Large BG stamps Stuck to Storage Sheet! What to Do?

[Rachelrose]

I have six or seven background stamps that I bought a few months ago and have been storing on Stamper's Best rigid clear poly-whatever sheets. Some of them I have not used, or not used in a while. I went to use one this morning that had not yet been used and it was very hard to peel it off the poly sheet. I hesitated and wondered whether to try to get it off so I could use it on my stamp press. I ended up using it by inking up the stamp and placing the CS on top and rubbing, but later I decided to try to get the stamp off and it came off, but with difficulty and while it didn't leave any cling bits behind, the cling layer now looks kind of mottled. It seems to stick okay when I put it back on the poly storage sheet. But it was a little unnerving.

How should I be storing these so this doesn't happen? I am about to get a Mega Mount and some Cover a Card BG's and I don't want to ruin them by storing them improperly.

I am dreading checking my other rarely used BG stamps at this point. They are probably all stuck tight like the one I used this morning.

Help. Please.

[KatarinaM]

Wow, those are some pricey panels for storing stamps! Anyway, I don't know why they're sticking so badly to those panels, but I do remember hearing that certain types of acetate ruined the cling cushion on stamps. Maybe they have a similar problem?
I use these rigid storage panels from Stamp n Stor:
8.5"x11" Stamp N' Stor Storage Panels 5/Pkg SS05
and have never had that trouble with my cover a card and BG stamps.

Also, if you want to keep using those polycarbonate panels, maybe you could unmount the stamps from the cling cushion and just put some repositionable glue on the rubber itself. They work just as well without the cushion if you put something with 'give' under your paper when you're ready to stamp. I use an old mousepad. Some people use fun foam, or a pad of paper under their stamping surface.

HTH.

[Rachelrose]

The panels are fine with all my smaller stamps. And the company specifically says that clings can be stored on them. I like them because they are rigid, and I can keep them in a container to flip though, I don't like using a binder.

I just emailed the company. I just wish someone who has ever had this problem could tell me what to do to get the stamps I have off the panels.

Thanks for the link. I just checked those and do you really buy from them? The shipping was as more than the panels, even when I bought 3 pkgs.

[Rachelrose]

I pulled a couple of them off as carefully as I could, and bits of the cling mount stuck to the panels!

ACK! A disaster! It seems like the ones I have been using are fine, the ones I stuck on there and haven't yet used just fused themselves to the panel.

No problems with any of my regular stamps. I love these panels. Or at least I did... Now I have to figure out how to get the bits of cling off them.

[gregzgurl]

I unmounted all of my background stamps because I use them face-up and lay the cardstock on them face-down to "stamp" them. I just stack them in a clamshell case (10 will fit) - no cling, no glue, nothing but bare rubber. I asked in another thread about the possibility of warping or other issues storing them this way, and common consensus was that they would be fine. Demonstrators at scrap expos always seem to have bins of bare rubber with no issues, too, so I figure I'm good to go...

[KatarinaM]

Nope, I do not buy from them, sorry about that. I just wanted to show the product I was talking about. I couldn't remember where I bought them from initially, but I just remembered that I bought them from Joann's online, when they were 40% off. I stocked up at the time and have a stack of them to last me a while. Looks like they're on sale again:
Stamp N' Stor Storage Panels 5/Pkg : embellishment cases : scrapbook storage : storage : Shop | Joann.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

The panels are fine with all my smaller stamps. And the company specifically says that clings can be stored on them. I like them because they are rigid, and I can keep them in a container to flip though, I don't like using a binder.

I just emailed the company. I just wish someone who has ever had this problem could tell me what to do to get the stamps I have off the panels.

Thanks for the link. I just checked those and do you really buy from them? The shipping was as more than the panels, even when I bought 3 pkgs.

[Rachelrose]

Sue: How do you get the cling foam off them?

Can I still use them on my brand new Mega Mount if they are bare rubber? I'd have to put tack of some kind on them.

