Feeling so incredibly lucky today! I'm fresh off the bus from Kanab, Utah, where Stampin' Up has a fabulous state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. We got an inside peek at the process, like Founder's Circle attendees always do--but this time, they allowed us to take pictures! So I get to share with you some of the steps in taking rubber all the way from great big rolls of raw product all the way through to a packaged stamp set. It was SO stinkin' fun!
These are rolls of rubber waiting to be cut, put over the mag plates and sent into the ovens. On the left there you can see some of the shelves of labels waiting to go into the stamp cases. This is me getting to cut some of the rubber roll off into measured sheets to fit the size of the plates. Looks like a giant paper cutter, doesn't it!?
I didn't get to put any stamps into the oven this time, but I did get to peel them off the mag plates and trim the excess rubber off, again with a giant paper trimmer type thing. That rubber was HOT! Recognize the stamp set? It's Hearts Aflutter! Below shows how they cool the rubber down before adhering the foam sticky parts....
Next we took them over to add the backing. I was making a clear-mount Hearts Aflutter stamp set for some lucky duck... sorry if I die-cut it crooked! I did get the air bubble worked out, I swear. The employees made it look sooooo easy. Everything was actually a little harder than it looked! This machine below was fun, though. It made the funnest "ka-CHUNK" sound as it die cut four stamp set's worth at a time.
And of course we all went home with a "sample" of free rubber... plus all sorts of things I'll have to blog about later, because this is long enough. We just had the most fun today! It was truly amazing. I just love seeing the process and feeling the warm welcome from the people who work so hard to bring us the products we love. I can never open a stamp set and see those funny little raised corners on the edge of the rubber sheet anymore without thinking, that's where they line it up for the die-cutting machine!
That was a fun look inside! I sell Longaberger and we get the same kind of inside looks! It's fun to see the whole process--you get a better appreciation for what goes into it!
Posted by: Kathy | 09/20/2013 at 05:56 PM
Squee!!
Posted by: Wendy | 09/20/2013 at 06:00 PM
Ooooo, thanks for giving us a peek "behind the curtain"! Especially the new stamp set. ;-)
Posted by: Cindy Elam | 09/20/2013 at 06:07 PM
It's always neat to get a glimpse behind the "curtain," where all the magic happens!
Posted by: Kathy Van Duser | 09/20/2013 at 06:11 PM
My family & I stopped there in Kanab in April 2012. They were so good & kind to us..and had someone give us a personal tour. It definitely made me more grateful for all the hands along the way that bring our stamps to us! (I remember how excited I was to see some sneak peeks of new stamps too!)
Posted by: Kristine John | 09/20/2013 at 06:32 PM
How neat! Thanks for sharing!!
Posted by: Malia | 09/20/2013 at 06:51 PM
It's so refreshing to see someone who thoroughly enjoys her job! You look so cute "hitting the rubber to the road."
Posted by: Gina N. | 09/21/2013 at 10:52 AM