The only problem I have had with wood mounted rubber stamps is that you can't see where you are putting the image. Normally the stamps are mounted somewhat haphazardly, meaning they are not in line with the square block they are on. I had this problem with my Yardwork stamp that I am using on my muslin bags and other packaging.
I think you can see that it is not quite straight! You might be able to see the little pencil marks I made on the sides. I brought those little marks up and on to the top of the stamp to make, basically, registration marks. I decided to offer this for my new wood mounted stamps, as I don't see how people live without them! To make the marks permanent, I burn the lines with a wood burning tool. Not too decorative but extremely functional. Of course you could draw these lines yourself, and that's why I offer to just glue your stamp on a block without the careful registration for 3 dollars less. Less work for me!
Mounting stamps is a messy situation which takes extra supplies and time. The large block, needing to go into a box for shipping also drives that shipping cost up. I know that a lot of the serious stampers out there already have these supplies and are even removing rubber stamps from their mounts to make them what we call "cling stamps" that can be used with acrylic blocks. This makes storing the stamp a lot easier because it takes up so much less room! So I made the executive decision to also offer the stamps unmounted. Both the stamp and the shipping will cost a whole lot less!
Wood mounted stamp with registration marks = $18.00
Wood mounted stamp without registration marks = $15.00
Single unmounted stamp = $8.00
Full sheet of four stamps = $15.00
The very best deal is to buy the whole uncut sheet of four stamps for $15.00 because that is only $3.75 per stamp! What a bargain!
See, I told you the red rubber stamps business was a can of worms! So many options! And I searched high and low on this world wide web to find a way to have this sort of stamp made in the small-scale way that I could afford. I certainly thought about offering the cling stamp mounting but that will have to come later. I have to see if the buying public even likes my stamps before I invest in any more supplies.
I think this one is my favorite. Reminds me of a henna tattoo motif, so that's what I called it! These stamps work beautifully on both fabric and paper. I don't do clay crafts but I understand people like to use them that way too. I think possibly one would want to make a reverse mold to use them as bakery decoration or as soap stamps. Wouldn't that be cool? Need to research that…….
Second favorite, Mid Century Modern Flower. This stamp was featured in a Poppytalk curated collection called DIY + Make which brought in lots of viewers. Thank you Poppytalk! Here's hoping the viewers become buyers!
It's a toss-up for my personal third and forth place favorites. This image that I designed reminds me of Japanese folk woodcut or paper cut flowers. Maybe I'm wrong about that but it IS my design and I'm gonna call it Woodcut Flower Field. I think this one gets better in repeat. It would be really beautiful pressed into clay.
Last, but certainly not least is what I'm calling my Rococo stamp. More of a modern rococo, if you will.
Right now, I don't know how many wood blocks to stock up on because I have no idea how people will prefer to buy them: mounted or unmounted. If they buy them.
The wood mounted stamps come in the same charming muslin bag that my acrylic blocks come in. Making them great stocking stuffers! I may pick up some more colorful ink pads today so I can stamp each individual stamp image on the other side. We'll see. I don't want to have to get fabric paint out every time I sell a stamp, yet it would be so nice to have the image on there. Stamping too many with paint ahead of time might create waste.
These are the dilemmas and decisions I face daily!
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