Thanks for that link, Katarina. I'll check them out.

[Cook22]

I'm sure you could just use Aleene's Tack it Over and Over on them to use on the Mega Mount - or if you can stand the expense, you could get sheets of EZ-Mount.
I have quite a few of the CAC and some A2 unmounted backgrounders - I just keep them as they came, upright in a shoe-box so I can flip through them.
I've heard so many good reviews of the Mega Mount - one day I'll actually get one, I think. I'll be interested to know how you find it, Rachel.
Sorry you've had such a bad experience with your backgrounders and storage.

[Rachelrose]

Sabrina - when you say you keep you CAC's "as they came", you mean with the cling backing on them? And you just keep them upright in a show box, not stuck to anything? With the cling on? This sounds like a simple solution.

I worked on the stamps last night and got the last few pulled off. I had to work slowly, and some cling bits pulled away, but not enough to affect the stamp sticking. Given that this problem was only with BG stamps I had bought and stuck on the panels and not yet used, while the ones I had used were fine, I think what happened is that the cling was new and very sticky, and covered a large area, and they sat there in my studio all through the summer, and it gets very hot in my studio in the summer afternoons, so much so that I rarely can work in there between 2-5. So the stamps just got stuck.

I looked into those Stamp N Store Panels. Katerina and found them cheap on Amazon. And I get free shipping there. So, another possibility.

I will be trying out the Mega Mount later today and see how I like it.

[Cook22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

Sabrina - when you say you keep you CAC's "as they came", you mean with the cling backing on them? And you just keep them upright in a show box, not stuck to anything? With the cling on? This sounds like a simple solution.

I worked on the stamps last night and got the last few pulled off. I had to work slowly, and some cling bits pulled away, but not enough to affect the stamp sticking. Given that this problem was only with BG stamps I had bought and stuck on the panels and not yet used, while the ones I had used were fine, I think what happened is that the cling was new and very sticky, and covered a large area, and they sat there in my studio all through the summer, and it gets very hot in my studio in the summer afternoons, so much so that I rarely can work in there between 2-5. So the stamps just got stuck.

I looked into those Stamp N Store Panels. Katerina and found them cheap on Amazon. And I get free shipping there. So, another possibility.

I will be trying out the Mega Mount later today and see how I like it.

Yep, I just keep them exactly as they arrive when I get them. Well, with time the plastic wrapper tears because they're not very strong, but then I just transfer it to a small zip-lock bag. It works for me - but then I have a whole collection of shoe-boxes and biscuit tins with various things in them .
I've got to say that by Irish standards it can get too hot in my room on a sunny summer day so occasionally I worry about what it might be doing to my supplies, but I've had no problems with anything so far, except Stickles separating and thinning.

[mlhaun]

Take dental floss and take them off.

[Rachelrose]

Too late! An interesting idea, but I've already spilled the milk and cried over it. And then told myself to buck up and stop being a whiney baby. Stamping is not for the faint of heart.

[Rachelrose]

Sabrina! I got my Mega Mount yesterday and played with it today. A+++! Very easy to use and really allows you to make such a clean impression. I've been doing what you did, working by laying my CS on top of my BG stamps and pressing. I'd tried the Fiskars press and didn't really love it. But the Mega Mount is, at least for me, an absolute winner.

Hope you can get a chance to try one out. I am sold. I hesitated because of the price, but now I think it's totally worth it.

Of course, I've also set myself for a new obsession/compulsion/money pit. I am going to have to buy a lot more CAC stamps. I bought 3 along with the MM, and now I am going to have to go back online and buy a bunch more!

Now to decide how to store them...

[Cook22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

Sabrina! I got my Mega Mount yesterday and played with it today. A+++! Very easy to use and really allows you to make such a clean impression. I've been doing what you did, working by laying my CS on top of my BG stamps and pressing. I'd tried the Fiskars press and didn't really love it. But the Mega Mount is, at least for me, an absolute winner.

