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hello. new to the community. I've been a stamper for sometime, but took a nice long break. close to 7 years. I'm feeling that urge to start working again. Life has slowed down a bit where I can create again.
So, I pulled out my UMs stored in binders and I was pretty bummed to find out that the cling isn't working on them any more. And I've invested a lot of money in these so I'm really sad. I've searched the boards and did the suggestions about washing the stamps and the blocks. They had been stored, up right, in binders, but I did it anyways. And they're still not sticking. I only bought my EZM from the conventions, directly from Sunday Int. So, I contacted them and left a message. Hopefully, they'll have an answer.
Now I also use the Halos system. EZM came in as a new thing for me. So, most of my stuff is on the Halos. And those have absolutely no issues with them. I think I'll be ordering more Halos and forgetting the EZ mount. But, until I can really afford to change all the cling to Halos, I need an alternative. I've been reading about the Tack n Peel. It sounds pretty pricey for $10 for 1 4 x 6 piece. That's more expensive than a block. Is it worth it? I can't figure out how one would store their blocks. So I'd love to hear suggestions on that if you got'em.!
Or how about the Double Stick tape. I know people use to do that. It's been 7 years since I've stamped. What is everyone using for the double stick? Any new finds???
It sounds like you may have stored your clings on acetate which removes the sticky. I have a friend who put tack and peel on a few of her blocks and they work well for her. I wouldn't recommend double sided sticky tape, I used it on one of my blocks and could not get it off.
I have them stored on two different things. The pages from Sunday Int. and also on laminated sheets. I have stamps losing cling from both. So, it's not just from one type.
I think acetate is the one for the clear stamps right? If not what are they?
Not all clear plastic is technically acetate, but the theory is that actual acetate will cause a reaction with the foam in EZ moun. From what I understand, that actually causes them to permanently fuse together. I haven't heard of it losing the sticky.
I am just now embarking on the journey of unmounting my stamps. I have three sets done, woo hoo! But clearly I am no expert. All I can tell you is that EZ Mount seemed expensive for my current budget. I liked the Tack and Peel idea and even purchased a few sheets but couldn't come up with a solution I liked for storing the (not sticky) stamps. I have see. Where people use the trading card style (9 pocket) binder inserts. One stamp goes in each along with a card stock index page so you can see the image. If you stamp an index shed you could also theoretically use a cd or DVD case and just let the stamps rattle around in there.
My current choice is to use Aleen's Tack It Over and Over. You do have to paint it on each stamp but it is not expensive and a little goes a long way. I personally add a drop or two of water to my glue and make sure I paint on a very thing layer - it seems to work so far. You could either strip yours down to pare rubber, try painting the glue over the existing EZ Mount, or stamp the image on tissue paper and put that between the foam and the glue.
Just remember to let it dry fully so it is clear and tacky before sticking the stamp to anything.
Sorry for the long post. You can also search here and google for unmounting techniques. Good luck!
Thanks for the tip on Aleens. I'll look into that for sure. And no worries I can completely understood what you mean!
I'm getting that urge to just buy and get everything reorganized. But, I know that'll get me into trouble! Stamp convention is coming her next month. Maybe I should wait for the show and she what they have. hmmmmmmmm
I keep asking people who use tack n peel how they store the actual rubber stamps and never get an answer. Hopefully you can help me out!
Because in my mind, if they're not attached in some way to a a surface, they're in a big pile in a box somewhere, lol!
I like the idea of tack n peel, but can't envision an organized way of keeping them stored when not in use!
Quote:
Originally Posted by gale
I use tack n peel. LOVE it. It comes with plastic overlays so I just keep those on it to store. I write on them though, otherwise it's easy to lose them (they disappear on my table because they're crystal clear).
Thank you!! I think I'll head out to Joanns and give this a try. I mean I can buy one for now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gale
I use tack n peel. LOVE it. It comes with plastic overlays so I just keep those on it to store. I write on them though, otherwise it's easy to lose them (they disappear on my table because they're crystal clear).
Are you asking how to store your UMs? If there's no foam backing to them, I'd simply store them similar to how I am now, in binders, but using the little pockets for Trading Cards, Photos, etc.. that you can buy a pack at office depot. You could even stamp out the image and place it in the pocket too.
I think you could even put them in little envelope pockets, the way they have them at stamp conventions, with little tabs and lay them in an index style.
Or is it something else?
Quote:
Originally Posted by fionna51
You took the words right out of my mouth, Katarina. I wish someone would share how they store the rubber too!
Thank you for your reply Gale! I use CD cases for a lot of my clear stamps now, and am not very happy with them.
I like the pocket idea in binders, but I'm thinking it would be a pain to slide a rubber stamp into one of those ATC or trading card sized pockets. Rubber doesn't slide very easily, I'm thinking.
I'm still looking for an alternative to my UM storage now and just haven't discovered the 'right' storage for me yet.
If anyone else that uses Tack n Peel could share their storage systems, I'd love to hear!
I store mine on acrylic sheets. You can get them pre-cut at Lowes or they'll cut a sheet down for you. Mine are 8 1/2 x 11. My stamps have the foam mounting (either from SU or I use EZ Mount for others). The image is on the mount and I spread a thin coating of Aileen's Tack It Over and Over on the mount because SU images don't stick to the block for me.
I stick the stamps on the acrylic sheets and put them in file folders. I have them arranged by type (Christmas, Floral, Flourish, Birthday, Sympathy/Thinking of You etc).
