Converting Wood Mounted Stamp Sets to Clear Mount

Today I am very excited to share a new project I've been working on.  Ever since Stampin' Up! launched their line of clear mount stamp sets, I've been a "clear mount stamp girl."  I prefer clear mount stamp sets because they are easy to store and I find it's easier to stamp when I can see the image.

Recently I thought about about converting some of my old wood mounted stamp sets and so I did a little research on YouTube.  I started converting just my "greeting" stamp sets and now I am hooked and I want to convert all my wood mounts.

This is a long post, but hopefully these instruction will help you in case you want to take on the task.

Step #1:  First you will need to separate the rubber from the wood and separate the rubber image from the foam.  I was surprised how easily the stamp came apart.  If you have a hard time separating, run the stamp over a space heater or run your heat gun over the stamp for a few seconds... that should loosen up the glue.

Step #2:  Now you need to mount the rubber image onto Clear-Mount Cling Foam (Item #124236 - Page 235 in the U.S. Stampin' Up! Catalog - $10.95 for 2 sheets).  The cling foam has a very sticky side and tacky side.  You need to mount the rubber onto the very sticky side and trim.

Step #3:  You need to stamp the image onto your foam so you can see what you are stamping.  In the videos I've seen, the demonstrators suggest stamping the image directly onto the foam using black Stazon ink before you glue to your rubber.  I tried this and I didn't like the way it turned out...  the stamped image is not crisp and clear.  So I did my own thing and peeled off the clear label from the wood and used mono to adhere to the cling foam and trimmed.

Step #4:  This looks great, but the only problem is then the stamp is not tacky and it will not stick to the clear block when inking and stamping.  But I have a solution for that too... I used Stampin' Up! Two Way Glue (Item #100425) and rubbed it all over the label image (set aside for at least 1 hour to dry before using).  The Two Way Glue makes it tacky and it sticks so nice to the clear blocks.  I actually do this to all my clear stamps so they don't fall off when I'm inking them and stamping.

Step #5:  Lastly I purchased Stampin' Up! Clear-Mount Stamp Cases (Item #119105) and put my newly converted stamps in the case and done.  Eventually I will make a cover for the cases with the image of the stamp set, the name of the set, # of stamps, item #, etc.  But for now, I'm very happy with the way they turned out.