Having trouble using clear stamps: What am I doing Wrong?

Question

So, I have the clear block and have the clear stamps by inkadinkado, its a bunch of butterfly stamps. And the ink I have is by Rubber Stampede and its a pack of twelve colors. I also have a few distressed stamps by Tim Holz as well. And whenever I try to stamp with the clear stamps with any of these inks it doesn't cover it completely, like only parts will stamp onto the paper. Why is this? Am I doing anything wrong? I am just stamping onto a basic card stock paper. What exactly do I need to do to get it to stamp good? Is there a different brand of ink I should get or does that even matter? Sorry for so many questions, I am a scrapbooker and wanted to incorporate stamps into my scrapbooking and might even try to do handmade cards, so any advice would be great. Thanks!

Answer 1

The first thing you need to do before using clear stamps is to clean them with water & mild soap (like Dawn). There is a coating from the manufacturing process that causes most of the blobbing. I even use baby wipes that are both alcohol & fragrance free to clean them before & after each use. If they lose there cling on the backside, just clean them & they should be fine. Also, if the stamp is a large one, you may want to ink the stamp up & lay it stamp side up on a hard surface. Place the card stock on top of the stamp & roll a clean brayer (or rub your hand across the back of the card stock) over it to make sure all areas are inked. I also brayer the ink onto the larger stamps to make sure it is covered evenly.



I recommend that you stay away from the Staz-On inks on polymer stamps. They are much stronger & need to be cleaned with the Staz On cleaner that is much stronger than regular stamp cleaners. The distress inks don't always cover evenly...thus the distress name. They are meant to show imperfections. If you want to emboss the images, just use the pigment inks with the embossing powders & the heat gun. Just regular stamping just requires dye inks. I've even used my grandkids in a pinch & they do well on cards. Just make sure the package states that they are archival quality if you are using them with your precious pictures.



I noticed that some people say to stamp on glass, but clear stamps don't have the cushion attached like wood mounted stamps. It doesn't matter if the cushion is on top or the bottom, but it should be in one or the other. I use an old mouse pads as my cushion under the card stock. Make sure that you don't rock the stamp back and forth. Apply even pressure on the whole image & then lift up quickly when you're finished. I stand up to stamp, so I can apply an even pressure to prevent double images or blobbing.



If all else fails, go to the stamp manufacturers site. They offer lots of tips & techniques and are very helpful to new (& old) stampers. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Rubber Stampede makes good ink pads, as all manufacturers of rubber stamps do. Make sore that you have a firm surface under the paper since any soft spots might let the paper push away from the stamp. After you ink the stamp turn it over and see if the ink is in all places as there could be a dry spot on the pad. Also, make sure that you are starting with a clean stamp as old ink can cause the new ink to not even get picked up in the first place.

Answer 3

try using a stamp pad thing...it goes under the paper you're stamping on so that you get an even surface, and make sure you press down on all areas of the stamp. if that doesn't work then keep pressing the stamp onto the inkpad till it's pretty dark and even. or you could try a different brand of ink...versa color is really good because it's like paint and comes out quite thick. good luck :)

Answer 4

I stamp using a glass surface underneath. You just may not be inking the stamp well enough. Rub the ink pad over the stamp, not the stamp over the ink pad. Memory Makers makes a 12x12 glass mat.

Answer 5

Sounds rather strange. I would investigate the matter with your landlord and the so-called credit card company. If the details are truly false, you could tell them to leave you alone!