the trouble with rubber...

Today was BEAUTIFUL!  

It was the perfect weather to spend time hiking with my camera. *sigh* Happy day!!!

ok.. on to  a quick trick that can make rubberstamping easier. 

 Two top reasons why I usually buy clear stamps over rubber..

1. space. (I can store a ton of clear stamps in cd cases and take up less room than a hand full of wood mounted rubber stamps. 

2. I can see what I'm doing. With the rubber stamps, I can't see exactly where I'm stamping, and even more frustrating, I always seem to end up stamping crooked. 

However, there are TONS of fabulous rubber stamps out there!  Many companies have started selling "cling mounted" rubber stamps with the image printed on the back. This takes care of both problems. However, what do you do with the stamps you already have, the unmounted stamps, or the stamps that don't come any way but wood mounted? 

 Well, I start by taking the rubber off the wood mount. (stick it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm the glue, then peel it off.)   This will take care of the space issue, but it doesn't help with the alinement issue. 

SO, here's my trick...

 Step 1: stamp your image onto a clear transparency using StazOn ink.

 Step 2: glue the image onto the back of the rubber stamp, and trim off the excess. The most important part of this, is that you want to position the image on the back in as exactly the same position as the image on the front as possible. This will allow you to know exactly where you are stamping, and know if you are crooked or not.

Step 3: now, apply a thin layer of temporary adhesive (I like Aleene's Tack-It Over & Over) over the transparency. This will allow you to use your clear blocks with these, as well as make it possible to store them the same why you store your clings and clear stamps.

This can be a long process if you have a lot of rubber stamps, but it has really helped me out. Sometimes I do a batch while watching TV, other times, I just do individual ones as I am about to use that image.

So, any one have great ideas for using the stack of wooden stamp blocks I have laying around? =)

Enjoy!

~Kassi