Mounting my first set of stamps, would appreciate advice.

[Rachelrose]

I recently bought two sets of Paper Artsy Stamps that came just bare. I want to put them on EZ mount. I have never done this before.

The ones I got are both Hot Pick sets - one is the one with the birdcage and the moth:

*Paper Artsy Stamp HOT PICK 1004 Rubber UM HP1004

and the other is the one with the door and the big daisy:

*Paper Artsy Stamp HOT PICK 1011 Rubber UM HP1011

I ordered both the 1/8th and 1/16th inch mounting sheets, so I could decide which to use. I think I want to go with the regular gray 1/8th inch clingfoam.

I wish someone had one or the other of these sets so they could show me a picture of how the are cut out. It's really the big daisy and the birdcage and that silhouette of the thistles that I am most nervous about. I don't want to wreck them.

I need to learn to do this because there are several companies I like that only sell bare rubber. I know it can't be as hard as it feels like it's going to be. I assume I should just stick the whole sheet on the foam and then cut out the stamps? Or cut them out first and deal with them sticky-ness issue? I will be using those Tim Holtz red handled scissors to do it, not a hot knife.

Thanks for any advice.

[cbet]

Keep in mind that I'm going to tell you how I would do those, which is probably not how everyone else would do it - I'm not always super-diligent about not "wasting" cushion.

Looking at those sets, I'd just stick the whole plate to the cushion and then cut out the stamps. They're pretty close together on the plate already, so why go thru the work of cutting twice? And you'll have less sticky mess this way. I much prefer cutting with the Tim Holtz scissors over the hot knife. For stamps that I do pre-cut before putting them on the cushion and cutting, I leave more rubber around them than I need so that I am cutting thru both rubber and cushion.

Also, you'll read that you should trim them close but on that daisy & thistle, you don't want to trim too close. Leave a little extra edge - you can always go back and trim some more off if you're catching inky edges. For the thistles, I'd just kind of trim around the general outside and not worry about getting in between the stems. And for the daisy, if you trim close to the stem, you'll be able to curve it on your block. If you don't want that, leave an extra rubber margin as stabilizer!

You've probably read that you should be sure to hold your scissors straight and not angle them. I actually do angle mine so that the cushion sticks out a little from the stamp - the bottom of my scissors is farther away from the stamp than the top. This is just because I tend to angle them the other way if I'm not thinking and you don't want the cushion smaller than the stamp!

[cbet]

Well, I could have made that explanation quite a bit shorter - I found a pretty good video that shows the cutting: VIDEO

She shows how to get the image to the back of your cling foam - not necessary, but some people really like that image. The main think is, don't try to get too close to the edge of your image and make all straight cuts. Trying to cut in a curve makes the rubber stretch funny. It's better to navigate the curves with multiple straight cuts.

[Cook22]

I am normally very frugal and cut my stamps out first before mounting - but those look quite closely spaced and as if there's not much to gain by doing that.
I definitely prefer the thicker grey! I can only imagine using the thin one for very small sentiment stamps, and I've never bought it.
Should you go down the route of trimming them first and then getting them even closer together on the EZ-mount, you can minimise the stickiness by dusting the bare EZ-mount with talcum powder. I'm not sure if it's just chemical aromas you have a problem with - I'm sure cornflour (corn starch to you, I think!) would do the same job and brush off the stamps almost as easily.
I use neither a hot knife nor scissors but a scalpel blade which gets thrown out afterwards.

There was a product focus on EZ-mount some time back - you might pick up some helpful tips reading it too : Splitcoaststampers - Product Focus

[Rachelrose]

Thanks for all this. I've watched a load of videos and I'm still acting like this is some kind of incredibly technical endeavor. ;-)

Your specific suggestions for trimming specific images are very helpful, Cheryl!

At first I did think I should just put the whole sheet down and then cut, but then I wondered if it would

1) make it easier to cut them out if I were not cutting the foam and the rubber at the same time, and

2) make it easier to properly trim around the images if I first cut the rubber the way I want it and then trim the cling foam to match.

