Mounting stamps

Uncounted stamps can seem a very daunting prospect if you have never used them before but once you have done a few you'll wonder what you were worried about!! They do take a little time but once they are done it makes the stamp far quicker and easier to use down the track:-)



To begin with you have an unmounted stamp. This one is from Lili of the Valleys new Christmas range. There is only the piece of rubber so in order to use it you need to attach it either to a wooden block to make it like the traditional block mount stamps or to a product called EZ Mount foam so it can cling to the acrylic blocks like a clear stamp.


As you can see the rubber alone is quite thin and very floppy



EZ Mount is specially designed for mounting stamps, it is sticky on on side for you to place the stamp on and the other side has a coating that enables it to cling to the acrylic block.



Place the stamp onto the sticky side with the image facing up



I usually do several stamps all in one go (excuse how dark this image has come out)



You then need to cut around the edge of the stamp taking care not to cut off any of the image but also not to leave large bare areas as they often pick the ink up off the pad and leave unsightly borders when you stamp the image. I also use some fine sandpaper around the edges to smooth off any rough parts, this part is entirely optional:-) Your stamp is now all ready to go:-)