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I have an assortment of stamps, wood mounted, acrylic mounted, rubber mounted stamp. They take up a ton of room so I would like to unmount them. Can anybody give me suggestions as to how to do this without ruining the stamp?
Also, I have some old stamp pads and the foam is starting to "disintegrate". I would like to replace the foam. Any suggestions on what type of foam to use?
Back when I started unmounting my stamps, I would heat them for about 10 - 15 seconds in the microwave, then carefully peel the stamps off. I took mine down to bare rubber.
Later on, I got to the point where I carefully picked at a corner of the stamp to lift it up, then peeled the stamp off of the cushion.
Thanks so much for your quick reply! I wasn't sure if my message would even be posted since I just joined and am having a little trouble figuring out how this site works. Anyway I did think of trying your recommendation but I wasn't sure if the stamps would melt so off I go to the microwave. Thanks again.
I did all mine a couple of years ago, and I found some would peel off the block with the foam intact, some I had to give a quick blast in the microwave. I generally went down to bare rubber too, but you can replace the foam- its available to buy online. There is one called Kling-on, and another called EZMount. I believe the EZMount comes in two slightly different thicknesses.
Can I also mention, that when you have a load of spare wooden blocks, you can use suitable sized ones to make yourself a stack of ink blending tools? HERE on my blog is a post where I did this.
I unmounted all of mine ages ago - most I just peeled right off the foam. I don't bother to put any of mine on EZ Mount or other foam - too expensive and time consuming. I just put Tack N Peel on my acrylic blocks. It's amazing stuff.
I did a video tutorial as well as a blog post showing how to unmount stamps here if you are interested: I can't post a url since I'm new here but if you want go to kathleendriggers(dot)com and click on "scrapbooking", then "Tutorials" and there is a link right there.
Hope that helps
Thank you so much, it worked great! I had a Walnut Hollow hot knife, just reallt didn't know what to use it for. Any suggestions you have would be welcome. All I have to learn now is how to use the soldering tool. Happy Scrapbooking.
I unmounted my rubber stamps the same way that Kat did. I found that I particularly like being able to trim my rubber a bit closer than it was originally trimmed. And a hint when using the hot knife. Be sure that you hold your knife so you cut the foam the same size as the rubber. You don't want to cut at an angle and undercut the foam.
Newbie stamper here... is the foam necessary? Does the 'give' of the foam allow for a clearer impression? I have some unmounted bare rubber stamps that were gifted to me, and I haven't done anything with them yet, but I needed to make a quick card the other day and tried something I read about. I ran a glue stick on the back of the rubber and just stuck it on my acrylic block. It stamped really well, and then I just peeled it off and cleaned both.
So I guess part of what I'm asking is whether using the foam is a personal preference, or if I was just lucky with that stamp.
Newbie stamper here... is the foam necessary? Does the 'give' of the foam allow for a clearer impression? I have some unmounted bare rubber stamps that were gifted to me, and I haven't done anything with them yet, but I needed to make a quick card the other day and tried something I read about. I ran a glue stick on the back of the rubber and just stuck it on my acrylic block. It stamped really well, and then I just peeled it off and cleaned both.
So I guess part of what I'm asking is whether using the foam is a personal preference, or if I was just lucky with that stamp.
For the most part, it's personal preference. Every once in a while, I get one that seems to need the cushion to give a good impression, but that's pretty rare. For whatever reason, I like the feel of the cushion better, so I do use it on most of mine. However, small stamps, alphabets, that kind of thing actually work better with no cushion. If you like the bare rubber just fine, you can save yourself a pantload of money (more stamps!) and work.
Scottitude, my personal opinion is that its preference. I originally put all the bare rubber I bought onto cling foam, but over the years I've noticed I was getting some stamps start to 'cup', almost as if the foam was shrinking,so they didn't cling, or lay flat properly, and they still take up more space than bare rubber. So as much as possible, I've dumped all the foam, and I only buy and use bare rubber now. So far, I have never had a poor print from bare rubber alone, I see no print difference between bare rubber, foam backed or wood mounted. I know some ladies say that having a stack of paper under your cardstock helps if you get a problem, but I stamp straight onto my cardstock which is on top of my cutting mat on my desk. You can of course get the odd stamp that doesn't stamp out well, but trying a stack of paper/magazine/old phone book under it should sort any awkward ones out.
I'm with cbet- spend the money on stamps, not foam, lol.
I don't have any bare rubber but photopolymer stamps don't have foam. SU recommends using a foam pad like their piercing mat or fun foam under your cardstock when stamping with photopolymer, I don't see why that wouldn't work for bare rubber.