I put these folders in those bins with the slanted sides like: (http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/02...03_300X300.jpg ) They are easy to go through to find the stamp I want. Sometimes a stamp will unstick from the sheet but it will stay in the folder or bin so I don't lose them.
I have a couple of blank sheets I use to stick stamps on when I am working because I may do several of one type of card and want to use the same stamps and don't always clean up after I am done (or I clean up when I can't find the top of my table haha). That way I don't lose the stamps and can easily put them back in their folders when I'm finished.
Not sure what I would do with absolutely naked stamps. I LOVE the THIN Cling foam. Store Hundreds of stamps on Laminated Cardstock in heavier page sleeves standing up in a box/basket. Two baskets fit in a box w/handles that used to hold Creative Memories stuff. SO much less bulky than notebooks, and EASY to thumb through.
I suspect that propylene glycol that is in flexible plastics may also leach into the tacky surface of cling foam or stamps, and react w/it. (It's a issue w/many of the pharmaceuticals I deal with).
So far, none have lost tackiness. Will be VERY sad if they do. I have seen some gals use the Tac-N-Peel, but it seemed expensive. Might consider that if they really lose tackiness.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my storage system, and would be glad to share pics.
I haven't lost stickiness, but I now have several stamps that have to be remounted on ezmount because the stupid things fused to the clear sheet they came on and no matter how careful I was, I ended up ripping off half of the foam.
For the tack n peel question. I have one dedicated small block to put the bare rubber stamps on. I store my bare rubber 2 ways. One is the already suggested method of putting them in baseball card sleeves. I stamp the image (or 2 images, sometimes I
put 2 stamps in one pocket when they are small) and then just slip them into the
plastic pocket. I have no problems retrieving them when I want to stamp. I also
used my xyron with the repositionable cartidge and stuck my bare rubber stamps in
a cd case on the repositionable side. I've had mixed results with this method. The
tack n peel saves money on not having to buy the cling foam. I wouldn't want to do
all my stamps this way but it's easy for the smaller stamps. I prefer cling mounted but
I've used the Aileen's tack it over and over too. I used it on my background stamps.
I leave it to dry overnight. It's very important to let it completely dry!! I learned the
hard way.
The boards I'm storing my stamps on are not just cardstock I laminated. Since I was worried about doing that, I ordered stamp storage boards from Sunday International. Trimmed them down just a bit, so they slide into 8.5x11 page sleeves, even when loaded with stamps. I also have about 16 8x8 pages in sleeves that I ordered from www.storemorestamps.com - who seem to be out of business now.
Wish I had a friend nearby to split an order of Thin Foam EZ Mount with even now!
Also, I found it BULKY to store all this in 3 ring notebooks. So, my page sleeves of stamps are all standing in 2 basket/boxes that fit down in a storage box and travel to crops w/me.
FABULOUSLY EASY to flip through the page sleeves and find what I want, or to sit the basket out on my desk at home.
I keep asking people who use tack n peel how they store the actual rubber stamps and never get an answer. Hopefully you can help me out!
Because in my mind, if they're not attached in some way to a a surface, they're in a big pile in a box somewhere, lol!
I like the idea of tack n peel, but can't envision an organized way of keeping them stored when not in use!
Katrina, To make a long story short, the way I store my stamps that are down to the bare rubber is fairly easy! I cut out a 6X6 piece of card stock, stamp each image then I use my hot laminator and laminate that. Then I take poster tape (really just doubled sided tape) and on the other side I place each stamp. Then I place that in CTMH stamp/paper envelope. I tried the tack it over and over and found that it was a long process. I have not regretted un mounting my stamps down to the bare rubber. Before I did this I did a lot of research on here and asked questions too! A lot of people were actually just using good old paper envelopes to store the un mounted stamps. If I can be of any help or you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!
All my rubber is on either EZ mount, or Klingon. I'm finding that on some of my older stamps( I've maybe had them about 10 years) the foam mount almost seems to have shrunk, in that its a little bit smaller than the stamp now, and this means they don't cling to the laminated sheets properly anymore. I'm considering removing all the foam (that'll be a heck of a job) and then using a repositionable adhesive to store them on laminated sheets, still in the binders I use now. Just need to investigate whether repositionable permanently stays that way, or if it eventually becomes permanent. Don't want to find out the hard way!
I absolutely love tac n peel. Here is my organizational solution. I first cut a piece of EZ mount to the size of my acrylic block then on the sticky side of the EZ mount I put tac n peel. I find that tac n peel is not cusshy enough for some stamps and this method allows me to remove the cling from the mount when not needed or when I am using clear stamps. Yes tac n peel is expensive, but i have found it as low as $6.00 in ebay. And by using it on the blocks and not the stamps it really saves.
Yes, tac n peel can be removed from the acrylic blocks when adhered by itself, but then it is trash. I have had one block with TNP for over 5 years and it is discolored,but still works great.
As for organizing my stamps, I use the hub less DVD containers like SU sells, but are sold on amazon. I believe I just paid $80 for a hundred last week. I am up to 600 cases thus far. These cases are much better in my opinion than SU's. I put 2 stripes of elmers repositionable tape down the inside of the case. My Naked rubber sticks to this till needed. I stamp a blank sheet to go into the sleve and another to go into my inventory book. I have been stamping since 1995 and this is by far the best method I have tried.
My daughter thinks I should get rid of them and solve the problem by selling them. When you are an addict how do you learn to say no to that stamp that is calling you to buy it?