Mounting and Storing Unmounted Bombshell Stamps

Today I want to share with you how I organize my Bombshell stamps.  I know that I am a Peeking Polly when it comes to other peoples craft rooms or organizational systems so I thought the other Peeking Pollys out there might like to see my system.

Here is a picture of all the supplies you will need.

Bombshell unmounted stamps come in a sheet of uncut red rubber.  I like to use my unmounted stamps with various acrylic blocks.  I previously used double sided tape to attach my stamps to my blocks but found that it was just not a good way for me to have my stamps ready to go quickly or to keep the stamps organized.

The first thing I do is to use a good craft shears and cut them apart.  I like to cut my stamps as close to the image as possible and to avoid sharp corners if possible.  For some reason sharp corners seem to always get inky and spoil my image when I am stamping.

After cutting out my images, I turn them over to the back and squeeze some Alene’s  Tack It Over and Over Glue onto them.  I have found that a little goes a long way and not to completely cover my stamp.

The glue usually takes several hours to dry so I try and do this step just before bedtime.    If I  am doing lots of stamps at once, I will lay them out on a baking tray so that I can put them out of my way while they dry.

While the stamps are drying I prepare a laminated sheet that will become there permanent home.  I like to keep four sets of Bombshell stamps to each laminate sheet so I generally wait until I have enough new sets.  This is my system.  It is entirely possible to just add one or two sets to each sheet.

I purchase self-laminating pockets from my local Sam’s club, but they can be purchased in smaller amounts from Walmart or office supply stores.   I trim the picture insert that comes with the stamp sets so that four will fit onto a page and then laminate (close the pages together).  The last part of this step is to trim the laminated sheet to fit into an 8x11” page protector that has hole punches for a 3 ring binder.

I attach my now dry stamps to the back of the laminate.  This way I can see what images or on the front.  

I place the laminated page with the stamps into a page protector.

I place the page protector into my Bombshell Binder and Voila all my unmounted Bombshells are now safely organized in a method that is easy for me to use and easy for me to keep updated.