Friday, July 13, 2012

Clear Mount Stamp Tips

These guides are great for your clear blocks!    They come in two 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheets. You can use them on any of  your clear stamping blocks to help your postilion your stamped images perfectly.

They are reposition-able and washable. The guides include eight die-cut guides sized for blocks, D, E, F, H, and I, and three guides you cut to customize.

Straight, angled, and curvy lines on the guides help you easily line up sentiments, images, and repeated patterns.  I remove the guides and wash them with the blocks in dish soap. Then I rinse them and dry them and position them back on the blocks. They cling beautifully and the stamps cling to them beautifully too.
They are especially great with words.  Place the stamp on a line on the block and when you stamp, use the lines on the block to line up the bottom and sides of the card stock for great placement every time.
It’s easiest to attach the guides to the bottom of the block and then attach the stamp to the bottom – this avoids distortion. The greatest thing to do is use them for lining up two or more stamps on the same block together! They are easier and faster than the Stamp-a-ma-jig (although the Stamp a ma jig is one of my favorite tools.).   A Must Have!

Item # 121785 – $5.95 – you can order yours now!

Some customers have complained that the Cling Mount Stamps do not cling well.  Here is my solution to that:
 
1) make sure your blocks and the back of the stamps are clean. After using them frequently, you will get body oil on the surface and this reduces the cling. Just use the Stampin’ Scrub to clean the blocks and the backs of the stamps. You can also wipe them with an ALCOHOL FREE baby wipe or a damp cloth dipped in dish soap. Be sure to rinse the soap off the blocks or stamps before using.
2) Huff on the back of the block before sticking the stamp onto the block. This will create a layer of moisture to help seal the two together.
3) Place the stamp face down on the work surface and the place the block on top of the stamp and press gently, holding for a second or two. Pick up the block and press on the side of the stamp to make sure they are firmly attached together
4) When using a large stamp or when using Versa Mark or Craft Ink change the way you ink the stamp. Place the block on the table with the stamp face up. Hold the stamp pad in your hand and pounce it on to the stamp. This works great, also, to make sure that you are getting full coverage on the large stamps.
I seldom have any problems if I follow the steps above. BUT, there’s always an exception so here are two more tips that will solve the problem.
5) Rub the stamp and or the block on the back of your sleeve or pant leg to build some static electricity before attaching them.This really helps if the block is cold.
6) You can use a very light layer of Tombow glue (or Aleen's Tack It Over and Over) on the back of the Stamp – let it dry and it will be very tacky – It will stick perfectly.


So now that you know how to work your clear mount stamps, how about a card?  Marianne and I are going to Greensboro tomorrow for a NC Demos Non-Convention Goers gathering.  There will be 12 of us there and we are going to all do a Shoebox Swap.  Here is the card I am doing:


 I tell you, I am in love with the Postage Due stamp!!  This time, I stamped it in River Rock.  I just realized that I did not post the card with the latest changes.  I punched out the sentiment "Sending You Love" with the Itty Bitty Banners die (stamped using Cajun Craze ink) and adhered it in the top right.  I also stamped one of the postage stamps in Cajun Craze too to add a little pop to the card.  The other stamp is in Always Artichoke.

Marianne is doing a really cute card using the Petite Pocket Die.  I'll snap it tomorrow to share with you.

Well, better sign off and head on in to bed.  Marianne's already in the guest room asleep.  Sammie does not know what to do.  She usually sleeps in that bedroom on the twin bed closest to the window.  She sleeps on a pink blanket that I have folded up on the bottom of the bed and I noticed tonight that it is practically black from her fur!!  She keeps wandering in and out of the room where Marianne is but now she has settled outside the door.  At night, she starts out sleeping in our bedroom but leaves sometime during the night and I think goes in the guest room to sleep.  Who knows where she will end up tonight?!

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