Still think I should just put the whole thing down? I have no problem using the talcum powder to dust the cling.

[Cook22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

Thanks for all this. I've watched a load of videos and I'm still acting like this is some kind of incredibly technical endeavor. ;-)

Your specific suggestions for trimming specific images are very helpful, Cheryl!

At first I did think I should just put the whole sheet down and then cut, but then I wondered if it would

1) make it easier to cut them out if I were not cutting the foam and the rubber at the same time, and

2) make it easier to properly trim around the images if I first cut the rubber the way I want it and then trim the cling foam to match.

Still think I should just put the whole thing down? I have no problem using the talcum powder to dust the cling.

For me personally, the answers to one and two are both yes, definitely. But that could be because I'm using a blade and not scissors.


Cutting the rubber on its own is very easy, and it's much more manoeuvrable still being flexible (although at least those are small sheets - some of the Starving Artistamps ones are bigger than a sheet of letter paper!).

[Rachelrose]

I am pretty good with the scissors. I think a scalpel would be less easy for me. And I am not ready to think about the hot knife. The fumes alone probably make it an impossibility.

I know there are those out there who would say "Why mount them at all?" I know some love just bare rubber. And I could do that. I have some Aleens TIO&O. But I am so used to having clingfoam on my stamps, and I think it's something I should know how to do.

[cbet]

My preference - and I also use the Tim Holtz scissors - is to cut both the rubber and cushion at the same time. Something about the small serrations on the scissors blade makes it grip the rubber, and it's quite easy to cut thru, even on nice, thick stamps. And I have no problem getting the image trimmed the way I want it.

[Cook22]

, I have some bare rubber with TIO&O, and some with EZ-mount. I think it probably is based on how much I think I'll use the stamp: if it's a lot, I prefer to have the cushion but for occasional use I'm easy with the bare rubber. I'm sure it will go easily for you once you start into it, whichever way you choose to go.

[shazsilverwolf]

I am another fan of mounting rather than bare rubber, and I agree with pretty much all the advice given. If the stamps are close enough together that you are not wasting a lot of cushion, then just put the whole thing on it. If the stamps are well spaced out, and sometimes they are, then I trim the stamps first & lay them onto the foam, then cut again. I am also another scalpel user, I find I get better cuts.Also, it does depend on the stamp brand- some are really thick rubber, which gets hard to cut when its on the foam. Others are not so thick, so easier. I have read, but not tried, that wiping the scissor blades with Versamark helps removing any gunk that sticks to the scissors.

[Rachelrose]

I'm hoping that the Teflon coating on my Tim Tim Holtz scissors will be enough to deflect any gunk. But if it doesn't, it's good to know the Versamark trick!

[cbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

I'm hoping that the Teflon coating on my Tim Tim Holtz scissors will be enough to deflect any gunk. But if it doesn't, it's good to know the Versamark trick!

The coating on the Tim Holtz scissors does work really well for deflecting gunk if you cut thru both rubber & cushion. You'll want to clean them off when you're done, but you don't really need the VersaMark as you go along.

If you cut cushion only, though, they get much stickier and the VersaMark really helps.

[Rachelrose]

Well, it's done. I stuck the whole sheet on for both and cut through everything at once. I managed not to make either of the two Dreadful Mistakes - that of cutting into the image and that of undercutting the clingfoam. The stamps were very close together so a little tricky. At the end I made an image sheet and everything stamped fine. It's not the most perfectly neat job, but it was my first time. And of course I thought it was less neatly done right after I finished. Now that they are on a panel, and I look at most of my others, I see that they don't look so bad. So Yay. Thanks EVERYONE for all your help and encouragement. I can't say I enjoyed the process, but now I know I can do it. :-)!

