I DID IT!!! Totally unmounted
 

Yes, I am shouting it out!! As of last weekend, I am totally unmounted and sooooo happy. I have so much more room that I now have a place for everything and I know where it all is. The unmounting process was a little more time-consuming that I planned on. I started out going at a quick pace, but after a while I slowed down and then felt a little over-whelmed. But, i stuck to it and once I got to the point where I was seeing light at the end of the tunnel, well then nothing could stop me then.

I have now gone from having 1 1/2 shelves (3 feet long) stacked with sets and 2 Iris holders (eight drawers each with single stampes in about 2/3 of the drawers) to having my binders not even fill one shelf. So, I have room to grow and with the way I have my binders set up, there is even room in some of them to grow.

This whole process has been so worth it and I am so glad I did it. I won't even look at wood-mounted stamps again. If only SU would come out with their "Upsy Daisy" unmounted. Maybe next year.

I also took all my rubber stamps off the wood...and YAHOO like you it was the best (very time consumming) thing I have ever done. Lots more room for everything plus the advantage of now stamping on clear blocks all the time and actually always knowing exactly where the stamp is being placed. I have taken all of this a step farther and made up binders with all my stamp sets so now I just pull them out and search for the sets or to see if I have a certain type of design already..LOOVVEE ITTT...

I love to just thumb through my binders too and get some inspiration. So much easier than going thru sets on a shelf or a bunch of mounted stamps in a drawer. Well worth the time (and money)

So which method did you use. I have bought some wood SU stamps (as they were not available in clear) but have not mounted them with the intention of using them as clear. I am wondering what is the best way to use them?

What kind of backing did you use for converting wood mounted stamps to clear mount stamps? I tried something called Tacky something or other and I really don't like it. You have to put it on the acrylic block.

I had some sort of foam type backing that just went on the stamp after removing it from the wood block. I really like this except what I had was generic so there was nothing to let me know what company it came from or what it was called.

When I removed the rubber from the wood mount most of them were still sticky enough to attach to an acrylic block-when they weren't I used Aileen's Tacky Glue.

I am in the process of unmounting too. I take rubber and cushion off the wood, peel the sticker off the block and line it up in the cushion. Then I trim the sticker to the cushion and apply Aileen's Tack It Over and OVer. Using this method, I can buy wood mount sets and just skip the wood. I am verey happy so far!

Great job! I'm about half way through. I've taken a break for the summer but I can't wait to get it done. :)

I used the EZMount foam. The owner of my local stamping store buys it in huge, expensive rolls and cuts it down to about 12x22" and sells for just under $10. I saw an 8.5x11 at Roberts Crafts for $10. Then I use the EZMount mounting boards and I can get a lot of stamps on them. I also stamp each one on cardstock and put that in the binder so it faces opposite of the stamps. They stick really well and I have no problem with them falling out. Then I put them by category or stamp company in a 2" 3 ring binder. Years ago I mounted a few on vinyl and have had to re-do them.

There are less expensive ways, but I really like the foam mount and most of them came off easier if I just pulled the rubber off.

This has been the best thing for me. I love to pull a binder off my shelf and look through the stamps for my next inspiration. To quote an old commercial........"Try it, you'll like it" (just wish I could remember what that was a commercial for. LOL)

I am also in the process of unmounting mine and it is definitely a process. But it is giving me so much more room.

I am another one in the process of unmounting. I am about 3/4 of the way done unmounting, but still have to go through and remount on EZ Mount. I decided to go with the EZ Mount because all of my previous stamps that I bought unmounted were already on EZ Mount and for some reason my brain is forcing me into one cohesive system. I like the idea of the TIOAO, but just couldn't bring myself to have half my stamps on EZ Mount and the other half not. Is that a little OCD or what? Can't wait to be done. Congrats to those that made the jump and are done with the transition!

I have unmounted a lot of my stamps over the past few years. Only problem is that the ezmount cushion isn't holding up. (This is the name brand product from Sunday International not the off brand of cushion.) I'm finding that the ezmount from 3 years ago is shrinking a lot. There's almost a 1/8" gap now from the edge of the rubber where the cushion has shrunk back. I am picky about trimming my stamps and the edges were perfectly matched when I cut them out.

So now, I'm thinking I will just leave the rubber bare and use tack n peel on my acrylic blocks as I don't want to have to put new cushion on every few years.

