Unmounting Stamps

I have had a few requests to post how I unmount my stamps so I thought I would repost the information today.

This was original aired *okie laughs at sounding like she is on tv* in October last year.

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I decided this weekend I would get the rest of my stamps unmounted and put in the Stampin Up Stamp Cases I ordered from Stampin Up. I didn't decide this until Friday night, and I didn't finish until Saturday night! WHEW talk about a job! But it was totally worth it. I got 10 sets of Stampin Up stamps to fit in 3 DVD cases.

Now I knew if I posted about doing this you guys would be hollering "hey okie we need pictures!" so in my foresight I took pictures! Okay everyone say "YYEEAHHH OKIEEEEE!"....I can't hear you! *okie puts one hand behind her ear and waves up with her other arm to get the people cheering*. That was much better!!

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.

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!





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 Stampin Up Stamp Cases! A few of the sets were smaller ones but at least half were the large sets.


Well now you guys see why I didn't post this weekend! Oh I know you are thinking "okay so what did you do all day today!" I worked on my Naughty Princess card set that will start tomorrow!