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Fabulous Stamp Tips |
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| The July/August 2006 issue includes 50 Fabulous Stamp Tips collected by Kay Tiedemann Young. Here they are along with a couple of the accompanying illustrations. | ||
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Stamp Tip #9
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Stamp Tip #35
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| 1. Create one-of-a-kind
ink pads by re-inking pads that are just about dry with replacement
ink in the same color family but a different hue or shade. This even
works well with ink pads from one company and re-inkers from another. Experiment,
too, after the initial re-inking, with a second re-inking. If you have
several ink pads that need ink replenishment, consider mixing colors, adding
black to achieve deep hues, and, well, the rainbow’s the limit! 2. Tap dark paper with crumpled plastic wrap inked with metallic inks. Try this technique on other paper and cardstock, as well. Then ink other materials that you can crumple, and apply the inks for still more effects. 3. In a dish, spare jar lid or other shallow container, mix iridescent mica powder or other dry pigment with multipurpose white glue (this glue type dries clear and acts as both an adhesive and a flexible sealant). Crumple waxed paper and daub the mixture onto black glossy cardstock for an eye-catching effect. You have a multitude of choices here. You can vary the dry pigments (including glitter!) and their ratios; you can use acrylic paint or gum arabic as the medium; and you can go with a range of cardstock colors and surface treatments. 4. Organize your stamp acquisitions as they come into your home. It’s easier and less daunting to get them organized from the start. Many organize their stamps by topic or manufacturer. Go with any system that makes sense to you. 5. For watercolored backgrounds, try a resist-wash technique: Stamp with ordinary dye inks on paper or cardstock. Protect the images after they dry by rubbing a plain white wax candle over the impressions. Use a paintbrush, sponge or stipple brush to apply color over the stamped and surrounding, unstamped area. The unprotected area will absorb color, and images in the resist area will stay clear. 6. Rainbow Pads: When you repeatedly stamp an image with a rainbow ink pad, pencil a small mark on the side of the stamp and another mark on the side of the pad. Align the marks to re-ink the stamp with consistent bands of color. 7. Stamp directly on super-fine sandpaper (400-grit or higher) for an exceptional, textured background. Bold images work well with this technique, and you can heat-emboss them, if you want. Apply watercolor paints with a damp fine-point brush. Trim the sandpaper with old scissors, as the blades will dull quickly. Desert and beach scenes are especially effective with sandpaper stamping. 8. Consider the gallon-quart-pint theory of color when designing art. Choose three colors you want to use, perhaps consulting an artist’s color wheel for guidance. The “gallon” is the color that takes up the most space. Then use a “quart” of a contrasting color, and highlight the art with a “pint” of the third color. 9. Use shading and light to make stamped and colored images seem three-dimensional. For example, the underside of the large balls of snow that comprise a snowman will be shaded gray, rather than flat white. The way to do this is to stamp a snowman, and lightly use a gray marker, pencil or chalk on the lower portions of the image. That lends realism. (Art by Cara Giaquinto, Decatur, Indiana. Stamp credits: Snow people, trees—Ann-ticipations/Stamp N' More; cloud, moon—Stampscapes.) 10. A dried baby-wipe behaves much like handmade paper. It tears with a true deckle edge, and impressions stamped on it feather lightly, which can be an intended dreamy or painterly attribute. Incorporate such paper into layered or multipaneled cards, collage and other interests. 11. Write messages and sentiments on dark cardstock with correction pens. They now are available in several colors, including white, and their smooth, opaque “ink” works where many pens won’t. Correction pens also are great for precision coloring of stamp art. 12. Fun Tack is a pliable putty generally used for hanging posters. Use it in the craft room to anchor ink pads on your table. Use it to keep jars of embossing powder from getting knocked over. 13. Fun Tack can “erase” stickiness from a project, as long as the adhesive to be removed came from a tape, such as Xyron. Roll the putty across the stickiness and it’s gone. Fun Tack contains an oil that may leave a mark on paper with prolonged use, so be careful. 14. Mounted rubber stamps usually include a layer of spongy cushion, which provides the proper “spring” to each application of stamp to paper. What you might not know is that it doesn’t matter much where that layer of cushion is in the stamping process! Therefore, another useful tool is a spongy mat that looks much like a miniature desk blotter or writing pad or a computer mouse pad. Use this underneath the paper you are stamping. It helps! 15. Anyone who has some Silly Putty around can use it to make a differently-shaped image. Simply stamp your image on Silly Putty, then, before the ink dries, pull and stretch the putty before stamping the image on paper. You’ll see something you’ve never seen before—and may never see again. This is especially fun to do at Halloween time with faces and people. (Stamp credit: Art by Moonlight) 16. Stamp sayings ahead of time for use on cards. Mass produce cards you like. The more the merrier. 