LOL, another OCD'er here. I had to have mine all the same also. Let us know when you are done. I am going to count all of my stamps over the weekend and see just how many I have. It has been years since I last counted. YIKES, might be a scary thing. :oops:

EZ Mount has a lifetime guarantee. I would contact the company about that issue and get replacements. I have had EZ Mount on some of my stamps for years and haven't had any problems.

I just finished up unmounting all my Christmas stamps this evening too! I'm so happy with the amount of space that I've saved! I bought SU! dvd cases and put 2-3 stamp sets per case. Then labeled them with my label maker. I'm so so thrilled with this!!

I started unmounting my stamps a few weeks ago. I have a long way to go but I'm glad I took the plunge!

I have unmounted almost all of my sets & love it! I have my alphas & Christmas yet to do. I left my backgrounds on the wood blocks though. I am curious if everyone else is leaving backgrounds or unmounting those as well. I have them in CD cases. Does anyone have pictures of their binders? I would love to see them!

I will take pictures and try to post them. My binders are nothing fancy, but they work for my way of organizing. I unmounted my backgrounds and am really hoping that wasn't a mistake. I shall have to try them out tonight and make sure they stamp okay. I also am curious on what others did with their background stamps.

I unmounted all of my background stamps. The only stamps I decided not to unmount were my Rubberstamp tapestry stamps, the small ones mounted on round dowel rods, and maybe three or four stamps used to make boxes or bags that has the directions printed on the wood block. The RTS stamps will stay on the dowel rods because they are just so small that I really think it will be easier to use the dowel rods for the stamping. As for the other ones, when I finally get a scanner again I will scan the directions then unmount those stamps as well. The only other stamp I am considering not unmounting is a very large Stampscapes stamp that is approximately 4"x11". Otherwise, everything is or will be unmounted. It is very freeing!

As for storage, I am using the Univenture binders with the EZ Mount Cling Storage boards. I don't have any pictures yet because I am still unmounting and all of my stamps are in envelopes until I am ready to mount on the EZ Mount and Categorize. I plan to take and post pictures when I am done, but at the rate I am moving, it may take a while!

I unmounted all of mine, except my wheels. I use tack and peel on my acrylic blocks and love it. I store all my stamps in folders, smaller ones in trading card sheets larger ones in insertion pockets. I have hundreds of stamps. I try to only buy unmounted now. I find with the tack and peel you don't need to use a mat under the paper/cs you are stamping, nor mounting foam either. The tack and peel has enough cushioning for what I need, and I get clear images every time.

Since I share my paper craft studio with my sewing studio, all crammed into my bedroom, I don't have space for wood at all. I am going to sand the wood back, revarnish it and donate it to a childcare centre.

Do you need to peel the sticky foam off the rubber too? I am finding that if I leave the sticky foam it leaves residue on my acrylic mounting blocks that is then hard to get off.

This isn't my blog but its stamp storage I aspire to - Triple the Scraps: Organizational {Friday} Unmounted Stamp Storage

HTH.

I finally finished unmounting all my Stampin Up stamps and now I am on to the others. I hope to finish them all up by next weekend.

I am just about the start the process of unmounting all my stamps. It is a little overwhelming, but I am going to stick with it as I know it will be worth it in the end.

I felt overwhelmed at times also, but I stuck with it and I am so glad I did. The shelf space and drawers that were freed up when I was done made it so worthwhile. I can now go in and work at my table and know where everything is. I also have room to buy more stamps. :D Keep us posted on your progress.

The product you are looking for is called E-Z-mount, or there is another brand called Kling-on. I think they come in two thicknesses too now. I have it on all my u/m stamps, just put them on the block & away you go- no gluing or cleaning after. I have also used it on the occasional polymer stamp that just doesn't have enough cling- works fine.:)

Thanks, SilverWolf, this is what I was looking for.

I have become SO short on storage and am thinking of unmounting my stamps, but I have a question about the binders. What do you adhere the stamps to when they are stored in the binders?? It seems way cheaper than ordering those clear boxes....

Can EZ mount stop clinging? Any fixes? The stamps came on EZ mount so I guess I would have to take it up with the stamp manufacturer but its a pain ATM.

I've only ever found that e-z mount stops clinging if its got dusty/glitter etc on the back. I wipe over with a babywipe or run under the tap and its fine again.
To Kalakitty, you're welcome, glad I could help:)

I've only ever had my stamps on e-z mount, and that sticks fine to acetate. I don't know how you would get on with them totally unmounted though.:(

here is my favorite Splitcoast thread on unmounting. EZmount sticks forever with a little cleaning and Sunday International (who makes EZmount) sells heavy coated sheets for the binders.