[Cook22]

It's a tedious job, that is for sure! Well done for seeing it through.
I just got a clear-mount SU set on eBay, first time I've got one with the clear labels on them and now I know why everybody says they're awful. But when I tried peeling one label off it didn't come off evenly and left a sticky coating on the cling foam. I think I'll be seeing if I have enough bits and pieces of EZ-mount to remount them myself.

[Rachelrose]

Ah, yes, the stickers! One of the great Splitcoast controversies! Some love them, some hate them. I put them on one set and then never again.

So you'll microwave your stamps to remove the cling? I have so far been a bit leery of putting something in my microwave to melt glue. I mean, I put food in there! But apparently tons of folks do it and live to tell the tale, so obviously it's just me who has such paranoid thoughts.

Yes, I'm really happy I stopped hesitating and just did the mounting. Now I know it's not such a big deal. And I have some wood mounts I'd like to put on cling. (Although doing that will certainly necessitate the talcum powder method, so another new thing.)

[cbet]

Good job getting them done! Don't worry about how "pretty" they look when they're cut - all that matters is how they stamp. The stamp police are not going to visit your house and give you a failing grade if they don't think your stamp-cutting abilities are up to snuff

Now, on to using the microwave to unmount - fear not. It works, it doesn't create nasty fumes and it doesn't hurt your microwave. When I was doing lots of these, I'd usually put a whole set of SU! stamps on a paper plate and microwave 'em for about 30 seconds.

One thing to be aware of: some brands of stamps have a different kind of cushion and it does. not. want. to. let. go. I don't remember the brands, but the cushion was black and it wouldn't come off the wood in one piece and it wouldn't come off the back of the rubber easily, either. For those, I resorted to using Un-Du and then immediately putting the rubber into a bowl of soapy water to clean the Un-Du off.

The SU! stamps all came off the blocks very easily. Usually the cushion stayed all in one piece. On those, I coated the old cushion with some Alene's Tack-It-Over-And-Over glue so that I could save $$ on EZ Mount cushion and so I didn't have to trim them again.

If using the microwave just squicks you out too much, you can also put them in the freezer for a while. When I tried this, they weren't as easy to remove as with the microwave but they were easier than just attacking them at room temp.

[Cook22]

I found the SU cling came off really easily just with a little gentle pulling - way better than the clear sticker did didn't, LOL. No need for a microwave or anything. But then I discovered I didn't have a big enough piece of EZ-mount (big stamp, Pleasant Poppies), and I didn't actually want it as bare rubber, so I just used TIOO to stick the SU cling back on for the time being :rolleyes:.
I was relieved that the clear stickers came off everything else with no issues at all. Phew.

[wavejumper]

Glad you jumped in and got it done!

I often buy bare rubber to save money and I go with the thicker mount. Depends on how much the mfg is charging to cling it. If it is 75 cents or less, I let them do it. But some seem to charge 3 bucks! So then I do it. Or if I want a lot of stamps, I will do all bare to save all those 75 cents and get more stamps lol. The cling itself and your time is worth something too.

I agree with the whole sheet idea....if the images are close, mount the sheet. If not, separate.

I use goo gone to get the sticky off the tim holtz sissors. I guess I am blessed since I always have tons of it on the scissor. lol I didnt know about Versamark either. Interesting!

Re: delicate images...I would definitely leave a 1/4"+ border of rubber when I can. I find with ALL cling if you are not careful how you ink it, you get edge mess-which I just clean off before I stamp with a wipe and then huff (breath on it) if I need to. I believe that is a function of how they are made too...some have deeper cuts that help prevent that.

Why the border? I have concerns that over time, handling thin sections could tear/get damaged and I notice that a lot of mfgs, say like Penny Black, leave a LOT of room around stuff like flower stems on clings.

Some people feel that doing just straight squares or rectangles if possible helps with stamping straight...I dont know. I have not tried that yet. I do believe in cutting straight up and down...the angle described above for me would mean a sticky edge that dust and dirt would stick to. You just have to be focused with no distractions.