Stamps are an investment caring for your rubber stamps will help them last a very long time . Stampin’ Up! stamps come unmounted and die cut ( cut out by machine) in a plastic storage container to help keep them protected and free of dust. The sets easily stack on top of each other without coming in contact with one another and makes for easier storage.

Wood block Stamps

When you receive your stamps you will have to take the stamped images apart and find their matching size wood block. Peel off the backing and attach your stamp to the block as straight as possible and right side up. There is a clear sheet with an adhesive on the back that has the images for each stamp. Just peel it off and stick it on the block opposite of the stamp.

If you purchase stamps from an online store they may come unmounted and not die cut. Cutting them out is fairly easy to do. Use a small sharp scissors and cut close to the image using straight lines, but be careful not to cut into it. Straight lines don’t seem to pick up the ink like curved lines do. You want to cut away enough of the rubber so it doesn’t pick up ink and ruin your paper.

The wood blocks are not sealed and will stain if ink gets on them. What you will need to do is give them several coats of clear varnish and let them dry thoroughly before putting the stamps on them. If they get a little stain you can gently sand them to remove it.

Clear Acrylic Stamps and Mounts

Stamping up sells stamps that are unmounted and you adhere them to a clear mount for easy positioning of your stamp. Clear stamps are available at craft store and online and these too adhere to a clear mount.

To ahere the stamp to the clear block just peel the stamp off the clear sheet it comes on and press it a few times onto the clear mount. In most cases it will remain on the block until you remove it. It is important to keep these blocks clean because you might find that eventually the clear stamp won’t stay adhered to the block. To do this wash the blocks with original Dawn dish washing soap and let dry.

Stamp Cleaning

Dried ink on your stamps can cause blurring, and affect how the fine details in the image show up on paper. It is so important to clean you stamps after each and every use.

There are two different inks, water based and permanent for example, Stazon. They require different types of cleaners

Water base inks clean very easily and you can purchase a cleaner wherever you buy inks and stamps. You would spray your stamp with the cleaner and clean it with a towel. I personally use Stampin’ Mist Stamp cleaner (109196) and a Stampin’ Scrub (102642), Both are available HERE! I love the Stampin’ scrub because it has two replaceable fiber scrubbing pads one side for cleaning your stamp and the other dries it, No Messes! What’s nice too is when you fiber pads wear out you just replace them.

Permanent inks required a little stronger of a cleaner otherwise your stamps will get stained. Again, you can get a solvent-based ink cleaner at your local craft store and spray it on your stamps and clean it off with a rag. I use StazOn Cleaner (109196) available at Stampin Up! along with the scrub pad. Stamps clean up well and no mess.

Both wood and clear stamps are an investment and are not real cheap, so caring for your rubber stamps properly will help them last for many years