Tips for you Wednesday-Preparing your Wood Blocks (click here if reading in your email)

Hi, Everyone,

Stampin' Up! still sells wood block stamps in addition to the clear block and photopolymer stamps. Many of you prefer the clear block and photopolymer stamps for storage purposes due to the fact they take up less space. I do too, but, there is a time when I prefer wood block stamps-when they are teeny tiny in size.

1.  I figure it is easier to locate a tiny stamp on a block when it goes missing then one of the other types.

2.  Most of the time when we are using a tiny stamp, we most probably are going to be punching it out, such as sentiments, so it doesn't matter if we have stamped it straight. We can straighten it out when we punch it!

That bring me to something I was taught when I first started going to Stampin' Up! classes and we only had wood block stamps. Spray your wood blocks with clear acrylic spray before you mount the labels and stamps to them! This will protect your blocks from ink soaking into the wood, and they will stay cleaner longer.

Here is how I do this. First, I lay out all the blocks on paper and give them a few coats of clear spray.

 Here is one of the clear spray paints I use.

I spray one side at least a couple of times, then flip them over and do the same thing to the other side.

Here's another tip. Before you mount them to your block, line up all your blocks, remove the stamps from the rubber sheet they come in, and line them up on the appropriate blocks. I have made the mistake of not doing this first and mounted the wrong size stamp on the wrong size block! I didn't discover this until I was almost finished and some of the stamps weren't fitting on the blocks that were left.

Now you're ready to peel off the backings and mount the stamps to the blocks. One other tip-when you apply the sticker to the other side, make sure you have the correct words and applied in the correct direction.  Ask me how I know!! The set you see above is the new Itty Bitty Greetings. It covers about any occasion you would need. I hope you find this information helpful! 

Product List

Itty Bitty Greetings Wood-Mount Stamp Set [146664] $48.00

Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146667] $36.00