Sunday, February 1, 2015

Stamp storage (Part II) - photopolymer stamps

I LOVE OUR PHOTOPOLYMER STAMPS!
They are totally clear! Say "goodbye" to crooked greetings! Say "hello" to the perfect alignment of alphabets! Didn't use enough pressure when you stamped/image didn't stamp completely? - You can almost always line it up again perfectly and stamp again(!)
They are super sticky! No more having to use to 2-way glue on the backs so that they stick well to the clear blocks!
They are really affordable! When all three stamp types are offered (wood, clear, photopolymer), photopolymer are always the least expensive!

But the issue is always having to contend with them being "sandwiched" in between two sheets of plastic when stored. I don't know about you, but I always found it a chore, albeit a small one, to put them back after use... Does it go this way? Does it go that way?

When SU! first started to sell this kind of stamp they were only available online (we still introduce a new photopolymer stamp set on the first Tuesday of every month, online only). But then when our new catalog arrived, we began to see more and more of these of this type of wonderful stamp being offered! In fact I've noticed that if the stamp set requires careful placement of images, it's only offered in the clear photopolymer.

I was so happy to see that the stamp sets were packaged in a clear case now too, and not just the two sheets of plastic!

But they still were sandwiched between two sheets of acetate even though they were in the plastic case! Ugh! It sounds like a small amount of work, but it was a royal pain-in-the-you know what... open case, peel off top layer of plastic, stamp, put stamp back on plastic sheet, replace top sheet, close case.

Then I watched a video by Mary Fish (http://stampinpretty.typepad.com/and my world changed forever!

Let me explain how I now keep my photopolymer stamps....

First, notice that one sheet of acetate has the printed image on it and one is blank. 

Peel off the one that has the printed image on it, adhere a glue dot
 to each of the four corners, and stick it on the outside of the case (but underneath the plastic liner). When the case is open you should be looking at the printed images backwards! This is easy to see when you have words in the set:
(This is a view of the back of the case and so you can easily see  if you have a complete set, however, when you open the case the images will appear backwards.)

Next, peel off the stamps from the second clear plastic window sheet. You will stick the flat side of the stamp against your plastic DVD case. The image will match that of the other window sheet that you glued to the jacket inside.

Now they are ready to be stored! Everything is in its place and I don't have to fiddle with extra window sheets! 


I keep my extras as just that - extras. Window sheets are always great for shaker cards or other techniques!

Maybe you'll want to place that extra sheet on top of your stamps inside the case. That's up to you. I was happy to bid them adieu!

Aaahhh! I sleep well at night knowing that I took care of this situation!

No comments:

Post a Comment