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howdyheidi
StuckOnPeas
PeaNut 540,243
January 2012
Posts: 2,586
Layouts: 166
Loc: PA
 |  Posted: 2/26/2013 9:50:51 AM
A good reason to cut up your stamps!
I have seen more and more frequently on blogs and videos that people are cutting up their stamps. Especially clear stamps.
Especially in a tutorial on OWH today, it showed how this can really help stretch your stamps! I thought it was exciting.
I have also seen people cut sentiments up to use just one word or orient them differently.
The only surgery on rubber cling stamps I have seen is to poke some holes in some of those background stamps that won't lay flat/bubble up.
Do you like the idea of stamp surgery? Can you think of more positive ways to use stamp surgery and what possible negatives are there? |
~~Heidi~~
"Find Joy in the Unexpected..."
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Sophikins
PeaAddict
PeaNut 62,725
January 2003
Posts: 1,512
Layouts: 27
Loc: Pacific NW
 |  Posted: 2/26/2013 10:27:34 AM
I've done a little bit. There was wood mount stamp that had a really cute suitcase, but I did not like the sentiment underneath it. So I just got my handy Xacto knife and sliced thru the rubber and scraped off the sentiment words.
Another time I really wanted to make some scallop borders (before so many were available). I had a lot a clear circle stamps, some with edging around the circles. I cut them in half and then had the half circles to use to make scallop borders. |
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looser
The Craft Curmudgeon
PeaNut 256,594
April 2006
Posts: 10,865
Layouts: 254
 |  Posted: 2/26/2013 10:45:12 AM
WTG, Heidi! That tutorial is awesome! Love how the blogger did surgery on the clear stamps. Not something I've done with any of my clear stamps, but I'm certainly going to look @ them for candidates.
Far as my rubber UMS go, I've done tons of surgery on them & never really regretted any cuts.
One 'downside' possibility? Keep all the parts of the image together. If you don't I can almost guarantee that you will find a time when you want to use the entire image & end up not being able to. BTDT! 
Here's a suggestion for doing a 'tryout' before cutting into your stamp...
Stamp the image several times using black ink on plain white paper. That way you have a record of the original image & you can also mark the stamped image to figure out where you want to make any incisions in the actual die--clear or rubber. |
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lovepug2
PeaAddict
PeaNut 356,430
January 2008
Posts: 1,216
Layouts: 53
Loc: TN
 | Posted: 2/26/2013 11:05:54 AM
Great thread, Heidi!
I used to be afraid I would mess a stamp up but I finally got brave one day and have since performed several surgeries!
I've done several clear stamp sentiments and a couple of red rubber ones.
I also cut this weird swirly part off of a pumpkin stamp. The swirl always smudged no matter what ink and so I cut them off with an xacto knife.
I tend to do a lot of coloring and fussy cutting of my image so I've cut little parts off the stamp that are hard to cut around. One example that comes to mind is an ornament stamp. It had a hook on it so I cut it off and i just hand draw it back on. Much easier than trying to cut it out when I color it. |
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stampwilly
PeaAddict
PeaNut 249,470
February 2006
Posts: 1,704
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Loc: South Carolina
| Posted: 2/26/2013 12:31:14 PM
Thanks for the tutorial, Heidi! What a great idea. I have cut sentiments apart so that they fit better in a die shape, or to leave off some words, etc. I may do some surgery on my clear stamps now!
Stampwilly | |
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howdyheidi
StuckOnPeas
PeaNut 540,243
January 2012
Posts: 2,586
Layouts: 166
Loc: PA
| Posted: 2/26/2013 12:43:43 PM
I'm glad folks seem to like this.  Good ideas on what to try!
One drawback I have seen in my experience is frame stamps. The ones I have that have a solid interior will stamp the perfect frame every time. The ones that don't have it are much much harder to keep straight while applying to the block for stamping. |
~~Heidi~~
"Find Joy in the Unexpected..."
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looser
The Craft Curmudgeon
PeaNut 256,594
April 2006
Posts: 10,865
Layouts: 254
|  Posted: 2/26/2013 12:55:31 PM
Good point about the 'open' frames-clear & rubber--, Heidi.
Here's a suggestion... If you are putting your 'open' frame on a clear mount, make yourself a guide that you can view thru the mount so the frame sides stay 'straight' & at the correct angle. |
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yellowcherrios
StuckOnPeas
PeaNut 541,181
January 2012
Posts: 2,000
Layouts: 97
Loc: West Texas
| Posted: 2/26/2013 1:13:11 PM
Thank you for the link to the video Heidi! I have not cut up any stamps before---I guess I thought you "can't " do that and if you don't want something stamped then you have to mask/rub off the ink before stamping/don't color that section, etc.
