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I have some bare rubber stamps that I've mounted on cling foam. I'd like to have the pictures of each stamp on the stamp itself, like those labels we get with the Stampin' Up clear mount (rubber cling) stamps.
Is there an at-home use cling vinyl that can be stamped, adhered to the cling foam and still stick to the acrylic block? If not, what does everyone else do to easily identify their stamps?
My old eyes mostly having trouble with the small, backwards red on red text on my sentiment stamps. I was going to give them a permanent coat of Staz-On but read that it not recommended.
Melissa, I've been saving this on my Pinterest board, haven't tried it yet. I've seen this at Joannes, and as she says it's pretty cheap. I'm wondering if you couldn't stamp your image and use some adhesive to apply it directly to the stamp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkRlO1_6a3w
I used this technique with several Stampin' Up sets which were double mounted and the labels were smaller than actual size. It takes a while; but works well.
Walmart has clear vinyl in fabric section on rolls, to make your table cover, or whatever. Comes in different weights. I bought the thinnest one for making my SU rubber "cling" stamps stick to blocks. I have applied it to the stamp and not to the blocks. I have not tried stamping on it with Stazon, but it's VERY cheap, so give it a try!
A few years ago we had these discussions when many of us were unmounting stamps, particularly the idea of using cling vinyl on the sticky foam so that one didn't need to take the foam off and buy EZMount.
The reviews on using cling vinyl were mixed at best...with the general consensus being that Grafix cling vinyl was the only reliable type of vinyl to use for this application. I bought some to use on my stamps for the above reason...I was unmounting thousands of wood-mounted stamps, as well as not mounting a lot of SU sets that only came with sticky foam.
My experience? Well, let me tell you that now I only buy EZMount for my unmounted rubber. The cling has shrunk and I have bowed stamps. It does not cling to my mounting sheets OR my blocks. If I want to use them I have to use adhesive on the cling vinyl.
My suggestion? If you want to try vinyl, stamp it with stazon ink and try a few stamps first. Use them for a year and see if you still like it. Then if you have to replace it, you haven't made such a costly investment.
I'm with you on being able to see the sentiments...backwards! But my suggestion is in a totally different direction...
What I did was stamp an index sheet to match the sheet that I have all my stamps stuck to. If you put that behind your storage sheet back to back, and you always mount your stamps in the same place on the storage sheet, then you only have to look at the stamped index sheet and grab the stamp that is mounted behind it.
The reviews on using cling vinyl were mixed at best...with the general consensus being that Grafix cling vinyl was the only reliable type of vinyl to use for this application. I bought some to use on my stamps for the above reason...I was unmounting thousands of wood-mounted stamps, as well as not mounting a lot of SU sets that only came with sticky foam.
My experience? Well, let me tell you that now I only buy EZMount for my unmounted rubber. The cling has shrunk and I have bowed stamps. It does not cling to my mounting sheets OR my blocks. If I want to use them I have to use adhesive on the cling vinyl.
Thank you so much for your posting your experiences! Did I understand you correctly, that you tested the Grafix cling vinyl and that it did shrink on your unmounted stamps? Or was it from another brand? Or did the foam mounting cushion itself shrink?
And does someone know, whether the sticker sheets within the wood mounted and cling mounted stamp sets of SU are the same? I wonder, whether I could put the adhesive stickers directly onto the foam mounting cushion of my older stamp sets (without the wooden blocks in between).
I have heard of some who put the clear labels from the wood stamps on the sticky foam that comes on the rubber. They then put a very thin layer of Alene's Tack it Over and Over or Tombow Mono Multi on the label. They can put the stamps on the acrylic blocks that way. I haven't tried that, either.
I'm with you on being able to see the sentiments...backwards! But my suggestion is in a totally different direction...
What I did was stamp an index sheet to match the sheet that I have all my stamps stuck to. If you put that behind your storage sheet back to back, and you always mount your stamps in the same place on the storage sheet, then you only have to look at the stamped index sheet and grab the stamp that is mounted behind it.
