Postage Stamp Lovers #2

Too bad you are making this for 20 swaps that leaves alot of us out of it . I dont know what you by thin stamps ? never heard of that term . I have a 5.0 rating just dont have 20 swaps under my belt . oh well I guess that leaves alot of us out .

I'm sorry, I'll probably be doing this again in a few weeks and I'll lower the requirement to 15 so hopefully you can join then :) I can't change this one now only because people have already signed up.

Thin stamps are what happens when you soak them and try to remove the envelope paper before it's ready and you literally pull off a layer of the stamp itself hence making it "thin" or almost see through if that makes sense.

Hi Mia, i had a lot of fun with the last one but will have to leave this one for now. The other swap requirements were easier for me where i could send the stamps still attached to the envelope, i wouldn't know where to start by soaking them! Have fun and as always i will be watching out for your other great swaps xx

I felt the same way about "soaking" them, it sounded overwhelming! You put the stamps in bowl of room temp water and after about 5 minutes or so the stamps will like magic float away from the envelope paper. You put the stamp on a paper towel to dry. Just don't put colored paper in the same bowl with white paper. It's much easier than I thought, I'm trying to attract some collectors so we'd have a good mix of stamps!

thanks for inviting me, Mia, I look forward to joining this one -

I'm so glad you found the soaking to be as easy as it is - I had always thought it'd be more difficult as well - and I also appreciate your "warning" about peeling a layer off, thus making the stamp very fragile.

This will be fun, Mary

I've got a 5.0 and 19. I'm watching this until I've completed my 20th.

one thing with the paper towel..be very careful putting the stamps on them!! I've had trouble in the past with the stamps drying to the paper towel and when I tried to pull the stamp away, it ripped. So I've started drying mine on dish towels. Also, many of the newer self-adhesive stamps don't soak off the paper, period. Here is an article describing how to use lighter fluid to remove them. And yes, it does work!!! Also, here is an offer to get 50 different world wide stamps for $1.00 plus a SASE!!!

Yep, I learned the hard way with the paper towel...best to dry them face down and try to rotate them around a little bit as they're drying to keep them from sticking. The US stamps seem to have a problem separating from the paper so thanks for the links!

Thanks for letting me join, Mia. :-) I was happy to see Swap #2 up!

I have worldwide used postage stamps for trade. Please let me know if you like to trade with me. Thank you.

CajunLady - I went to the link that you gave and saw that the stamps they said to put on the SASE was way old, so I contacted them to see if the offer was still good - it is! They're going to update the page. Thanks for this - not often you get a good deal anymore.

Mia if you think the US stamps are hard, the Australiana self-adhesive ones are a nightmare. They always end up being a bit thiner as if you need to get all the sticky adhesive off and it isn't really water soluble. Might have a look at the lighter fluid trick

This is a great swap! I used to collect stamps, so I have some wonderful ones to send out! They are tiny pieces of art that should be loved. Thanks for arranging this swap.