MOUNTING RUBBER STAMPS

TEMPORARY MOUNTING ON ACRYLIC

CLING FOAM CUSHION
The most popular method for using unmounted rubber stamps is to mount the stamp on a foam cushion that is treated with vinyl cling on one side. This is not the same as the double sticky foam cushion that stampers used to apply sheets of sign vinyl to, outlined later on this page. The cling is stronger, lasts longer, and doesn't shrink over time. Stamps on Cling Cushion can be mounted again and again on acrylic mounts and stored on plastic 3-ring binder storage pages or laminated matboard. You can either apply a whole sheet of Cling Cushion to an unmounted sheet of stamps and trim them together or cut out your unmounted stamps first and trim cushion to fit. Be careful not to cut your foam cushion smaller than your stamp. It's better to have it be a little larger if you can't match it up exactly. We have more instructions on using Cling Cushion on our mounting supply shopping page. Cling cushion works best and adheres to mounts stronger the larger the stamp is. Blockheads prefers leaving very small stamps with no cushion and using them with Tack N Peel, described below.

Pink Cat Studio has put a nice video on You Tube showing the different storage methods for stamps on cling cushion and completely unmounted rubber. You can view that here. We carry the stamps she displays in that video.

TACK N PEEL
You can view this product on our Tack N Peel Page. This is the latest widely used product for using unmounted stamps. You permanently cover a set of mounts with the tacky gel tape, which can be rejuvinated with soap and water. Then just apply your unmounted (with no cushion) rubber stamp to the appropriately sized mount. Be sure to store your mounts with the plastic cover that comes with Tack N Peel so your mounts don't get stuck together. Tack N Peel can adhere very strongly to large non-porous items like other mounts. Blockheads is particularly fond of using this product with smaller stamps, like alphabet sets.

REPOSITIONAL ADHESIVE
This method is no longer very popular. The development of new products provide solutions that stampers seem to like better. This method involves applying repositional adhesive to the backs of the dies so they can be mounted again and again on acrylic mounts and stored on plastic 3-ring binder storage pages or laminated matboard. Some repositional adhesive is more tacky than others. We sell an easy to use 2-in-1 Glue Marker. If you make a single application as thick as the marker allows you and then let it dry, it is the perfect tackiness to really hold the largest die to an acrylic mount. There are also many glue pens, markers and sticks that leave a 3M Post-it type of tackiness when dry. Aleene's also tells a Tack It Over & Over glue that is designed for appliqué and works well to temporarily adhere rubber dies to acrylic mounts.

STEPS FOR USING REPOSITIONAL ADHESIVE

1. Cut out your stamp

Using sharp scissors such as KAI Scissors, trim your rubber stamp about 1/8" away from the outside line, taking care not to damage the image. The greater the height of the image from the background, the less likely an edge around the image will cause background printing while stamping. There are cases in which you may even need to trim in the center of the image, as shown, to avoid getting shadows in your image. This is particularly true of stamps that are not deeply etched and/or have large blank spaces in them

2. Apply Repositional Adhesive

Apply any 2-in-1 glue or Aleene's Tack It Over & Over to the back of your unmounted die. Let it dry until clear. To remove repositional adhesive, dab with rubbing alcohol, rub and rinse.

3. Mount your stamp to your acrylic block

Apply your die directly to your acrylic mount. When finished stamping, clean it right on the mount or drop it into plain or soapy water. Most repositional adhesives do not wash off easily in soapy water.

VINYL CLING METHOD - Different from Cling Cushion
This is really a very undesirable method in Blockheads opinion. This method uses clear plastic sheets of vinyl cling, double-sided adhesive foam cushion and acrylic mounts. The idea is that the vinyl cling sheet will adhere to the acrylic mount, but it really doesn't adhere very well. Some users of Stampin' Up have used this method for years becasue those stamps already come with adhesive cushion on them. Instead of using this method, we recommend using the Thin Cling Cushion along with the existing cushion that comes on the samps for a much strong cling than any vinyl sheet product can provide.

