Yippee! I've been thinking about doing this for ages and never had the courage to rip ! till now .... It's so easy. I have a ton of wood block stamps - well 15 drawers full in 5 wheelie storage carts (I couldn't possibly count them). They take up loads of room and as I can't seem to stop increasing my stash, something's got to give! So far I've done 24 mostly large ones and am about half way through one drawer! I have a big bag of wood and being a crafter I don't want to throw them away but not sure what to do with them. Any ideas?
Here's a quick how to (there are videos on You Tube)
1. Put stamp in microwave for approx 5 seconds each per medium sized stamp (I put 4 large ones in for 20 seconds).
2. Try to carefully peel away the foam and the rubber together. You can cook it a bit longer if it doesn't peel away easily.
3. If the foam tears you can still push it back on but if the foam disintegrates peel it off as well. So you are either left with a virgin sheet of rubber or with foam backing.
4. Using a craft knife carefully insert the blade into the plastic picture from the wood and it should peel off easily.
5. Smooth the picture down onto the (still sticky) foam (check it's the right way up) and trim off the excess with scissors. You can apply a repositionable adhesive to this surface so when it dries it can be used with an acrylic mount.
6. If you have virgin rubber (no foam backing) you can use Easy Mount or Cling On on the back.
7. There are several ways to store unmounted stamps (again loads of videos on this on You Tube) ie in a binder on a thick plastic sheet, in CD cases etc.
So thin without the wood so takes up less space. I'm so pleased with the results. Why not have a go?