This might be the best way to go. I have a master index in a notebook, but making a second index sheet to keep with my stamps will help. And it won't lead to future problems from attaching something to the stamp.
I have heard of some who put the clear labels from the wood stamps on the sticky foam that comes on the rubber. They then put a very thin layer of Alene's Tack it Over and Over or Tombow Mono Multi on the label. They can put the stamps on the acrylic blocks that way. I haven't tried that, either.
I have heard of some who put the clear labels from the wood stamps on the sticky foam that comes on the rubber. They then put a very thin layer of Alene's Tack it Over and Over or Tombow Mono Multi on the label. They can put the stamps on the acrylic blocks that way. I haven't tried that, either.
I have tried that and totally loved it initially, then totally hated it after a short time. The stickers became brittle and stuck to the block when I pulled the stamp off, sometimes partially and sometimes the whole thing, so I had nekkid rubber again. I never bothered with stickers after that - just put 2-way glue on the rubber and left it alone, which is what I still do.
I've also never been happy with any of the vinyls I've tried - varying degrees of "sticky", kind of a mess to work with - waaaay more trouble than it's worth, in my opinion. I'm considering going the Tack'n'Peel route, myself...
I have tried that and totally loved it initially, then totally hated it after a short time. The stickers became brittle and stuck to the block when I pulled the stamp off, sometimes partially and sometimes the whole thing, so I had nekkid rubber again. I never bothered with stickers after that - just put 2-way glue on the rubber and left it alone, which is what I still do.
So the SU stickers became brittle? Or were they from another brand?
Sue...I think the tack n peel will be my next choice. Because if I have to have more space, the foam goes and I go naked. I will have to figure out new storage that way, though.
My space allotment doesn't ever change. I just have to fit more in the same space! Ha!
If I go to TNP I'll just remove the glue from my stamps as I use them and put them back on the same storage sheets that they're already on with some double-stick tape. No need to reinvent the wheel...
I have actually used gorilla packing tape. Amazing stuff this is. I pulled some off and lightly put on the back side of my glass mat. I then stamped on the unsticky side with stazon, then I put on the back of the stamp (after cleaning the stamp quite a mess otherwise). After I aligned it on the back of the stamp, I fussy cut off the excess. I gave it some time to really connect to the foam. I thinned out the tack it over and over with 50% water and lightly brushed it over the stamped image. I must strongly stress that Tack it over and over must be thinned out. Otherwise it can rip the foam when you adhered it to the block and pulled away. When it's thinned out it is like the tackiness on a cricut or silhouette mat.
If I have a wooden stamp block, I heat up the foam/stamp side and lightly pull it off. Then I heat up the plastic image side on the block and pull it off. I do the same thing as above and marry the stamp and the plastic side and then use my 50% tack it over and over. I love how it works.
My old eyes mostly having trouble with the small, backwards red on red text on my sentiment stamps..
I have to laugh- DH bought me a really nice magnifying lighted mirror YEARS ago (when I used to still wear make-up?) and currently it lives in the craft room for reading unmounted stamps. Magnified & lighted- it's PERFECT!
I'm one who also makes an index sheet and keeps the cling mounted stamps on/with their index sheet. Nothing really seems to work well on the actual cling stamps.
I've been storing my unmounted rubber stamps that started off as just a sheet of rubber in one side of a binder with the index sheet facing them on the opposite side of the binder for years. It just made sense to me to do it that way. I get most of my stamps from Club Scrap (I've been a member for 15 years) and they sell stamps this way which makes them very economical, although they started out with wood block stamps.
I prepare the stamps by cutting out each image and then when they are all cut out, painting glue on the back that is Aleene's Tack it over and over diluted in half with water. When they are dry I put them on a sheet of Grafix Dura-lar and slide that into a page protector. I slide the index sheet into another page protector on the opposite side.
Melissa-
I hear that about "reading" stamps-esp the red ones, in small font. It is getting much harder year over year. Esp this time of year with the extended twilight time when the light just is bad.
