If you’ve ever been to a Rubber Stamp Convention or shopped for stamps on-line, you have discovered that unmounted stamps can be purchased for half the price of wood-mounted stamps. If you are paying for shipping, the savings keep adding up. There are some really large, very cool stamps. To purchase them mounted would intimidate the pocketbook of even the most seasoned stamper. Also, some stamp companies have gorgeous images available only as unmounted stamps.

Then there is the fact that wood-mounted stamps take up considerably more space. I have heard of diehard unmounted enthusiasts purchasing stamps that were only available mounted, ripping the stamp from the wood, and giving it back to the vender. It’s all a matter of personal preference.

If you subscribe to any of the stamping lists, you know that storing unmounted stamps is a hot topic. I have heard many suggestions from the very simple, such as throwing them in a drawer, to the very complex, involving indexing and cataloging. Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Baseball Card Holders: These have 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" pockets and also fit into a three-ring binder.
  2. Sandwich Bags: A very inexpensive alternative. When you buy a sheet of rubber, trim it and put them in a baggie labeled with the contents and the stamp company credits. You never know when you’re going to need that information.
  3. Envelopes: Another inexpensive method. Stamp the images on the outside of the envelope and put the stamps inside. If you are using a product such as the ever-popular Aleene’s® Tack-It Over & Over® or Scotch® Removable Poster Tape 109 from 3M, use a piece of wax paper to keep the stamp from sticking to the inside of the envelope.
  4. Foamcore: Fran, our Interim Managing Editor, mounts her stamps on foamcore with rubber cement. She indexes the back and stores them in a bin, sorted by company.
  5. Photo Albums: Like the baseball cardholders, just place the stamps in the pockets. Or purchase the old-fashioned, magnet sheet albums. You could place your index inside the sheets and use your mounting method to attach them to the outside of the page. This would also work with page protectors.
  6. CD Jewel Cases: Remove the inside plastic that would hold a CD in place. Stamp the image on a piece of paper and place where the album cover would go. Again, attach your stamps using your mounting method.
  7. Stamp ‘NStor™ System from Sunday International: This system uses cling vinyl to attach the stamp to the acrylic block. The acrylic blocks come in several sizes including a “Mega Handle” which will accommodate the largest unmounted stamps. The company offers pages that will fit in a large binder. When you are done with your stamp, return it to the appropriate page, where it will cling until you need it again.
  8. HALOS™ Rubber Stamp System: This system uses a “hook and loop” product to mount stamps to acrylic blocks. Attach a strip of the “hook” tape to a sheet protector or file folder to store your stamps.
Unfortunately, I subscribe to the “out of sight, out of mind” theory when it comes to my stamps and stamping accessories. If I don’t see it, I forget it’s there. Therefore, I still prefer wood-mount stamps. But I have quite a few unmounted rubber stamps and keeping them accessible is key to using them. I keep my binders with my unmounted stamps within easy reach of my stamping space. Hopefully I will remember to look there when I need just the right stamp.

Resources:
Sunday International: http://www.sundayint.com/mall/MAIndex.asp
3M: http://www.3m.com/product/index.jhtml
HALOS: http://www.halosrubberstamps.com/prod03.htm