17. Have a box in your stamping room for images you’ve stamped but haven’t used. Add partially finished cards to this box, too. “Some of my best art comes from what I’ve thrown away from past projects,” reports one veteran stamper. “The good is never wasted,” says Lynne Perrella, owner of Acey Deucy. 18. Start your own gallery or idea book. When you see something you like, put it in your gallery/idea book. 19. Get your “money’s worth” with oversized stamp designs by using an entire image with some of your art and only a portion of the image at other times. Consider cutting images apart for a variety of stamp options, too. 20. A tall tree image can be used to create a solo tree in one scene, and a whole forest in another. For the latter, ink only the top portion and repeatedly stamp it in the background; be sure to use different hues of green to approximate nature. 21. When working on a large-scale project, like stamping a wallpaper border or a table, take time to make a sample. Then stand back to look at it in the room, under varying light. Evaluate image placement, size, color and other aspects of the project. 22. Add a multitude of hues, shades and tints as you color stamped images with pencils, pens, markers and chalks. For example, a single tree leaf is more than green. It’s also yellow, dull olive and perhaps a smidgen of blue and a bit of red. Yes, red! Add dots of unexpected color—red, purple or blue, for example—with a small stipple brush as a last step when coloring images of leaves, blossoms, landscapes, desert and beach vistas, as well as cityscapes, waterways and sky. 23. Consider glass for a work table top. It is hard and smooth and easily cleaned. Just don’t do any heavy pounding on this surface. 24. Make your own ink dauber by bundling some rubber bands together, folding them over and tying a band around them. Cut the ends off. What you have will look like a short tassel. Use it to daub ink onto paper or fabric. Eventually your dauber will wear out, but it’s easy to make another. 25. For texture tools, fill balloons part way with grain, seeds, rubber band pieces, home-made “flubber,” etc. Stat by funneling your “ingredients” into a bottle with a long, narrow neck. Then, blow the balloon up part way. Put the balloon over the bottle neck and pour. Be sure to remove the balloon from the bottle slowly—or you’ll have flying confetti instead! Alextamping introduced this idea many years ago. Owner Karen Canto continues to come up with new innovative tools and designs. 26. Pad and pen storage: Ink pads with dye inks (the most common) are best stored with the inked side down. Most pens—especially markers and gel pens—should be stored on their sides for best usage and lower long-term costs. 27. For cleaning permanent ink off almost anything, mix 2 parts water and 1 part Simple Green—a widely available cleaning solution. It works! 28. Apply pigment inks directly to matte paper or cardstock with wedge-shaped cosmetic sponges. Experiment with sponges of various textures and shapes, for subtle, but effective, impact. 29. To add the look of stars or snow to a scene, “go dental.” That is, rub a damp toothbrush (one that you’ve permanently retired from oral hygiene use) over a white ink pad, to load the bristles with ink. Then drag a finger over the face down bristles to splatter the ink onto blue or black paper. Tapping the paper with the tip of a white correction pen (Bic Wite-Out® is one brand) achieves a similar look. 30. Wash over—go lightly!—bold stamped images with a small, damp paintbrush to achieve a watercolor look. This is especially effective with scenic, garden and nature settings. Experiment with ink families from several companies to determine their response with watercolor technique. 31. Create a watercolor effect by using a plant mister on stamp designs with broad surfaces. Fully ink your stamp on any water-based ink pad, i.e. a dye ink pad, then mist it with water and stamp it. Stamp it a second and third time, for variety. Experiment with all the variables to see the changes and results that please you the most. Paper and cardstock types—matte and glossy—also affect results. Watercolor paper is especially effective with this technique. 32. Velvet with a high proportion of synthetic fiber makes an excellent stamping surface. Place a bold rubber stamp image—one with lots of rubber and not so much an outline—on an ironing board with the rubber side up (be sure the stamp is rubber and not photopolymer). Lay the velvet onto the rubber with the fuzzy side of the fabric down. Mist the velvet with water. Heat the iron to its “Cotton” setting and apply the iron to the exposed side of the velvet that is directly over the stamp. Hold the iron there for about 20 seconds. The rubber will heat up, but this does not hurt the stamp. The heat will melt the fibers in the velvet. Turn the cloth over and see the beautiful image in the cloth. 33. Apply lipstick to your lips, kiss a piece of paper or cardstock and emboss the image with clear embossing powder. Experiment with pearlescent, metallic, multicolor and other embossing powders, too, for striking results (on paper, not lips). 