If you belong to a stamp club, either at school, or elsewhere, ask the teacher or adult if they can help you to enter a competition - or perhaps you could have a competition with your friends.
But what will your entry be about?
Well you might be surprised at how many different things get put onto stamps. Animals and flowers are probably the most common, but sport, science, scenery, medicine and famous people are just SOME of dozens of subjects. Or you can use a theme such as 'The Battle of Hastings', or space travel or children on stamps.
Later on we'll show you some examples of collections so you get an idea of what some other children have done.
And finally we will tell you about an area of collecting that is called "Postal History' where you collect mostly envelopes - don't let the history bit put you off - it can be very interesting!.
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| How do you mount your stamps on the page? |
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 Never use bits of sheet margins, sticky tape, glue, the adhesive on the back of the stamps, or even old stamp hinges. (nor of course hammer and nails!!)
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Always use proper stamp hinges. Moisten just lightly to stick the smaller part to the back of the stamp – just below the top perforations.
Again moisten lightly to stick the larger portion to your page.
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You can obtain plastic mounts. These have a clear front, and either a black or clear background. You cut the mount to the size of your stamp.However, do be careful, as it is easy for stamps to become crooked in such mounts.
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If you are having a black border around your stamps, make sure to leave just a narrow margin around the stamp. A wide border can make your stamps look out of proportion, and ensure that the surround to the stamp is straight and not crooked.
If you are mounting covers (the word collector for use for an envelope) or large items, you may prefer to use photo corners.
A useful hint is to cut a tiny piece from the corner of your photo corners – this will make the item you are mounting fit better.
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How do I arrange a page of stamps?
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Do not simply put the stamps on the page in the order of their face value
Below is an example of a first attempt.
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Arrange the stamps carefully, bearing in mind not only the various shapes and sizes, but also the colours.
You might find it best to try out a few layouts first, before actually mounting your stamps.
Always avoid putting too many stamps on your pages, otherwise they will look very over-crowded.
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Here are some examples of a pages which have been carefully arranged.
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next page -> ->-> |
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