Today for Cut At Home, I'd like to discuss the differences between wood-mounted, clear, and cling Stamps.

There are differences in all three, but none are wrong or right, just a matter of preference.

 Here are samples of all three. From left to right, we have a cling, clear, and wood-mounted stamp.

Wood-mounted stamps have always been so popular. I think they are still very popular for a lot of stampers. They give a great impression due to the deeply etched rubber. Between the rubber image and the wood, is foam.

    

When stamping down, the foam gives slightly, which produces a great impression on your paper. The down-fall to wood-mounted stamps is the storage space they require. They are also a little difficult to see exactly where you are stamping. That makes it somewhat difficult to stamp a small sentiment in an exact location. However, using a Stamp-a-ma-jig, is very helpful for placement.

To me...having a Stamp-a-ma-jig is a must-have when working with wood-mounted stamps.

The next type of stamp I'd like to discuss is clear stamps.

There are lots of manufactures that produce and sell clear stamps. You can get clear stamps in many forms. Some use acrylic, some use vinyl. The best type, which produces the best impression, is photopolymer stamps. They are a higher quality clear stamp.

One of the many benefits to using clear stamps is being able to see exactly where you want to stamp. If you're trying to achieve an exact location for your stamp, you can see right through the stamp, and the acrylic block to get it exactly where you'd like. Clear stamps are also very easy to manipulate. You are able to cut them if you'd like. Cutting them will not hurt the stamp at all. Just be sure to use sharp scissors. I have cut several sentiment stamps, therefore I can change-up the orientation of the word. This gives me more choices of how I am able to use my stamps. After cutting them, If you decide to use them in the original format of how you purchased them...you can easily put them back together the original way. They will easily line right back up on your acrylic block.

You can also take a border stamp and curve it on your acrylic block to achieve a different look.

               

                

Here's a border stamp that I curved on my block. As you can see, it looks like a different stamp. I also made somewhat of an oval out of it.

Clear stamps require an acrylic block. There are many different sizes you can choose.

I like to have a variety of sizes in my stash, and use an appropriate size for the stamp I will be using. For example, when using a tiny clear stamp, I will choose a small acrylic block.

Cling mounted stamps seem to have the best features of both the clear, and wood-mounted stamps.

They have the deeply etched rubber, along with the foam, but do not have the bulky wood block you have to contend with when storing them.

  

The cling stamps are also used with an acrylic block.

I have a video on Cut At Home's Blog, where I show you an up-close demonstration of each of these stamps. If you'd like to see that, please click on the link.

  Here are samples of the different stamps, once they've been inked and stamped on cardstock.

 This image is from the wood-mounted stamp. It gives a great impression every time. Wood-mounted stamps also have such great detail to them.

  This beautiful image is a Penny Black Stamp, Make A Wish. As you can see, it stamped beautifully as well, and has great detail to it.

  

  These three images above show clear stamps I have used. I used Lawn Fawn's Bake Me A Cake, and Our Friendship Grows Stamp sets. 

Because the stamps are clear, I am easily able to see exactly where I am stamping, therefore able to line up my stamps perfectly. I do use a foam stamp pad underneath when stamping clear stamps. Because they do not have the foam that the wood-mounted, and the cling stamps have, I add my own. You can also use a mouse pad, or a notebook of paper to give yourself a slight cushion.

 Here is an example of using a wood-mounted stamp (thinking of you) inside another stamp. For this sample, I've used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to center my wood sentiment exactly where I wanted it inside the oval frame.

I hope this answers any questions you may have had on the differences between the three. As you can see, there is no wrong or right...just what you prefer!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Please stop by Cut At Home's Blog for products used, and more information.

~Corene~