Good old rubber stamps versus Acrylic (clear/Polymer) stamps....which is better? The debate rages on in many rubber stamping magazines, in stamping and scrapbooking stores and on the floor of trade shows such as CHA. Is one better than the other? Does it matter? They both have certain advantages over the other. Let's take a closer look at these products, and then you decide which is better.

So, you have decided that you like unmounted stamps better than mounted, but now you have all of those mounted stamps taking up space in your cabinets and containers! What do you do with them? You can unmount them! That's right, you can take the rubber off of the mount, and mount them using your chosen temporary mounting method.

So, how do you do that, you ask. Why, I'd be happy to explain it to you! First, you will find that many stamps come easily off the cushion and mount with little to no effort, and little to no residue left on the back of the rubber. So, take one of your mounted stamps, and give it a try. If it is lifting off of the cushion easily, continue to just pull it up.  If any of the cushion or old adhesive is still sticking to the rubber, you need to remove that. The back of your rubber should be as clean as possible. You can do this either by just rubbing it off with your fingers, or you can use an adhesive remover like Un-Du.

If you have stamps which used a strong adhesive to attach the rubber to the cushion, then an alternative to the above method is to place the stamp in the microwave for about 30 seconds. This will loosen the adhesive enough that you can pull the rubber off the cushion. Just be careful handling the wooden mount when you take it out of the microwave. It will be rather hot. Again, if there is some residue left on the rubber, clean it off as described above.

Unmounted Rubber Stamps - they are a dream come true for an avid stamper like myself. There are so many advantages to unmounted stamps over mounted, that there is no contest between the two. Let me share my reasoning with you, and in the end, I think you'll find that you agree with me.

First, what is an unmounted rubber stamp? Basically, it's just a sheet of rubber. Unmounted rubber stamps usually come in sheets of red rubber, with anywhere from 15 to 30 images on a sheet, depending on the size of the sheet and the size of the images. With unmounted stamps, you need to mount the rubber on your choice of mounting systems. The most popular way is to mount them with EZ Mount Static Mounting Sheets. You mount this product on the back of your rubber and then cut out your images with a good pair of scissors. Kai scissors are the scissors most often recommended for cutting out rubber. They are extremely high quality scissors that make cutting through the layers of rubber and EZ Mount as easy as a hot knife through butter. Once you have cut out the images, you will peel off the backing paper, and you are then ready to start stamping.

Foam stamps are a wonderful way to add interest and fun to any creation you are making. Foam stamps come in a wonderful variety of styles, sizes and shapes, including alphabets, shapes, designs, and patterns.

There are more and more scrapbooking companies making foam stamps all of the time. Add to those the home decor foam stamps that can be found in most local craft stores, and you have endless possibilities for stamping fun! Also, since foam stamps are quite a bit cheaper than other mounted or unmounted stamps, you just can't get any better than that!