Showgard Desert Magic Drying Book Tips.

My showgard desert magic drying book just came today, and fast too, I ordered 2 or 3 days ago. I can't wait to get to work soaking. Just a few questions about drying book use. Should I shake the stamps till water no longer drips from them, then place them in the drying book and place heavy books on top. What method boasts the best results. I imagine it's pretty fool proof, but if anyone has any tips or teqniques which they use when drying with a drying book please share. Thanks all!

Wet stamps are very fragile and will tear easily so I would not shake them at all.

To remove excess water after you have soaked them and then rinsed them with clean water or dipped them into a bowl of clean water for a first or second rinse, place them face down on a paper towel or a tea towel (dish drying towel) for 5-10 minutes or longer (depends on your atmospheric humidity level and let them almost completely dry there.

If you also drag the stamp slowly and carefully over the rounded lip of the bowl or container you are using, that helps a bit before it gets to the towels.

The more moisture the stamp(s) have before they go into the drying book, the longer they will take in the drying book.

Place stamps in the drying book face down on the blotting type paper page or back down on the shiny pages.

Close drying book.

Place heavy books on top of drying book.

Wait 12 hours anyway.

I dry mine on paper towels first, and after drying overnight, then I place them in the drying book. The stamps should go in the drying book damp, not wet.

I find a plastic fork works very well at removing the stamps out of the bowl. Just heat the ends of the prongs with a lighter and allow the sharp ends to blob and end up dull. This way you wont puncture the stamp

Puzzlers technique is exactly how I do it :)

Wow thanks everyone!

My books have been used heaps now. I really like them. So does my wife it gets the stamps out of the kitchen. The books hold a lot of stamps at one go.

I lost one book about 6 months ago.

I did not put my book in the sun to dry the pages out properly after drying 4 or 5 batches of stamps in a row with it.

Now I have a nasty black fungus growing all over the blotting paper.

Totally ruined, I do not like the idea of putting stamps in it now.

I never totally dry out my stamps in the books. I am only looking to get them into a straight condition. It is because I soak many stamps at the one time.

i Have found that my dessert magic book, does get used up. The last couple of stamps I soaked got stuck to the "non-sticky" side of the page. I ended up cutting that part of the page and re-soaking to get the stamp off. I guess it's time to get another one.

I add a small amount of dishwashing soap to help breakdown the glue when soaking stamps to prevent any glue from sticking to the drying pages .