Hi everyone! Today I have a bit of a different sort of post for you. I didn't have chance to create a project for you this weekend since 2 of my 3 kiddos were sick and hubby as well (they are all better now), but anyway I wanted to take a day to post some pictures of Stampin' Up's! clear block system.
As many of you know I only use wood mounted stamps (I swore I would only use wood mount stamps), but with my last Stampin' Up! order I decided to give clear mount stamps a try and so I purchased the clear mount block bundle (item # 118491 $69.95). The bundle includes all of the clear block sizes. *Note* you'll save $9.25 if you order the bundle rather than ordering them all separately. I also ordered the clear block storage caddy item # 120279 $16.95 and I'm going to show you some photos of that as well.
This is a photo of the clear block bundle. In this photo I've already removed the blocks from the packaging, but here I wanted to show you that they will arrive packaged separately. These are blocks A-I.
This is a photo of the clear block storage caddy (closed). The case opens flat for easy access and when you're finished it closes and locks to hold your blocks in place.
This is a photo of the clear block storage caddy opened. You will notice that Stampin' Up! gives you an additional foam insert to sit between the blocks and protect them when the caddy is closed.
If you look closely at my photo you will see foam inserts that you will need to remove before you can place your blocks inside. The foam blocks simply pop out. I've already popped one out in this photo below to show you what I am talking about.
Before I move onto the next photo I wanted to take a minute to show you a close up of one of the Stampin' Up! clear mount blocks. I was very surprised when I received my blocks because they are awesome. I've had blocks from other companies and by far these are the best! There are nicely curved grooves on all four sides and they are really, very sturdy! Hmmm...I'm beginning to like the clear mount option already!
And below is a photo of the clear block caddy with all the foam inserts popped out and all my clear blocks in place. You'll notice the additional foam insert at the top left side of my photo.
Here I've placed the foam insert inside the case and now it's ready to close up and put away. You'll want to make sure to use this foam insert to protect your blocks when the case is closed.
Here's another photo of the clear block caddy closed and locked. To lock the caddy all you need to do is to simply flip over the little clip. As you can see there is a handle for easy carrying.
There are 2 reasons I've decided to give the clear mount system a try. One is that storage is starting to become an issue and as many of you know the clear mount stamps take up a lot less room, but the main reason I've decided to give the clear mount stamps a try is to save money! If you were to purchase these stamp sets (in my photo below) with the wood mount option they would cost $116.80 and with the clear mount option they only cost $92.80 - that's a savings of $24 with just 4 stamp sets, can you believe it?!!
These are the stamps that I recently purchased (they are all from the current occasions mini catalog- there is a link to the catty on the right hand side of my blog if you wanted to check it out). And since I'm new to using clear mount stamps I've decided to go head and show you how to mount them.
This is a photo of 1 stamp set, but it's a large set so it came in two separate cases. This is the new Apothecary Art stamp set clear mount item #125527 $27.95 found in the new occasions mini catalog. It's hard to see in this photo, but I wanted to point out that the rubber is die cut for you so that you do not need to cut/trim around the image.
Simply pop the image out of the rubber sheet and peel off the backing. Now, some people are using these stamps just like this and some are placing the stickers over the foam. Personally, I think I'll like being able to see the image so I'm going to go ahead and place the sticker over the foam.
Next, you will need to remove the sticker from the sticker index sheet. Slowly peel the sticker from the sheet and then you will need to remove the sticker backing on the image- see my next photo below.
This is a photo of me removing the sticker backing. You will see that the sticker backing is in two pieces- carefully remove each half.....(see next photo below)
...and then place the sticker on top of the foam/back side of the rubber stamp. You'll want to first make sure that your sticker label and the stamp image will be applied in the correct direction. In other words, your image label and stamp image should match.
Here is a photo of the stamp with the label in place.
Here is a photo of the stamp on a clear mount block. I wanted to take a minute to explain that although I know it can be a bit confusing, but Stampin' Up! refers to their unmounted stamps as 'clear mount' and I just wanted to explain (for those of you who are not aware) that Stampin' Up's! clear mount stamps are not clear. The stamps are the same high quality red rubber as found in their wood mount stamps.
When you are finished mounting your stamp set you can store your unmounted stamps in the DVD sized case that came with your set. Or the way I've decided to store my stamps....(see my photo below)
...was too keep the rubber sheet that my stamps arrived in and then place my stamps back inside the die cut out opening. The rubber sheet will help keep my stamps in place and I won't have to worry about losing any.
Well that's about it for today. Once I get some stamping time I'll have to let you know how I like my new clear mount stamp sets. There is a clear mount block template available on the Stampin' Up! website if you would like to download it. The link for the template is
here. Once you are on that page look all the way towards the bottom and you will find where to download it from.
I hope you had a great weekend! My kiddos are off from school tomorrow so it's going to be a busy one for me! Thanks for stopping by!
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