be able to fit abut 30 to 40 boards in one drawer. I also have tack and peel on some of my blocks so I put the glue on some unlaminated boards instead of the stamps and put the stamps I'm iffy about on those, slipped that into a comicbook envy to keep boards from sticking together, again about 30 to 40 in a drawer. I am about to try the poster tape on the boards also to see how that works. I will try these for a few months before I commit to one, but I know it will be one of these since I can get sooo many stamps in one drawer.
Aleene's Tack It Over & Over - it's a "repositionable" glue. Thin it down a bit with water, put a t.h.i.n coating on the back of the stamp, let it dry thoroughly (overnight is good), slap it on a block and stamp away! you can find it at Michael's, AC Moore, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, etc...
I use Sailor 2-in-1 Glue on mine - it comes in a chisel-tip marker thingie, so it's easy to just scribble some on the stamp. I store the stamps on cut-to-size laminated folders in Iris photo boxes. I've attached a couple of pics.
There's a whole 'nother thread on this topic HERE, if you want some other ideas!
For me unmounting is not the issue, is figuring how to "catalog" and store them. I started putting them in transparencies, then inside a sheet products, and then a binder. Now, the weight the UM stamps in the sheet protectors is causing the sheets to sag/ hang off the binder. Additionally,the binders are taking up space too. I considered using empty music CD boxes, but the back fold is a problem. So, between one thing or the other I am spending more vs keeping the stamps mounted. So can someone tell me how you "file" your UMs and index/catalog which stamp is which CD, box, etc? I still can't find a system that is working for my UM stamps.
Glitter Guru I just saw your link to the same subject I am asking about. Will defintively go over that thread. As you said, that is a WHOLE DIFFERENT MATTER lol. Thanks for the link!
For me unmounting is not the issue, is figuring how to "catalog" and store them. I started putting them in transparencies, then inside a sheet products, and then a binder. Now, the weight the UM stamps in the sheet protectors is causing the sheets to sag/ hang off the binder. Additionally,the binders are taking up space too. I considered using empty music CD boxes, but the back fold is a problem. So, between one thing or the other I am spending more vs keeping the stamps mounted. So can someone tell me how you "file" your UMs and index/catalog which stamp is which CD, box, etc? I still can't find a system that is working for my UM stamps.
Frustrated... need help!
Njoilif, you can take a look at my blog post that shows how I categorize and indexed my unmounted/clear stamps. I use the transparencies/binders/page protectors to store mine as well and I came up with a system that helps me easily find which binder the stamps are stored in. The information is further down in the post here: Cat Scrap Fever: Stamp Storage It may give you a starting point to come up with a way to catalogue your stamps.
