Unmounted Rubber Stamps

When you buy unmounted rubber stamps, all you get is the sheet of rubber with the image on it (called the "die"). It must be mounted to a permanent or temporary mount to be used. Wood is most commonly used as a permanent mount. It is available in different sizes and can be cut to desired length. Acrylic is the most popular temporary mounting method. Acrylic mounts are available in a variety of sizes.

Advantages of unmounted rubber stamps

Many crafters swear by unmounted stamps for two main reasons:
1) They are much less expensive - a single die is usually half the price of the same mounted stamp. Dies are also sold by the sheet - one sheet containing several different images. The price by the sheet is usually cheaper than single dies.
2) They take up much less storage space. Some people store their dies in CD cases. Also available are sleeves that go in 3-ring binders. Another advantage is that using a die mounted to the clear acrylic lets you see much more accurately where to place the image.

Using unmounted rubber stamps - three methods

1) A popular method of using unmounted stamps is to attach them to acrylic mounts with a product like EZ Mount Foam Static Sheets. The sheets are 8 1/2" x 11" and have adhesive on one side. Attach the die to the adhesive side of the sheet and trim with scissors. The KAI brand scissors are good quality and make trimming easy. After trimming the foam sheet closely to the die, you can attach it to an acrylic mount. This static type mount holds the die firmly for use, but the die can also easily be removed after use. The acrylic mounts come in different sizes and you only need one of each size.

2) Another (perhaps easier) method is a product called Tack 'N Peel. Tack 'N Peel is a film that adheres to the acrylic mount. Then all you do is stick on the die. After you're done, peel off the die and you're ready for another. Tack 'N Peel is applied permanently to your acrylic blocks and no further preparation of your unmounted stamps is needed. Because the Tack 'N Peel is transparent, you can still use any cling foam mounted stamps on you may already have on the other side (without the Tack 'N Peel) of your acrylic blocks. Purchase Tack 'N Peel here.

3) Use double-sided adhesive tape in place of the foam sheet described above. This method may take some experimenting as some tapes' adhesive holds stronger than others and may make removal of the die difficult.

A permanent method - Instead of the foam static sheets described above, you would use a double stick foam mounting cushion and mount the die to a wooden mount.

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