Hope you can get a chance to try one out. I am sold. I hesitated because of the price, but now I think it's totally worth it.

Of course, I've also set myself for a new obsession/compulsion/money pit. I am going to have to buy a lot more CAC stamps. I bought 3 along with the MM, and now I am going to have to go back online and buy a bunch more!

Now to decide how to store them...

Actually, I do use a block to stamp with - I have a large 6" X6" one, but it's quite hard to grasp. I know many people use the stamp flat on the desk and bring the card to it, but it's not for me .
The online store I mostly buy from does do the Mega-Mount and I'm always interested in it, but I know it will bump up my carriage.
And yes, you'll have to get more than just 3!!
I use the map one a LOT, and the music one. DH got me the pine bough one, and on a current order I'm expecting the leopard skin. I have a couple more, but the map and music are the most used. There are others I like but have similar ones in A2 size so they're way down the list unless we have a sudden cash windfall :mrgreen:, like the script and bamboo and stripes. I love the brocade and paisley ones too!

[Rachelrose]

Thanks for listing all the ones you use and love! I have made my own list. I also have a few in my shopping cart. I saw the lace one used on a card in Rubber Stamp Madness and have to have that. What I got were the wavy lines, chevrons and circle swirls. Actually, in that same article in RSM the woman made a card where she used the circle swirls first stamped in a light green Distress Ink, and then stamped the pine boughs over it in a dark green and it was beautiful.

I like that the IO website does have pictures of cards made with a lot of the CACs. It's so much easier to see if you want a stamp when you can see the actual image.

I'm still wondering about your storage. So you get yours, take off the paper backing and just put them back in the bag they came in? Or transfer them to a ziplock? It's not bad for the cling?

[Cook22]

I don't take the backing off at all except for stamping. I keep it on most of my foam-mounted stamps except for when I lose it from small ones! I think it helps protect the cling, and I've never been keen on going down the route of mounting them on panels in an album. I keep my smaller stamps in CD cases with labels on the spines, so I can just pull out the set I want.
I must see if I have enough of a sheet of EZ-mount left to see what it says on the back!

[Rachelrose]

Well, you are the first I've heard of to do this. It would drive me crazy to be replacing backing on all my stamps, but in the case of BG stamps it wouldn't be such a big deal.

I really think my issues with mine sticking were heat related. I live southernmost FL and it gets very hot here in the summer, and the only stamps that have ever stuck to my panels were the BG stamps that I stuck on brand new and didn't use at all until now. The ones I used over the summer and pulled on and off are fine. I think the brand new cling was just very sticky and grabbed onto those panels. Lesson learned. But I like your method. I had always assumed the paper backing was bad for the cling and you had to get it off right away. I guess that's not the case!

[Cook22]

I don't think they'd supply it like that if it wasn't good for the cling mount! My rationale is that it protects the cling from picking up dust and so on and losing its cling. I know some people who just put the stamps in a basket or tray or whatever, with no protection at all, and just give them a wash when they lose their cling. And as for peeling it off each time - it's no worse than peeling a clear off the sheet it comes from, for me. Each to their own with room for flexibility and learning!

[Rachelrose]

Well, Stampers Best didn't have an answer as to why my stamps stuck. They wondered if my stamps had inferior made-in-china cling on them (I don't think so, they're all Rubbernecker) and did offer me a 10% discount on new clingfoam if I needed to remount, which I don't. I am convinced it was a "sitting new and unused in the southernmost Florida heat" issue, and the stamps I pried off are working fine.

HOWEVER, I just ordered some more Cover A Card stamps from Impression Obsession. I took a look at the gallery they have on the IO website - they have 47 examples of ways to LAYER them, so that they look like DP. I was sunk, I was sucked right in, I could not resist. (It was what you might call a case of impression obsession.) I piled up my cart.