I do an index too. Where the cling/clear stamps are stored, there is an index page of light CS-I use the index image that comes with it here or stamp it on computer paper, cut it out and scotch tape it. Again, for ease. If I decide to let go of a stamp, I can peel off that index and not cut up the CS or cross it out. I used to cross out and I dont like it visually.
I do not index stamp on both sides of the CS. I keep them separate b/c if I have to re-org it makes it a million times easier. I can just pull the index page with the cling page and move it as binders hold different topics which might grow over time. (So each cling page has 2 index CS pages-one for each side which I can pull and move like a sandwich)
What I like about that is rubber isnt facing rubber either in storage. Some red stamps "bleed" color over time-maybe in the heat of summer? I see it on the index CS and while it does not seem like it would hurt an image, I would not want that for my grey or clear stamps.
Shucks. That second vid looked promising for unmounting wood stamps or even some cling that does not come with an index. I am sorry to hear the vinyl shrunk-thank you Fionna for that heads up! Yikes on doing hundreds to have that result. :( I wonder if there is a way to "pre-shrink" the vinyl before doing it? Heat gun it a bit?
My question about that is placement. I already have problems with wood block where the index is not in exact alignment with the stamp. Since I will never remember this unless I write on the block, which I am loathe to do, I have to test stamp all the time. (moving the index on the block scares me) This way seems to be pretty accurate though-maybe only 1/16th off if at all? Is that right?
I do an index too. Where the cling/clear stamps are stored, there is an index page of light CS-I use the index image that comes with it here or stamp it on computer paper, cut it out and scotch tape it. Again, for ease. If I decide to let go of a stamp, I can peel off that index and not cut up the CS or cross it out. I used to cross out and I dont like it visually.
. . .
My question about that is placement. I already have problems with wood block where the index is not in exact alignment with the stamp. Since I will never remember this unless I write on the block, which I am loathe to do, I have to test stamp all the time. (moving the index on the block scares me) This way seems to be pretty accurate though-maybe only 1/16th off if at all? Is that right?
My index is cardstock, cut to fit in page protectors that I have in a 2" binder. Most stamps are filed away in baseball card protector sheets. Some of the larger ones are in pages designed for two 5"x7" photo. I've filed these by category. I also have a section for sets, where I've stamped all the images on one large piece of cardstock and stored them in a 5"x7" or 8"x10" photo page protector. I don't have a fraction of the stamps that many other SCS members have. And still, it was a very time-consuming process. But now that it's done, it makes my life so much easier. Now, all I have to do is stamp images of any new stamps and tuck them in the page protectors.
As for the misalignment of unmounted stamps ... I too have some of those. Mine aren't just off by 1/16". I have some that are mounted upside down! Still, I like my wood mount stamps with their pretty attached images. The idea of separating the rubber from the wood makes me shudder. I might feel differently one day but for now my rubber and wood are staying as one.
I have several pages of unmounted sentiments. I have been remiss in updating my index pages, but now I feel no guilt! I'm just going to put a small mirror nearby to allow me to "read backwards!" Thanks for the terrific tip.
I have several pages of unmounted sentiments. I have been remiss in updating my index pages, but now I feel no guilt! I'm just going to put a small mirror nearby to allow me to "read backwards!" Thanks for the terrific tip.
I've also got a small battery operated lighted magnifying mirror- having the magnification & light makes it a snap to read those little red sentiments!
Bev Adams has a Youtube video on how to mount the stickers in the correct location on a stamp. She uses a Stamp-a-ma-jig. I haven't watched the video in awhile, but I think you could probably figure out how to use a MISTI to do the same technique.
When I first uncounted rubber stamps, I used the Alene's Tack It. Maybe it is because I didn,t thin the flu or maybe because I live in a humid environment but it got really messy on the stamps and blocks. I have also had the SU final image shrink and curl the stamps. I hope to find a good solution. I may try the cling vinyl/tissue paper on one set and see how it goes. I hav also done the index images in the storage cases but that does not help when stamping.
Sticky labels for unmounted stamps
I would even love to finde a cling vinyl that can be printed on with a laser printer. 
