Rubber Stamping 101: Meet Your New Obsession

May 12th, 2008 in paper crafts

Khris Cochran, contributor

The modest stash box of a rubber-stamping enthusiast from rubber-stamping supply house MassiveCut. Be warned: rubber stamping can take over entire rooms of your house!

This cool coaster from phunkymama at Etsy is made from selected marble tiles available in home-improvement centers. The image is stamped using permanent solvent ink and colored in with chalk pastels.

Yes, you can rubber-stamp edibles, too. This adorable cake topper by ClariCakes features buttercream bubbles spilling over a rubber-stamped wooden tub.

This lovely cell-phone charm with glass beads by phunkymama has a darling fairy rubber-stamped onto shrink plastic.

Rubber-stamping onto fabric is easy. Look at how you can use contrasting fabric to frame your stamped images like these sweet little Fiberfest Birds from MorningK at Flickr.

The modest stash box of a rubber-stamping enthusiast from rubber-stamping supply house MassiveCut. Be warned: rubber stamping can take over entire rooms of your house!

Photo: Courtesy of MassiveCut.com/lab

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There’s virtually no faster way to get “crafter’s high” (that rush of pride and accomplishment when you complete a beautifully crafted item) than from a rubber stamp. For me, it all started with a single rubber stamp, some green and purple inks, and a few pieces of cardstock. I had wedding programs to do, little money, and zero time. Thanks to my future-mother-in-law, a stamp peddler—and one of my enablers to this day—I was hooked up with the basic tools and some simple techniques. The programs were a hit, and I was addicted.

Stamping is a simple, easy, and instant-gratification craft. Put ink on a stamp. Press the stamp onto paper—voilà! Instant art. OK, it’s not always that easy, but that’s the basic technique for every stamped-paper project. You can handle that, right?

What you need to get started:
• Cardstock for your projects
• Scratch paper to protect your work surface
• Rubber (or clear acrylic) stamps
• Ink pad made for stamping, either dye or pigment ink
• Paper cutter, scissors for cutting cardstock
• Cleaning materials: stamp scrubber, liquid stamp cleaner

The basic technique:
Tap the face of the stamp onto the surface of an ink pad. Tapping, instead of hard pushes or rubbing the ink pad surface, helps disperse the ink.

Gently set the stamp, face down, on a piece of cardstock. Press straight down on the stamp, being careful not to move it. The slightest movement will create smudges or double-stamped images.
Pull the stamp straight up from the paper
Clean your stamp when you’re done. That’s it.

There are thousands of stamp designs in every style imaginable, hundreds of colors of paper, and rainbows of ink, all available via the click of a mouse. Think of all of the stylish handmade birthday cards, gift wrap, invitations, stationery, and other papery creations that are within your reach now!
When I said stamps are the gateway to other crafts, I was telling the truth, my friends. Stamps can be used on more than paper, making them an excellent tool for easing into other crafts.

Some of the materials you can stamp on:

Glass
Tile
Ceramic
Wood
Food (great for cakes, cookies, and icing)
Metal
Clay
Stone
Cloth

Easy. Versatile. Inexpensive. Instant gratification. Are you hooked yet?

posted in: paper crafts, rubberstamp

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Comments (1)

ShiningStar writes: It would be good to include a list of Angel Company Listings. I want to stamp in my journals. Thanks for the 101. Posted: 5:00 pm on May 19th

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