Stamping, because I like it…

I have a lot of stamps and a couple of days ago I had a mass re-sort of specifically my rubber stamps and while I was doing so I also did some, for want of a better word, stamp maintennance.

Quite a lot of my stamps are the vulcanised (grey) rubber stamps that do not come with a method of sticking them to a block. There are three methods that I regularly use to attach them to my rocker blocks which is what I am going to chat about now.

1.) Glue – cheap simple and effective. Personally I use Bostick, but you are looking for any general glue stick such as a Pritt stick. The not-so-great aspect with using a glue stick is that it makes your blocks sticky and you also run the risk of making the stamp lie unevenly on the block if you have a glue build-up. The other main disadvantage is that you have to reapply the glue every time.

2.) Stick and Spray – Sourced by Crafers Companion, this is a temporary and repositionable adhesive, so you spray the back of the stamp, leave it for about 30 seconds and then you can attach it to a block. The advantage of this method is that it doesn’t leave a residue on the block and it stays sticky for several applictions. The disadvantage is that it will stick to other stamps (though not so much that you cant just peel them apart) and stopping to spray is annoying in that it kind of goes everywhere. However I have just gone through and sprayed all of mine that dont have method three, but rather than leaving them loose I have stuck them all to acetate sheets both to aid filing and organisation but also so that they are hopefully ready to transfer to a block without further fuss – I may post an update about this later when I have some idea of how many times I can move the stamp.

3.) Adhesive foam – I am not sure what the proper name for this is and I can’t be bothered to look it up (sloppy, I know) but this is a foam backing that you attach to the back of your stamp turning it into a ‘Cling’ rubber stamp. This does have advantages in that your stamp will now cling without any further ado, however this will also bulk out your stamps a lot so storage will become a greater issue. As a side note to anyone who wants to try this method, there are several opinions about the best way to actually attach the foam in terms of whether to cut the stamp first etc. So, my experience is that if you do not cut the stamp out first you will potentially waste quite a lot of the foam in the dead spaces, however I would also recommend that if you are cutting them out first, leave a large enough gap (where possible) to cut around again after you have attached the foam. The reason for this is that if the area of your foam is greater than the area of your stamp, the edges of your stamp will pick up your ink and become an unwanted stamp line in an unfortunate place. Fortunately vulcanised rubber can be cut very close to the image without damaging your stamp; just be aware when you are cutting that the raised stamp lines can get caught and damaged by scissor blades if you are using the deepest part of the blades to make your cuts. When you are cutting the stamp and the foam together, keep the edge as clean and straight as you can; ideally with no foam or rubber peeping out from behind or in front – if you have a professionally cling mounted stamp use it as a model, the Heartfelt Creations stamps are particulary good for this as you can clearly see where the rubber ends and the foam begins.

I generally use foam for images I use a lot and then I have two sets of blocks; one set that I use with glued stamps and one set that I use with the clean methods. The reason for this is that the cling stamps and stick and spray will not stick to a glue residue, neither will acryllic stamps.

That is all!

Thank you for listening!