Starting Out With Stamps

As a newbie to the scrapbooking world, I often got ‘layout envy’ as I scrolled through all the gorgeous pages that have been posted on the many crafting pages and Facebook groups that I’d joined. But no matter how I tried, I just couldn’t seem to replicate the same effects.

And then I made a discovery that meant I too could produce flawless calligraphy, perfect backgrounds and beautifully detailed embellishments like the ones I coveted so much. And that discovery was STAMPS!

Ok, some people may prefer to handwrite or hand paint their sentiments and quotes or detailed backgrounds but as you may now know, my artistic skills are pretty low key so having the detail part done for me is just a gift! (Plus I’m doing all of the hard work by inking the stamp and pressing it onto the page, right?)

So, here are the main things that I have learned about using stamps in my layouts so far...

1. There are 2 main types of stamps-rubber and acrylic. The rubber stamps usually come on a wooden or plastic handle. The acrylic stamps are see-through and very flexible and come on an acetate sheet. You’ll need to buy a clear acrylic block which you then stick your stamp to before pressing onto your page. (They seof stick like magic-no adhesive required!!). I much prefer the acrylic stamps as you can see exactly where you are stamping before you commit ink to paper. Perfect if you are building up a background. Also, you can arrange several different stamps on your block at the same time and stamp them all at once.

2. No matter what your theme, you‘ll find a stamp out there to fit. There are literally thousands of options available! Florals, numbers and letters in so many fonts, full sentiments and quotes, animals, steam punk, mystical...the list goes on. And you can buy single stamps or full sheets of co-ordinating designs.

3. There are LOTS of different inks out there that you can use along with your stamps and it can actually become quite overwhelming to know what to use when, My advice would be to start out with some basic ink pads in your favourite colours and just have a play. Definitely buy a black ink as this is so versatile for stamping sentiments and pictures. And then, if you decide to explore further, take a look at some of the amazing YouTube video tutorials out there to learn new techniques.

4. Try pressing your ink pad onto your stamp rather than pressing your stamp into your pad. That way, you can see exactly where the ink has covered and any spaces that you may have missed.

4. With the acrylic stamps, when you turn them over ready to print, the see-through-ability of the block means that you can line the stamp up EXACTLY where you want it to go! Perfect for those with hand-eye coordination issues!

5. When you’ve finally decided to commit ink to paper, press your stamp block firmly onto the page. RESIST the urge to roll it back and forth as this can sometimes end in you getting spots of ink from your block around the edges of the stamp itself.

6. The actual stamped image can be a stand alone design or you can enhance it in a multitude of ways-add colour using pens or paints, cut it out to make your own embellishments to add to your layouts or other projects.

*TOP TIP* You can get some gorgeous stamps included with a lot of the crafting magazines that are on sale and the bonus is that you will also get loads of ideas of how to use them inside the magazine. Plus the set and the magazine are very often much better value than buying the stamps on their own from a craft store. I recently picked up a magazine with 30 stamps for £7.99 and then saw a very similar stamp set on its own for £20!! Perfect if you’re just starting out with stamps. There are so many other ways to use stamps that I’m sure I will be trying out over the course of my scrapbooking journey but for now, I’m just having fun with the basics and trying to stop myself buying every stamp I come across!

Thanks for reading,

Vicky

The Secret Scrapbooker