Tuesday, August 28, 2007

"My Take On Clear Stamps"

A lot of people are getting the clear stamps. I just started to use them. For the most part I do like them but they took a little bit of practice to get a good image. Some of them you can ink up and they work perfect. Others you have to use them several times to get a good image. What I noticed on a few of my clear stamps was that when I stamped them, the image spread out and the outline line was a bit thicker than it should be. I don't know if I was pushing it too hard on the paper or it is supposed to look like that. I also noticed some didn't ink up good at all. What I do now is ink my image on the clear stamp and then stamp some scrap paper to see what kind of image I am going to get. If it isn't a good one, I take an eraser and rub the stamp and then ink it up and it is a better image. I do that the first time I use it, not every time. I think that some of them are so shiny that they don't take the ink properly but after rubbing an eraser on it it seemed to work.

Overall I do like the clear stamps. I like that you can see where it is going to go and I don't have to use the stamp-a-ma-jig with them. I also like that you can shape them. For instance, if you have a greeting that you want to make curvy instead of straight you can. Of if you have flower stems, you can shape them so they don't all look the same. That is a good option. I would say that if you are new to clear stamps. Get some scratch paper and stamp away so you can see how it will look. I would also rub the eraser on all the images before I ink them for the first time to get the shiny off and so they will take the ink better. So, that is my take on clear stamps. If you have any other advice on them or another opinion, feel free to let me know.

4 comments:

Alhambra Club said...

That eraser thing is pretty neat I have been doing that I find that better acrylics are good it is the $ acrylic stamps that I have to play with. Thanks for the info.

CreativeMish said...

If you buy a peice of foam, at your local craft store and put under your cardstock you're stamping.. you dont have to press as hard and you get a good, crisp image.

Risa said...

Thank you for sharing this information. I noticed the thicker lines also but had no idea of what to do about it!
BTW....I could not find you site again for "all the tea in China"! I popped in for advice and found you! Isn't that something.
Malieta:)

Bella Rose Creations said...

Thanks for this tip! I have bought a few clear stamps and overall have been very unhappy with them. It may be me, but I can't seem to get a clear impression and while curvy is cool...sometimes I REAlLY just want it straight and I find I'm re-applying several times.

I'm going to try that eraser thing, that way I can press lighter.