I have SU and other sets in CD cases and individual stamps in binders.

I'm kind of a dummy about what needs to be done to unmount my stamps. I heard some ladies talking about it at a church scrabook night and decided that it was something I wanted to do as well, as my husband would LOVE to have some more space in our office/scrapbook room. I knew I could find information on splitcoast about doing this. So if I mount the stamps on EZ mount, then I will be able to store them in binders?

Badger53186 AND shazsilverwolf-- thank you so much for the info! :-D I will work on finding what i need to get started. Do I have to order ezmount online or does a craft store carry it??

You are not a dummy! that is where we all start. and you will still feel a bit Klutzy until you do a few sets. You get into kind of a rhythm. Another pointer, if you plan to use stazon on the EZMount, that would be a great time to make an index of your stamps if you don't have one!

You can get the best price on EZMount on eBay if you buy 10 sheets or so at a time. I guess it is a better deal if you buy a 100 at a time, but whew! big investment! If there is ever a stamp and scrapbook show in your area, sometimes you can find it there. IMHO, it is a bit pricey at a scrapbook store and I use them as a last resort. They never have it at the big chain stores.

Just to keep you motivated, HERE is a picture of how I store them now. It is great to be able to find a set quickly! I store them in alphabetical order! so easy!

If you search for "unmounting stamps" or "unmounted stamps", you will find enough reading material and varied opinions on method, to keep you reading for hours and hours!

It IS a project but worth it, I think!

Yes, once your stamps are on e-z mount, they will cling to acetate, or laminate.If you own a laminator, or have access to one, you can laminate sheets of paper and then store your stamps on them- it would work out cheaper than buying a lot of sheets of acetate. You can also use this as an indexing, by stamping the image on the sheets before you laminate it, then you can stick the stamps to the other side. I recently posted some pics on my blog of all my binders with u/m's in, and some A5 binders that I stamped all my images into, just for 'Inspirational browsing' lol. The advantage with binders is that you are not restricted by size- I have a lot of u/m's that would not fit into a cd case, and I wanted to use a system that would take care of all my u/m stamps in one place. There are often people on e-bay selling e-z mount, and a number of on-line stores do a multibuy discount too- often for 5 or 10 sheet packs.
The thing I really love about this forum is that everyone is so helpful- there's always someone who knows the answer to a problem, and we all start learning somewhere, and this is the best place I have found to learn from.

Just another quick idea re unmounting. Before you throw all your wood blocks away, keep any smallish ones and make yourself some ink applicators. I stuck the hook side of some Velcro ( the hook & Loop tape) onto the one side of the block, and then bought some squares of felt which I cut to the same size, and now I have cheap applicators for alcohol inks. You can also buy self-adhesive Velcro 'coins' and I stuck some of these to other blocks, and the opposite side of the coins to the back of some Cut & Dry foam I had cut down to fit the blocks. Budget ink applicators!

Yeah, that's been my experience too - these had only been out of their bag once and never used. I gave them a wipe and hope that will sort the problem.

It did remind me if I get my stamps into binders I will definitely be using the Univenture enclosed binders just in case they fall off!

I took the plunge! I started unmounting my SU sets. I did about 13 and it really does feel good. I think I will use them more now because I wont be so overwhelmed. I did purge several sets to sell next Spring too.

I hope to rid my room of this large cabinet AND get a small flat screen tv. I feel overwhelmingly crowded in here.

It will be a Christmas present to me!

Bonnie

unmounted stamps
 

I unmounted all my stamps and used ez mount. Saved so much storage space. Then I kept reading about going totally naked and just using the tack it over and over right on the stamp, no foam. I tried it. I love it, and I am now taking all the foam off. If I had the sticker I'm putting it right on the rubber and adding the tack it. This even saves more
storage space. I have had no problems stamping. Wish I tried it earlier, would have saved
about $300 in ez mount. I love getting even more stamps in the binders! I cant say anything bad about ez mount. But since I like the way it stamps and saves space, I like this better!
Karen

Its wonderful isnt it?

I have been getting the gray foam to stay intact when removing them from the wood. Its going very well.

I had to buy more cd cases. The thicker ones are harder to find but I was able to get some from Staples. 24 cases for $11.99.

So far my investment is small and the benefit of having more room is HUGE!

Bonnie