34. Think outside the envelope and stamp on a lightweight item and send it through the mail. Simply treat the item like a postcard—put a couple of stamps on it with the address and your message. Ideas for mailable objects: a paper plate, a flip flop, fake fruit or vegetables. 35. The look of marble is yours with ease. Ink a flat-surface “shadow stamp” and pat the inked rubber with a damp, gently wadded paper towel. Then stamp the rubber onto paper. The impression will look marbled, and by changing your ink color, any color of marble is possible. Adding a twist of the wrist when patting the stamp with the paper towel seems to give the best results. 36. Visit a Dollar Store to find amazing, inexpensive treasures. Look in the fingernail section for tiny sticker jewels to cut apart for embellishments. Look for inexpensive glitter glues and markers. Find mailable items (see previous tip) such as tiny birdhouses, holiday theme toys, nerf balls and more. 37. Create a catalog of your stamps. Librarians are superb organizers, and they suggest a “controlled vocabulary.” That is, use the same words to describe similar stamps. For example, if you decide one category will be “Maritime,” avoid other category names like “Ships and Sea,” “Waterways,” “Boats,” “Ocean” or “Sailing.” 38. Use an inexpensive ring binder—to which you can easily add more pages—for organizing your personal stamp catalog. Refer to your personal catalog before going to a stamp store or convention, to have a fresh sense of what you own and what you need. Or, take the catalog with you. Also, page through your catalog for inspiration, perhaps using overlooked stamps in a composition. 39. A pizza box (not yet used for pizza) is just right for storing many mounted stamps. A salmon tin works great for pencils. Some lids on horizontal laundry soaps are just right for markers (stored on their sides). 40. With a template, make your own envelopes with any paper on hand—including maps, correspondence, bags, magazine pages, book pages and mail you’d otherwise toss. Seal the envelopes with custom envelope glue made by mixing 2 parts white glue (Elmer’s Glue-All is a familiar brand) and 1 part vinegar and a drop of any favorite flavoring. Wipe the mixture onto an envelop flap and let it dry. Now it’s ready for lick-and-stick duty. 41. Make gift sets of handmade envelopes (see the previous tip), and make the envelopes thematic. That is, match envelope design themes with the recipient’s preferences, hobbies and interests. Further, make sets of envelopes in standard and small sizes alike, as desired, for versatility. You also can make envelope gift sets that use paper with images, motifs, colors and other aspects keyed to holidays and celebrations. 42. For the torn paper look without a hint of white, tear away from your body. To have white showing on the paper, tear towards your body. Sometimes it’s helpful to use a paintbrush to wet the paper before tearing. Just don’t overdo it. 43. Hold art upside-down—as with an original, a magazine illustration or a store sample—to get an unanticipated sense of its aesthetics. Evaluate color, image placement, perspective and overall compositional balance. (Art by Peter Brandt, Arnsberg, Germany. Stamp credits: All—Stempel-Brandt Motivstempel.) 44. Immortalize your rubber stamp art by turning it into postage stamp art—yes, honest-to-goodness, genuine, personalized postage stamps that you can use on any mail you wish, from postcards to packages. The U.S. Postal Service now allows you to use your own art and photographs as the featured design element of postage stamps ordered through authorized postal suppliers. Such postage stamps are available in several denominations. For details, visit photo.stamps.com, www.zazzle.com or www.pictureitpostage.com. 45. Use stamps of simple geometric patterns, and rotate them when stamping, to create different, yet harmonious patterns. Or carve your own, simple designs to use in this way. 46. Peruse recent issues of RubberStampMadness from back to front. This encourages you to take a fresh look at the magazine, studying each page for ideas and projects. Go through old issues in any direction, as everything will seem surprisingly new. Check out the Advertiser Links to find numerous galleries, instructions and inspiration. 47. Rubber likes to live in dry places, so be sure your organization system keeps stamps away from dust, sunlight and excessive temperatures. 48. Composition is the arrangement of parts into a greater whole. Elements like line, color, texture, shape and pattern are the pieces of a composition puzzle. Practice composition by stamping images in a pattern or in repetition; then stamp images randomly, off-center or in asymmetrical balance. Analyze your stamped images to see what is pleasing and what misses the mark. 49. Elevate your rubber stamp art with attractive postage stamps. Correspondence with stampers in other countries that have a tradition of sophisticated postage stamp design can be especially enjoyable. Go to your local post office or check online to see what current U.S. postage stamps are available (visit www.usps.com). 50. Unless stamped images are grounded, they may appear to float in a composition. This plays tricks with the eye, but grounding images can be as easy as sketching a line under the image, creating a horizon line or using perspective to generate sensible relationships between art elements. (Stamp credit: Alpha Stamps.) |
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| Stamp Tip #43 | Stamp Tip #50 | |