OTHER METHODS OF TEMPORARY MOUNTING
Some people like to use double-sided poster tape to temporarily adhere rubber dies to acrylic mounts. The tape is normally applied directly to the mount and reused with different stamps until it loses its tackiness. Poster tape is less tacky than other tapes and will not stick to your mounts when you try to remove them.
Other people are happy with the quick results obtained by temporarily adhering a rubber die to an acrylic mount with craft glue stick. It washes off the mount and the die with water and seems to provide a pretty good temporary adhesion.

PERMANENT MOUNTING ON WOOD

You'll need sharp scissors, rubber stamp cushion (optional* but usually advised), rubber cement unless your cushion is self-adhesive on both sides, and a mounting block. Cushioning comes either without adhesive, with self-adhesive on one side, or with self-adhesive on both sides.

If you plan to image index your wooden block, you can either try to stamp the block before you mount the stamp or wait until after mounting and stamp onto an adhesive label.

1. Cut out your stamp

If your rubber die did not come trimmed closely to the image, cut the image out as described in step 1 for temporarily mounting on acrylic.

2. Attach your trimmed stamp to the cushion (if using a cushion)

If you're using a cushion that is self adhesive on both sides, peel back the protective paper on one side and apply the trimmed rubber stamp to the backing. If you are using a cushion that is adhesive on one side, save the adhesive side for mounting to the block. To attach your rubber stamp to the non-adhesive cushion or the dry side of a single-side adhesive cushion use rubber cement. Apply a coat of rubber cement to the back of your stamp as well as to the cushion (dry side for single-side adhesive cushion). Wait a few seconds until the cement is cloudy before pressing the two cemented sides together. This will help immediate adherence.

3. Trim the cushion (if using a cushion)

If you are using double-sided adhesive cushion, sprinkle and spread baby powder on the exposed adhesive around your stamp to prevent gumming up your scissors as badly. Cut the cushion as close to the attached rubber stamp as possible. It is not as important that you cut out all the small indentations on the cushion as it is on the rubber stamp.

4. Apply stamp to mount

If you are using self-adhesive cushion, peel away the protective layer on the back of the cushion and apply directly to the mount. If you are using non-adhesive cushion, apply rubber cement to the foam side of your stamp and to the side of the mount where you plan to attach the rubber stamp. Let it dry just until the initial shine from the cement has faded. Press your stamp, foam side down to your wooden mount.

Rubber Cutting Tips:

Kai scissors are the rubber stamper's scissors of choice. We carry them on our mounting supplies page.

Hold your scissors perpendicular when cutting. You do not want to the cut the rubber at an angle if you can help it.

Draw an image on some scrap rubber to trim around until you've gotten the hang of it. If you place an order with us you can ask for some scrap rubber.

You'll find that once the rubber is cut, it is very hard to go in and trim off small amounts. You really need to be cutting away 1/8" or more in order for the scissors to get hold.

Cutting curves as shown to the left looks nicer, but increases the likelihood of cutting your rubber at an angle. It's OK to cut many straight lines instead of a long curved line.

To get started cutting inside an image, fold the rubber and make a small snip to create a hole. Be certain you are not cutting the image.

Do I need a cushion between my rubber stamp and acrylic mount?
Cushioning rubber stamps on wood mounts is beneficial because wood warps with age and the cushion helps provide a clean image, even with a slightly warped (not visible to the eye) wood mount. Acrylic mounts are perfectly flat and do not warp. Only when using larger stamps (3.5" x 3.5" or larger) is there any benefit to a cushion. Placing a piece of 39 cent fun foam under your card stock provides as much cushion as you'll need using acrylic mounts.

* Do I need a cushion between my rubber stamp and wooden mount?
Small images may not need a cushion between the mount and the rubber. Because wood blocks may warp over time, making it very difficult to get a clean, even image without the cushion it is highly advisable that a cushion is used between any rubber stamp over 1" x 1" that is going to be mounted on wood.