As a card maker, I do love a good rubber stamp. I have a bunch of the old fashioned rubber/wood variety, but for some reason I’ve put off buying the clear, re-positional stamps. The stamps themselves are MUCH less expensive than the rubber/wood stamps, but to use these re-positional stamps you need something to position them ON. That would be the acrylic block shown in the picture above. How does a penny pinching crafter get around this additional expense? She makes her own acrylic blocks. Well, actually, she asks her MWT if he can cut some leftover Lexan into appropriate-sized blocks, and THEN she makes her own acrylic blocks.
The Lexan (also Plexiglass or any old acrylic sheeting would work) was 1/4″ thick, which is kind of thin for an acrylic stamping block. To get around that, I had MWT cut 2 blocks of each size I needed and then I used 4 snot dots–placed in each corner–to stick two of the same-sized blocks together, and voila….stamping blocks that are now a very usable 1/2″ thick.
AND they cost NOTHING!! If you don’t have Lexan, Plexi, etc. laying around, you can find it at your local hardware store. One large ready made acrylic block would probably cost as much as a big sheet of Plexi, which could make a half a dozen DIY alternatives. The only thing to keep in mind when cutting the stuff is you need to use a STATIONARY SAW. Jig, table, band…all will work. A handheld jig could work too, but the blocks won’t be as uniform. Also, with the smaller blocks, watch the digits!!!!!!
Diane, did your stamps not stick when you made your own blocks?