I try not to assume what is obvious or not as oftentimes I have "ah ha" moments with basic things. This past Saturday, I posted this "Look Up to Father" gold card in a blog hop. What I wanted to briefly share today was how I mounted this stamp set for ease of separating out the tree from the sentiment/wording.

First, I took my hobby/X-acto blade and very slowly and carefully made repeated straight line cuts in the small gap between the tree and the words. Take great care to cut down straight and not at an angle. Smooth straight lines at right angle to the rubber.

 Eventually, you can cut straight through or you can get to a point where you feel you can finish the job using sharp scissors. Again, being sure to cut straight up and down through the rubber. You don't want an angle like this : / or just straight so that the rubber is fully supported by the foam beneath it.

Once separate, I simply mounted the tree on the side where the original single image would have gone and the sentiment on the end. Voila, 2 stamps and I'm not painstakingly masking off the sentiment if I just want the tree. No fuss, no muss.

Not sure if you can tell but, as an added little bit of info, can you see at all that my wood block is shiny? I spray 100% of my wood blocks with a sealer before mounting. Have been doing this for eons. Stains do not affect stamping whatsoever. It's more about me being Type-A and liking my stamps to look super clean after use. I've tried all sorts of sprays and finally found "the" one I now use exlusively: Krylon Triple-Thick Crystal "Clear Glaze." I find it at Walmart for about $3.65 but they were out of stock the last time I needed it. I then found it at JoAnn's Fabrics for double the price but I used a coupon so it was close enough in price for me to buy it there.

Here's what the can looks like (note that I've gone to Home Depot and Lowe's and they do not carry it).

Also, another tip: do not use newspaper as your base on which to put the wood to spray. May stick to the wood (I know that from first-hand experience – ugh). I use any old cardboard box including a USPS Priority Mail box I've received something in. I simply break it open till it's flat on the work bench in our garage (don't do this inside the house!), arrange the wood blocks from any new stamp set, spray, let it dry about 20-30 minutes, turn it, spray, let dry, etc… till all sides coated. If it's a nice day, I move the cardboard outside, under our back awning and let dry in the fresh air. From start to finish they're dry where I live (no humidity) in about an hour. When I spray, I then go do household chores, when I think of it, I then flip 'em… a task that you have in the background while you're doing other things.

Any questions? I'm here via email: StellarStamps@comcast.net