So besides being a total Ribbon-a-holic, I am a sucker for stamps. All stamps. Clear, Cling and good old fashioned rubber. My collection got so large that I HAD to go unmounted just to try to save space-plus with the addition of clear stamps there was no good way for me to store them all together until I put them in binders.
Not only did this save a tremendous amount of room it also made finding just the right stamp SOOOO much easier! Now All My birthday stamps are in one spot- no more having to remember that there was a sentiment I liked in set A and an image I wanted to use from set B.
All like images are stored together. Everything that says Happy Birthday on one page (well, ok... 3 pages...) All cake images on another etc...
I find I use my stamps much more and even found some new favorites that I had completely forgotten about. And its much easier for friends who come scrap with me to find stuff too!
SO here are my binders... I needed to split my fauna binder in 2 as one binder is almost completely full of various bird images, and I just haven't had time to decorate it yet.
And here you can see one of my pages of owl stamps as an example of what a typical page looks like. The stamps are adhered to an overhead transparency and slid into a page protector. Then I added a plain white piece of cardstock so the pages didn't "bleed" together. The clear and cling stamps stick naturally to the transparency. For the rubber stamps if they came mounted on wood blocks I heated them in the microwave for a few seconds to heat the glue-then just pulled the rubber off the foam and block. I then painted a little Aileen's Tack it Over and Over adhesive that forms a temporary bond that works perfectly for this application. A bottle runs about $4 and I'm still on my first bottle after un-mounting hundreds of stamps.
So there you have it my take on unmounted stamp storage!
Not only did this save a tremendous amount of room it also made finding just the right stamp SOOOO much easier! Now All My birthday stamps are in one spot- no more having to remember that there was a sentiment I liked in set A and an image I wanted to use from set B.
All like images are stored together. Everything that says Happy Birthday on one page (well, ok... 3 pages...) All cake images on another etc...
I find I use my stamps much more and even found some new favorites that I had completely forgotten about. And its much easier for friends who come scrap with me to find stuff too!
SO here are my binders... I needed to split my fauna binder in 2 as one binder is almost completely full of various bird images, and I just haven't had time to decorate it yet.
And here you can see one of my pages of owl stamps as an example of what a typical page looks like. The stamps are adhered to an overhead transparency and slid into a page protector. Then I added a plain white piece of cardstock so the pages didn't "bleed" together. The clear and cling stamps stick naturally to the transparency. For the rubber stamps if they came mounted on wood blocks I heated them in the microwave for a few seconds to heat the glue-then just pulled the rubber off the foam and block. I then painted a little Aileen's Tack it Over and Over adhesive that forms a temporary bond that works perfectly for this application. A bottle runs about $4 and I'm still on my first bottle after un-mounting hundreds of stamps.
So there you have it my take on unmounted stamp storage!
June 20, 2008 at 11:14 PM
holy cow - are those ALL owls!? I collect giraffes but only have about 5 giraffe stamps.
Love the binders idea. I have been debating unmounting some stamps myself. If I do, I think I'll steal your method.
June 23, 2008 at 8:42 PM
I'm also a UM stamper and have enjoyed finding your blog today and reading through it. :) Thanks for sharing your creativity and organisational ideas with us!!!! I just wanted to share about storing UM stamps on transparencies -- don't!!!! According to Sunday International's website, the acetate in a transparency will form a permanent chemical bond with the cling side of EZ Mount over time. They even have a pic sent in by a customer who had her EZ Mount irreparably damaged after just one week of being stored on a transparency. Other clear film type products that contain mylar and not acetate are all right, tho; laminating sheets are supposed to be fine, for example, and most page protectors have mylar and no acetate. Just wanted to pass this info on to you -- I'm not affiliated with any company, and this info applies only to EZ mount and not photopolymer or vinyl stamps as far as I am aware. Cheers and happy stamping!