Hi Homemommie,
I am not a SU! demo, I do not live overseas BUT I do unmount all my stamps. I love this solution to my space issues and I will try to give you all the pros and cons as best as I can.
Pros:
Less storage issues. I keep my stamps arranged by sets stuck in an empty CD jewel case. I will put up a website at the end for photos to explain it better. I will also post some pictures of my sets. All my SU sets that are UM fit in a CD storage case that sits on top of my desk, but soon is making the transition to the wall.
All sets available to me at once. Before I had all my SU sets in a huge plastic tote under my desk. Man, was that a drag! Literally, I had to drag that tote out from under the desk, then look through all the plastic cases for the one I was looking for, and I had to dig through and rearrange, because they only fit in the tote by size, not by ABC's. This literally meant that I did not want to stamp as often because of the thought of having to do all that lugging around. Now they sit, in ABC order, on my desktop all nicely arranged in CD jewel cases that are all uniform in size. It is so much easier to transport when I need to go elsewhere to stamp. I can see all my sets, I have the titles from the original sticker on the spine of the CD case, reinforced with clear packing tape. I love this set up!
Weight and portability. This way is definately the best way to go if the weight of your sets in an issue. With me, when I was in SOCal, it became a huge issue to take all the stamps my friend wanted to use for a "playdate". The tub I used for transporting them would get so heavy, I always needed help carrying it. Now, for example, if I want to take anything baby themed, all I have to do is fish those sets out from the CD holder and take them in a shoebox. I can honestly say I could probably take 20 sets in one shoebox.
Organization. I have all my sets in front of me and they are all in ABC order. At a glance I can get the one I need or see if I have left one out under all my papers on my craft table. For the smaller sets, such as Itty Bitty Backgrounds and Delightful Doodles, if they are near each other in the alpahabet, two sets fit on one CD case! How cool is that? Even my larger sets, like DD Safari, all that fit in one case.
Acrylic blocks. These are the mounts needed for using all your UM stamps. It is only an initial investment of about 15.00 to 20.00, and then you have all the acrylic blocks you will ever need for ALL your stamp sets! And these can easily be storedin one of those empty stamp cases you won't need anymore
As a matter of fact, I sold all my cases to some ladies here on SCS after I went UM.
See thru stamping. With the clear acrylic blocks, it is so much easier to do the two step stamping. Because you can see down to the cardstock, it is much easier to align your stamps on top of each image. Of course, the best way to see thru stamp is by using the CLEAR stamps made by other companies. But I have found from personal experience, that those clear stamps do not leave a sharp clear impression when inked up. I guess it is up to each person's personal preference.
Background stamping. You can use one of the larger acrylic blocks and put several tiny images on there, then stamp a background in nothing flat! Very handy if you are doing invitations or many thank you cards for gifts received, etc.
Cost. UM stamps are VERY much cheaper than wood mounted. You can do a simple search on Google or even Ebay for UM stamps and there are so many out there. Also, the SHIPPING is WAAAY cheaper when sending out UM, just the rubber. When ordering Woodmounted stamps, the wood is the heaviest part of your shipment. Something to consider if you are ona tight budget, which I always seem to be
Versatility. There is much more variety in UM than in one company's WM stamps. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE SU! designs, I have the 70+ CD cases to prove it
But, I don't think I could ever find an Elvis stamp in their Catalog! With UM, you can shop at tons of different "stores" for just the specific type of stamp you want. One example, photography stamps.
Here are the CONS:
Trade or sale value. This would probably only apply to SU! or CTMH stamps. I am limited in what I can offer in trade for someone's set they want to get rid of. The majority of people on SCS I am sure, use and love their WM and would not consider trading WM for UM. So I guess I will have to start a thread for trading for UM purposes
If I UM a set, I am stuck with it. Unless, like I mentioned, I find other like minded individuals and we can have an UM support group or something.
Demonstrators. UM is a no-no for demos, for the most part. A demo must be able to demo her supplies in the manner in which they are to be sold. She cannot demo UM stamps and then give her customers their order with WM. That would take a lot of explaining! I have read some posts here about someone doing that, and all her customers understand, but I don't know if SU! would be jiggy with that.
Stamp-a-ma-jig. This is the one thing I REALLY regret about my UM system. Not being able to use this wonderful tool. Although the clear block does allow for great precision in placement of stamps, there is nothing like being able to line the image up PERFECTLY. So far, I have managed to do my word and alpha stamps straight enough to pass muster. But I wish I could still use the SMJ.
Natural feel of WM. There is something to be said for using WM stamps. They have a certain feel and comfort about it. Your hand is familiar with the weight and shape of WM. I kind of got over that when I realized my savings in going with UM.
Switching between stamps onto the acrylic blocks. Some people have mentioned that it is too time consuming to have to put on a rubber die onto the block, then cleaning it, taking it off, getting another one, then putting that one on the block and starting over. I honestly don't mind doing that, and once you get the hang of it, it is no more time consuming than working with WM, I think. Remember, you are working with just a few different sized blocks for your whole collection of stamps. I have a few acrylic cubes that I jusy used with some of my small stamps. I put a stamp on 3 sides and that way I did not have to keep peeling off the rubber die to use my block with another.
Conversion. If you decide to go UM, you will have quite a project before you! Unless you only have a few sets you want to convert. I had over 70, so it took a couple of weeks, just a couple of hours a night. The rubber die has to be peeled off, the foam has to be peeled off. Then depending on what type of UM you want to go with, you have to attach EZ mount foam to your rubber die, cut around it, then you are set. EZ mount foam is an inexpensive foam that is super sticky on one side (attach to ruuber) and has a type of vinyl cling on the other (attaches to block). It works as a temporary but strong adherant to keep your stamp in place. Then it stores in the CD case, stuck on. Some poeple use binders with pages that are specially covered with a material that allows tha stamp to cling to the page. I like to keep my sets all together in one place, but seperated by set. So I opted to use the CDs.
Well, that is my rather long and exhaustive dissertation! I hope I have answered your questions thoroughly. Also, you might want to visit
www.thestampingstudio.com. This is where I first got really turned around to converting my stamps to UM. They have great designs and all the accesories you could ever want. Also, when you buy a set from them, the EZ mount foam is included with the purchase. You can also buy sheets of EZ mount from them at a relatively cheap price, considering how many rubber dies you can fit on a whole sheet. There is a turorial on there explaing how to mount their stamps and how to store the UM. If you join up, you get great discounts too. But I found that their prices, even for non-members was very cheap, and the rubber is great quality. If you go check it out, please look at my "studio" Mari's musings. The owner is Melissa Baldwin and she is constantly gettign published, she is so creative!
Please feel free to email or PM if you have any more questions.
HTH, or at least didn't tire you out!
MrsDiffey
Do you UNmount your stamps? How do your store your Stamps?