Still not sure if I'd take the plunge and cut up any---but I do now have that thought so I can ponder it when using them---as LeighAnn was saying, I can see if something on the stamp always is a both to you, then you can cut it out. I can also see how it can hep with sentiment stamps as April said.
My thought with your frame stamps (I have not worked with frame stamps) is if you place the stamp with the stamping side down onto your work area, then press your acrylic block to the back of the stamp to adhere it to the block to stamp---my thinking was wondering if they act like clear sentiment stamps behave: most of the time, clear sentiment stamps can move around and not keep a straight line if I try to apply them directly to my acrylic block. But if I place the sentiment stamp with the stamping side down onto my craft mat, it is straight, then I press my block to it's back and then use it and it's not wavy or anything. Saw that tip somewhere....
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beady
PeaNut
PeaNut 500,358
February 2011
Posts: 503
Layouts: 26
 | Posted: 2/26/2013 5:34:03 PM
I've cut up a few border stamps so I could use the images individually. |
Kathy
http://kathnan.blogspot.com | |
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looser
The Craft Curmudgeon
PeaNut 256,594
April 2006
Posts: 10,865
Layouts: 254
| Posted: 2/27/2013 8:42:02 AM
Good tips, Melissa & Kathy!
I've done the surgery on border stamps, too. Great way to have both a single image & matching border! |
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prospurring
Prospurring Pea
PeaNut 379,335
June 2008
Posts: 5,283
Layouts: 327
Loc: North Carolina
 | Posted: 2/27/2013 11:59:35 AM
I do this a lot with clear stamps, but I find it is harder for with mounted stamps or cling stamps, because I'm afraid I will lose pieces. An alternative is to use painter's tape to mask the part you don't want, ink it up, remove the painter's tape, and stamp away! |
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Xanthippe
PeaNut
PeaNut 243,916
January 2006
Posts: 469
Layouts: 22
Loc: Texas!
| Posted: 3/2/2013 9:48:25 PM
Thanks for sharing the tutoria l. I'm going to try it! | |
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gardencat
PeaAddict
PeaNut 495,307
January 2011
Posts: 1,412
Layouts: 135
| Posted: 3/3/2013 10:10:00 AM
My gosh! I never realized there were so many knife happy peas out there. 
I do have some sentiments that I'd like to rearrange so guess I should go watch that video. | |
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looser
The Craft Curmudgeon
PeaNut 256,594
April 2006
Posts: 10,865
Layouts: 254
| Posted: 3/3/2013 10:15:22 AM
LOL. GC! Just call me 'Blade Runner'. |
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ChanelNo5
PeaAddict
PeaNut 95,966
July 2003
Posts: 1,016
Layouts: 38
Loc: Streets of Paris
 | Posted: 3/3/2013 5:19:53 PM
great tutorial! i've cut up a few background stamps, so i can use the images alone. and i've definitely removed sentiments below an image. looking forward to grabbing my scalpel, err xacto and performing surgery. do you think i should wear scrubs? |
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looser
The Craft Curmudgeon
PeaNut 256,594
April 2006
Posts: 10,865
Layouts: 254
| Posted: 3/5/2013 1:19:05 PM
Although I've alluded to this in a previous post, I thot I'd ask it as a direct question...
When you do stamp surgery, do you do it in a way that lets you reassemble the original image/sentiment stamp? If "Yes", how do you do it?
For me, it works easiest when I do the surgery with a blade-only, as opposed to using scissors. |
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howdyheidi
StuckOnPeas
PeaNut 540,243
January 2012
Posts: 2,586
Layouts: 166
Loc: PA
| Posted: 3/5/2013 1:43:01 PM
I've only cut up stamps a couple times, and honestly I cannot remember if I used scissors or the blade. I can see how the Tim Holtz scissors would be too thick, but my cutterbees would probably be thin enough. |
~~Heidi~~
"Find Joy in the Unexpected..."
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looser
The Craft Curmudgeon
PeaNut 256,594
April 2006
Posts: 10,865
Layouts: 254
| Posted: 3/6/2013 11:00:39 AM
Heidi. I've found that the thickness of the scissors blade is not so much a problem when cutting apart stamps. But using a knife provides me with greater ability to keep the angle of the cuts where I like it.
And when I use a knife, I can secure the stamp to my work surface & make my cuts more easily. |
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howdyheidi
StuckOnPeas
PeaNut 540,243
January 2012
Posts: 2,586
Layouts: 166
Loc: PA
| Posted: 3/31/2013 7:31:56 PM
Cross linking a related thread on altering stamps... |
~~Heidi~~
"Find Joy in the Unexpected..."
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julie_stamps
Garden Girl
PeaNut 313,442
April 2007
Posts: 1,279
Layouts: 170
Loc: Indiana
 | Posted: 4/15/2013 7:32:42 AM
I cut mine apart all the time using my Cutterbees. It's so much faster than masking. |
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