Wood Mounted or Clear?

So the ongoing debate of wood mounted stamps or clear continues. I love the look and feel of the wood mounted stamps, such great wood grains and easy generally to grip. But the storage decisions have to be continually addressed. Back when I had a couple of dozen stamps (bwahaha, sad I know) there was no problem. One drawer of a rolling cart was perfect and left other drawers for all of my ink and paper (again, I know but that addiction and storage options are for others to blog).

As time goes on and the collection grows, I moved to plastic shoe boxes. These were great. You can see what’s in the box, align the different shaped stamps to fit a lot into the box and even label the boxes once that solution grew. Then there were more rolling drawers, a great desk with drawers on both sides that are just the right size for stamps. The kitchen table art area grows into a home studio. And yet still, space becomes limited.

Then clear stamps arrived on the scene with much suspicion but they were so easy to store. As this caught on, I saw a nice alternative. The clear stamps are easy to store and come in a growing variety. Of course, I needed both clear stamps and wood mounted stamps.

EZ Mount Cling comes on the scene so I can now mount my really affordable sheets of rubber image.  All I need are a few acrylic blocks to be able to stamp them. I bought this pre-sticky product and began the task of removing some of the wooden mounted images and putting them on cling. Voila, easier storage!

So we arrive at the dilemma. What do I do with the wood blocks? It seems wasteful to toss them and you just know there will be some way to creatively use them later on. Earlier this year, I saw a new solution at Scraphappy.

 

 

I can decorate the little wood blocks and make a whole new line of fun. Pulling the bag of already denuded blocks out, I began the task of cleaning them up and determining size options.

My mother is tricky person to shop for but as she is a quilter, I could see the potential for a pretty little set of blocks with buttons and flowers. Choosing some varying sizes of blocks, I did a light sanding to be sure any lumps of foam were removed. Sorting through a nice assortment of paper scraps offered a lot of color and pattern choices. (What a great way to work on that paper addiction as the same time). I dug into my collection of leftover embellishments from other projects and the fun began. I rubbed a little Distress Ink around the edges to give the blocks some character and built up the interest. The result was a sweet little Mother’s Day gift.

If you are trying to find the next phase of sorting and stamp storage, give this a try. I am planning little holiday gifts, and some birthday gifts, and …