Question for Scrapbooking/Stamping Moms Out There

I love the clear stamps (used to sell for CTMH) and use them more often than the rubber mounted and unmounted ones.

Some people complain about the clear stamps and say they don't stamp as well as the rubber stamps. I have found that those that complain are not using them properly. For the rubber stamps, you will find that the rubber is attached to a foam backing if unmounted. If they are mounted, you will see there is foam between the wood and the rubber. You need this cushion to get a better stamped image. To accomplish this with the clear stamps, you can place your stamping project on a piece of fun foam, a mouse pad or even a magazine.

Also another reason they may not stamp as well is because they may still have some manufacturing residue on them. To remove this residue, just ink up your stamp and then repeatedly stamp off onto a scrap paper. If that doesn't remove the residue and the ink still bubbles on the stamp, then you can take a clean eraser and gently erase over the stamp and then clean off the eraser pieces by running over your stamp scrubber.

Another complaint people have is that the clear stamps will lose their stickiness and not cling to the block anymore. Every once in a while, clear stamps need to be cleaned on the back also. I usually just run the back of the stamp over my stamp scrubber (I just use water on my scrubber) and then put back on the carrier sheet (which I also wipe with a damp paper towel) to air dry. If the stickiness isn't restored, I will put them in a bowl along with a little bit of the original blue Dawn, swish them around, rinse and then place back on the carrier sheet. I will also clean the blocks with Dawn.

Clear stamps also allow you more flexibility. For sentiments or images that are in a straight line, you can bend them so they are curved when you place them on your block. So you can get a different look with one image.

I have also cut my sentiments apart before. Instead of having my sentiment all in one line, I will cut it apart and then mount it on my stamping block one piece under the other so I have a two line sentiment. Or I stamp one part of the sentiment on the front of the card and one on the inside. With a wood mounted stamp, you would have to do the masking technique to do the same thing.

The best thing I love about clear stamps as others have said is they take up less space. My sister and I are actually starting to unmount all our wood mounted stamps because we just have too many and it is taking up way too much room. Plus when you buy the clear stamps, you are paying for the stamps, not the foam or the block like with the wood. So clear stamps are less expensive.

I ditto what V.M. says. The fact that you can see through them and reposition easily is the big selling point for me. I used to be a rep for a wood stamp company so I have A LOT of wood stamps in my collection but I always find myself going for the clear ones. They are easy to transport. I do a lot of cropping on site at stores. The clear ones take up less room in my bags and they weigh less. btw, I see you are in Belville, OH. There's a great scrapbook store called a2z scrapbooking in Marion if you ever get over that way. They have crops on Friday nights that are very affordable.

Well I have both kinds of stamps. The clear stamps definetly are appealing since they take up a lot less room to store. Plus you can see if you are getting it on the right spot on your paper.

I like the wood stamps also. When my kids stamp with me. They have an easier time with the wood stamp..med to small size. It seems easier for them to hold.

i see yo u havent' gotten any responses yet. I would assume that the clear stamps make it easier to position because you can see more closely wehre the stamped image will be.HTH