Going Unmounted!

Yep, that's right, folks! I am unmounting all my wood-mount stamps! I decided that it just took up too much room, and I could never find what I needed (and sometimes didn't even know what I had!) With SU offering unmounted now, I knew that I wanted to convert all my old stamps. You would not believe how much space I'm saving, and how organized they all are now!
Here's the "before" pile of clam shell boxes and wood blocks (I didn't really store them in the corner on the floor like this....it's just where I've dumped the blocks and cases after I took the rubber off):


And here's how they look now! I am not done yet, but this is what I've done so far. I can fit 2 to 3 sets per case! Next I need to make nice labels for them.


Here's how I did it....First of all, I stamped the image (still on the wood block) using Staz-On black ink onto the cling side of EZ Mount foam. Then I cut around the image, not too close. Here's a picture of what I ended up with.

Next, I peeled the red rubber off the wood and foam mount. It's kind of scary to do at first, but it actually comes off really easily! You have to be somewhat careful, but it's pretty hard to actually hurt your stamps doing this. :) Here's a picture of what you have left - just naked red rubber!

Here's a picture from the side...pretty thin!


Next step, I peeled the protective backing off the sticky side of the EZ Mount. This side is SUPER sticky!!! Then, I carefully stuck the red rubber onto the sticky side of the EZ Mount. This is the trickiest part, because you want to line up your rubber with the Staz-On image on the other side. I kind of had to eye ball it. I placed it where I thought it should go, then used some unique points on the image, looking back and forth from image to rubber, making sure all the edges matched. Then I stuck it on.


Next I just cut the extra foam away.


The EZ Mount is super sticky, so it is MUCH EASIER if you use a hot knife instead of scissors.



Here's a picture of the hot knife in action.


And here's the final result!!!!





Don't be fooled...this is actually a long process, especially when multiplied by the large number of stamps that need to be done! I'm still not quite completely finished! But, I already love it and am so excited to be unmounted. I really love that stamping the image in Staz-On on the cling side gives me an image to see through the clear block, so I know what I'm stamping and where. That is key, in my opinion!