I know that sounds nuts but that's what I've been doing for the last several days! I am running out of space in a serious way. I have 20+ 3" 3-ring binders filled with stamps that are technically unmounted stamps....rubber stamps mounted on cling foam. I need more because I've got several sets of stamps that are still in their packages because I don't have room on my shelves for more binders.
This stack is only 4 pages of stamps but that's all that fits into a binder. It's about 2.75" - I could technically fit one more page in there but the cover of the binder wouldn't close very well and would press the stamps together which I don't like to do.
So, I've decided to go naked! I'm peeling off all of the cling foam and applying a layer of Aleene's Tack-It Over and Over instead. I had some of this stuff a LONG time ago. It worked great back then but that's about the time Cling Foam came out and it was the beat all and end all for UM stamps. So easy and (at that time) inexpensive....Less fuss, less muss. WELL, have you looked at how much cling foam is now? The price just keeps rising and rising. Even the cheap stuff isn't cheap anymore.
The higher price paired with the space issue got me interested in TO&O again. I did some searching locally and I couldn't find a single store that carried it anymore?!?!?! I thought maybe it had been discontinued but I found a great source on Ebay - actually the best price I could find (with shipping included) and bought 6 bottles of it!
The higher price paired with the space issue got me interested in TO&O again. I did some searching locally and I couldn't find a single store that carried it anymore?!?!?! I thought maybe it had been discontinued but I found a great source on Ebay - actually the best price I could find (with shipping included) and bought 6 bottles of it!
It arrived on Monday afternoon and I've been peeling and gluing stamps ever since!
Here's what you do...Peel off your foam backing and paint a layer of the glue (with a bristle or foam paint brush) and let it dry! That's it, it is so easy!!! Once the glue is clear you can then mount them on page protectors or some other slick surface. When you want to use a stamp simply peel it off of the page protector and stick it to your acrylic block. Once you're done stamping, peel it off the block and stick it back on the pp.
Here is a direct comparison of page for page....The top page is simply a page protector (that holds the stamp index pages inside) with the glued stamps on either side. The bottom page (which holds fewer stamps) is an 8.5x11 stamp board that has cling mounted stamps on either side. As you can see the new UM page takes up FAR less than the cling foam stamps.
And here's my first filled binder of stamps....this binder is holding a full years worth of stamps from Club Scrap - that's 4 sets of stamps a month (and it's got a couple extra "special edition" sets too) for 12 months. It would actually hold more but I only wanted one months worth of stamps per page protector for ease of organization/location. Each page has about 1/2 of it's back page empty so I could actually fit about another 6 months in the binder if I weren't so anal.
That's almost 3 cling foam binders full of stamp in one single 3" 3-ring binder!!! I am so excited!! I still haven't used up the first 4 oz bottle of glue yet either. How cool is that??? Soooo, if you're like me - drowning in stamp binders and you're looking for an inexpensive way out - this is THE way to go. Honestly, I'm thinking I may need to go shopping to fill up some of the soon to be empty binders - LOL!!! Just kidding....I'll hold off until I get all of my UM stamps really UM ;)
Someone asked about how long the glue on the back lasts...It seems to me originally it lasted a really long time. When the sticky goes away you can simply scrape it off the back and apply a new layer and you're set to go for another good while.
Also, a bottle of this glue goes a long way...you only need a very thin coat to work. I have UM all of my CS stamps and STILL have about an inch of glue left in the bottle. That's 2.5 years worth of monthly stamps...about 25-30 sheets of UM Cling foam ($$$$$$) all for the price of (less than) $5.58. You sure can't beat that at least I couldn't find any better deal.
BTW, if you want the name of the e-bay store where I got the glue JLMK - I didn't want anyone to think I was selling glue for her...just a really great deal at a super price :)
I did that too for space saving I sometimes use double sided tape when I'm too lazy to tack them :)
ReplyDeleteIt's well worth it when done
I started buying unmounted stamps without the cling foam because of being cheaper. I use double sided tape but may eventually use the glue. They take up less space for sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us know what you are doing.
Nice work Roni!!
ReplyDeleteI still have a lot of old wood-mounted stamps I haven't unmounted yet. I don't know, I'm just not ready to unmount them yet. I don't think I could ever unmount my cling mount - I love cling mount! I don't buy a lot of new stamps (can't afford it) so I'm not really running out of space.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the title of your post I knew exactly what you were doing!! I never did buy a lot of the cling foam way back when, and have been going the inexpensive route with the Aleene's Tack It Over and Over all along. It definitely makes the space problem a non-problem and I love using it! I just stamp on a foam mat and it works perfectly!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I find that the biggest problem with using the glue is not putting something on top of them while they're drying and ending up having unmounted stamps stuck to everything!! Ha!
ReplyDeleteYou're mad :) .. I know EZ is expensive, but I will never unmount my ez mounted ones. I do use the tacky stuff for new stamps, sometimes I use somethinner EZ... fot the stamps that really need it / are worth it. For instance, I find that especially bold stamps stamp with EZ at the back. I know there are ways to get better stamping with it, even when it's not ez-mounted. I store my EZ/UM tacky stamps in haf-a4 folders- made them with my laminating machine... Now they're sitting in a drawer on brand / alphabetical order. Works great, as I can stick any masks I cut out of post-it paper on the inside as well. I am willing to send you a photo of it.. AND ADDITIONAL< BUT YOU MUST HAVE FIGUREd THIS OUT ALSO : Easier way to get more room is to sell some of your stuff?! HEHE
ReplyDeleteadded to edit ... drawer should read drawers HIHI
DeleteI'm using Club Scrap Mount-It...like forever. To bad I'm using my last bottle now but it doesn't need much. Apply it with a credit card/ hotel key works great.
ReplyDeleteThank you Roni for sharing.
Helena
I am not very experienced with stamps, but how does not having the foam affect the stamped image? I thought it was there to help get a cleaner image? Or it it there just to cushion the actual rubber? I like the space saving idea- and there are less binders to pull out for a project,too,since there are more stamps per binder.Win, Win!
ReplyDeleteOh I so need this stuff! You're a life saver Roni! p.s. Love my dominos just haven't gotten over to etsy to leave a comment. Hugs
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way! I had bought a supply of EZ mount foam way back when and planned on putting it on all my stamps. Icouldn't believe how much space it took up so I stopped using it. NowI have a supply of unused foam. If the price has gone up maybe I should look at selling it. The tacky glue works great, I love it.
ReplyDeleteHey Anne, to get some cushioning when you stamp with plain rubber, just put an old foam mouse pad underneath when you stamp. You can even use a couple magazines or thick fun foam. They do sell a special stamping pad but you can probably find something around your house to use.