Unmounting Stamps - Revisited

I have had a lot of interest in the last few days about how I unmount my stamps. I have posted the link to the post on my blog where I showed pictures and went through how I do this process but since getting a few more inquiries I thought this post was worth revisiting. I did do a little editing to the original tutorial.

Also, tonight is the deadline for the ProMarker giveaway! If you feel you didn't answer all the questions correctly that is okay, I said semi-correctly. For those who feel like I made you jump through hoops this time...oh well. I just thought it would be something different to do and since it was a bit of a bigger giveaway I did think it deserved a little more effort. I will never tell you that you have to post about my blog on a whole bunch of different places nor will I tell you that you have to follow my blog *okie is still in awe that people think they NEED blog followers since it kinda freaks okie out that 1,700+ are following her and is always concerned about making a wrong turn and getting everyone lost*.

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I got the static cling foam on eBay from a seller named 941nmb and I got the product quickly. The seller did combine shipping. I ordered 7 sheets and I now only have 1/2 sheet left. I believe the foam is about 1/8 of an inch thick, if that thick.

1. In order to save on foam I laid out a sheet of foam and then arranged my stamps to maximize usage of the product *okie thinks she sounded very professional just then*. Okay, let's break it down, ya'll know I am cheap and I am gonna find the best way I can to get the most out of anything! HA HA HA












2. Here you can see where I stamped the images with Stazon ink. I used Stazon so it would be permanent and not rub off. I left the stamps on the foam as I was stamping so I could get them positioned where they were originally. I did sometimes have to move a stamp or two so I could get an image stamped.











3. I unmounted my stamps by peeling them off the blocks and foam. Usually the foam stayed on the block and I was just able to peel the stamp off the foam. If you have problems you can stick the stamp in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen up the adhesive. Luckily I didn't have any problems and mine come off pretty easy. Some of the older ones took a little bit more elbow grease but it wasn't bad.





4. I lined up the image on the foam by holding it up to the light. I actually had the stamped side toward the light and the stamp facing me. I thought about trying to find my little light table thing I have but I was too lazy to go look for it. The good thing about the foam is that it takes a few hours for it to become permanent so if you don't get it straight the first time *okie thinks...or the first four times* don't worry, you can just pull the stamp up and reposition.











5. After trimming the foam on a few I noticed my scissors were getting sticky and I go the Undu out and cleaned them off. I decided to use the little device shown in the picture to get rid of the sticky and it made it a lot easier to trim the stamp. I can't remember the name of the thing, but it has talcum powder in it.







6. Next I trimmed right next to the stamped image. The foam cuts very easily. I was using big scissors at first but then went to using my Cutterbee's because I could get in the corners a lot easier on some of the stamps.








7. TADA! *okie throws her hands in the air like she just did the most fabulous magic trick* And this is what you end up with after you get the stamp stamped on the foam, unmounted from the block, positioned on the foam and then trimmed! A nice little stamp that takes up about 1/4 of the room you were using before!


You may have to rinse or wipe off the stamp after you do this because the powder keeps the stamp from sticking to the DVD case.





8. Now you can see why I unmounted my stamps! What you see in the picture is actually space saving proof. All 10 sets of the stamps fit in 3 DVD cases! A few of the sets were smaller ones but at least half were the large sets.








Stampin Up is offering many of their stamps in the "clear" form now that is how I order mine when possible. Those I leave on their original foam. If you do some rearranging of the stamps you can often get two sets in one case. I just line them up where I can fit more in, this way it saves on storage as well. But I do not store on both sides of the DVD case if the stamps are on the original Stampin Up foam.

If the stamps are a new wood mount set I take them off their original foam since it is thicker than what I use for the rest and it allows me to use both sides of the DVD case this way. Here you can see how they stamps don't come in to contact with one another with the case closed.

I have my sets on a shelf in my craftroom *okie thinks that was stupid to say because where else would she keep them? The bathroom?* I have the DVD crates from Walmart standing up and slide them in there. Stampin Up sells the DVD cases for $4.95 for a set of 4. If you are interested in ordering cases and don't have a Stampin Up demo just let me know and I will gladly refer you to a demo I do business with quite frequently.