How to Turn a SU Jumbo Wheel into a Set of 13 Stamps

I recently purchased this stamp set (Friends 24-7) and wheel (Friendly Words) from the newest SU catalog. I loved the elegance of both, but really wished that the wheel came as an actual stamp set, so I decided to alter it to meet my needs. I know this has done before, but for those of you who maybe haven't done this, I wanted to show you how. :)First, take a hobby blade and cut along the seam of the rubber that is adhered to the wheel.

Peel it off the wheel as shown. It comes off very easily.

Here is the rubber all peeled away from the wheel.

Now, grab a piece of cling foam (also known as easy mount). Cling foam runs about $3-$5 per 8 X 10 sheet. For this, I used about 1/5 of one sheet. Lay your rubber down on the foam (you are seeing the while liner) and draw an outline of the rubber with a pen.

Remove the rubber and cut out the piece of cling foam to fit your rubber.

Now, peel the liner from the STICKY side of the cling foam. One side is super sticky, the other side does not feel sticky to the touch. The cling side, is the side you adhere to your acrylic block when stamping. Tip: you can also adhere the cling foam to the sticker side of one of your wood mounted stamps.

Adhere the rubber to the sticky side of the cling foam.

Now, ink up the rubber with whatever ink you have laying around and stamp it on some scratch paper.

Plot out where you would like to cut the rubber. Here, I have drawn lines where I would like to cut. It will help you keep your bearings as you cut apart the rubber. Then, start cutting your rubber. I used a combination of a craft knife and my rubber scissors. There were some pretty tight spots, but I was able to cut with my craft knife in those areas without a problem. Just go VERY slowly when cutting with your craft knife.

Here is a shot of all the stamps I was able to cut from one jumbo wheel. I made a set of 13! YAY! The wheel was $8.50 plus about $1 for cling foam, giving me a set of 13 for under $10!

Here is an outline of where I cut. As you can see, I lost one section of rubber because the words ran over each other and it didn't make sense to use it. I placed an X on the area that I threw away.

Look at this gorgeous stamp! I would have paid $8.50 JUST for this stamp.

Look at how nicely this sentiment from the "Friends 24-7" set coordinates with one of the sentiments I cut from the wheel.

Here is another example of coordinating sentiments. One from the stamp set, one from the wheel.

For now, I just stuck the sentiments to the stamp case. Eventually, I will probably put them in an empty stamp box, CD case, or store them a little more safely. I don't want any of my stamps to get lost. :)

If you have wheels that you would like to use as a border, you can also unmount them and keep them whole instead of cutting them apart.

Look at all the wheels you have and decide if you would use them more as a "set" (like the set I showed you today), a wheel (as is), or as a one-piece unmounted strip (mounted on cling foam, but not cut apart).

Don't be afraid, you can do it! LOL

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment on this post. Make sure to include your e-mail address so I can get back to you.