I don't have any bare rubber but photopolymer stamps don't have foam. SU recommends using a foam pad like their piercing mat or fun foam under your cardstock when stamping with photopolymer, I don't see why that wouldn't work for bare rubber.
The piercing mat / fun foam does work with bare rubber. However, stamping with bare rubber is a whole different feeling that stamping with the photopolymer
Even the good stuff (like SU's) polymer has a more squishy feel to it. Bare rubber has a pretty solid feel.
Yes, but wouldn't that be all the more reason to use the foam under the bare rubber stamps?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cbet
The piercing mat / fun foam does work with bare rubber. However, stamping with bare rubber is a whole different feeling that stamping with the photopolymer
Even the good stuff (like SU's) polymer has a more squishy feel to it. Bare rubber has a pretty solid feel.
The piercing mat / fun foam does work with bare rubber. However, stamping with bare rubber is a whole different feeling that stamping with the photopolymer
Even the good stuff (like SU's) polymer has a more squishy feel to it. Bare rubber has a pretty solid feel.
The first time I stamped with polymer my brain went "Whoaaa!" at the squishy feeling. Although I'm a newbie, I was introduced to stamping in 1992, and have on occasion stamped throughout the years. So my experience prior to last fall was always with rubber. I was used to pressing down as firmly as I could... I guess that was 'really' firm because it felt like it was squishing all over the place, lol.
I just want to say how helpful everybody is, and how grateful I am for that. I love that everybody can have different opinions so that I have a variety of experience and knowledge to draw from. Sorry if I derailed the OP's post!!
Yes, but wouldn't that be all the more reason to use the foam under the bare rubber stamps?
It's kind of counter-intuitive, isn't it I think the cushion under the photopolymer stamps makes them "squish out" less, because your surface doesn't "push back" against the stamp as much.
I like the foam cushion under the bare rubber stamps mostly because it makes them feel more like the stamps with cushion on them.
I have used bare rubber for years. Most stamps work fine, if you have a problem getting a good impression,you can always stamp on a cushioned surface, anything from a magazine to some kind of foam.
The ease of just using double stick tape and the bare rubber on an acrylic block is nice.
Close to My Heart includes a foamie thing in with all of their stamp sets (which are photopolymer), specifically to put under your project when you stamp. My thought is that it diffuses some of the pressure we might put on the stamp (as in pressing too hard) so that it doesn't "squish out" as much, so you get a cleaner impression. I've stamped with every kind of stamp made, sometimes with and sometimes without anything underneath. As you stamp more and more, you'll get more of a "feel" for the different types of stamps and how much pressure you do/don't need, and whether you prefer something underneath...
I too had some stamps that foam was crumbling. I did get 3 sheets of Ezmount on ebay for an inexpensive price. I didn't need too much since I used this method to turn them all into cling. The only difference is that I watered down my tack it 50/50 water to tack it.
Thank you DenverKat for mentioning the 50/50 on the Aleene's Tack It over and Over. It had been a while since I did mine and I had forgotten if I thinned it down or not. One of the advantages about using the bare rubber and just applying Alene's TIO&O, is that they store well in a regular Cd case (not the thin jewel ones, but the older style). Best wishes with your unblocking. I remember it was a JOB! It was worth it though, for the space saving and organization.
You're quite welcome hoptownracer1...No problem at all. I actually did it full-strength when I first tried it. When I pulled the stamp from the acrylic block the foam ripped and I nearly ripped the rubber it was so strong. Although it is a depositional adhesive, if you apply it thick and full strength it's actually super strong. I used full strength when I re-did my cricut mats and I had a heck of a time. I ended up scraping it all off and using a little more then 50% water and used a very light coat. It was perfect. The mats even looked like they were brand new. I never had an issue with at least 50/50 though on the stamps.
There is a lady who wants to pay me to convert all of her stamps. I want to do it, but not until after the move. She was going to throw in some free stamps too.
I did try some without the foam and I wasn't that thrilled with my images. Maybe it's me though. I'm no a pro stamper like everyone else around here. I probably have 1/8 of the stamps that most people do. lol I do enjoy stamping and I can't wait until I get moved and unpacked so I can get back to it.
Thanks again! I did have one stamp that I had to reattach foam to, because the image without it was terrible, but so far, the others have been alright. I need to get in the habit of putting fun-foam or a mouse pad underneath when I stamp, but I never think to do it.
Oh, I'm no pro stamper either. It takes me about ten tries sometimes to get a great image. lol...
unmounting stamps
THANKS