But there was a glitch in my order so I had to call them and the nice woman who answered fixed things right away and we chatted for a few minutes about how great the Mega Mount is (I love it. LOVE.), and before I hung up I said "Let me ask you something. These CAC stamps are big - they take up an entire side of a storage panel. How do you store yours?" And she said "Oh, we actually just have them piled up naked in a plastic bin, sort of like a shoebox. We drag them to stamp camps and conferences that way and they're fine."

Just like you, Sabrina! Except they don't even bother to put the backing on the cling!

So I'm going to just do the same as you!

[Cook22]

. I wouldn't bother with the backing except that I feel it protects them
foam from dust and glitter and all the stuff they would pick up to make them less clingy. But then, I don't have a Mega Mount to put them on yet!! On my large block, I definitely need them to cling well so they don't drop off. So, what ones did you go for? I added a couple more to my ongoing basket at Frantic Stamper.

p.s I don't think the backing is really called cling, the cling part is the foam ;-), and the backing is just protective backing.

[Rachelrose]

I was surprised what some of ended up with, but it was based on layering combos that I liked. I got:

Lace
Criss Cross
Vines
Greenery
Scratches
Small Paisley
Wispy
Dots
Large Paisley
Music
Newsprint

And I asked about the leaving off the protective backing (which I do know isn't called cling!) they said that, yes, eventually the cling foam on the stamps do pick up dust and whatnot and get less clingy, so then they wash them with a little dish liquid in water. But she said using the paper backing to protect them from that was actually a good idea.

I'm going to just pick up another cheapo plastic shoebox at Home Depot (what would I do without those? I use them for everything.) and stack mine in it.


I could have easily bought more than I did, but I managed to restrain myself (for the moment). I can't tell you how helpful that gallery was for me. I was able to hone in on layering combos that I knew I'd use. The only choices I made that weren't based on the gallery were the music and newsprint stamps, which I just knew would get tons of use.

[Cook22]

Ah - one of the paisley ones and the vine are on my list. I have Music and use it a lot, and the large dots. I'll be interested to hear how you find the scratches one. I keep looking at it and wondering. I think it would be quite good for DIY Basic Grey style papers .
Not much discretionary spending till after Christmas for me, though :-(.
I've been seeing some lovely cards by Misstreez made for the HYCCT challenges using CAC stamps - you should check her gallery for inspiration!
You can buy plastic shoe boxes over there!! I just use cardboard ones from buying shoes, but they definitely have a finite lifespan.

[Rachelrose]

I never would have considered the scratches actually, but when I saw how it altered the look of the other stamps, I decided to try it.

If you go to this page and click on the blue "Cover A Card Sample Recipes" box to the right of the little video screen, you'll load the gallery and you can use the up and down arrows to look at the various samples. Every one has the exact stamps used and also the ink colors. I kept seeing samples that used the scratches and it seemed to give a nice distressed look.

Impression Obsession Rubber Stamps: Cover-a-Card Stamps & Mega Mount

Plastic shoeboxes! Yes, at the Home Depot store they have these plastic bins the size of a shoe box so they call them shoeboxes. They're a couple of dollars (the lid is extra, but I never buy any). They are the perfect size to lay 8.5 by 11 inch stamp storage panels on their sides so you can flip through them, which is how I store some of my stamps and plan to store my dies and Nestabilities when I get around to adhering the magnetic sheets to the 8.3 by 11 inch chipboard I bought a month ago and never got around to doing!

I'll check out Misstreez' gallery today for some ideas. Thanks for that!

[beckydory]

I have a Megamount and many, many, many of the Cover-a-card backgrounds - I just put the waxed paper that comes on the cling foam back on after using and keep them standing up in one of those "really useful box" clear plastic boxes from Staples, works great.

[Rachelrose]

That's what I'll be doing, or something like. Glad I saved the paper backing from the three I had.