Preparing your stamps

Have you got acrylic stamps that are hard to see through? Some staining is unavoidable, and just shows that your stamps are well-loved! But you don’t want it to get so bad that you can’t position them anymore. This step-by-step guide will help you to prep your stamps for their first use, and will mean they don’t become so stained.

 

1. You will need: your new stamp set, appropriate sized blocks, a pale colour of ink, scrap paper, spritz cleaner and stamp scrubber.

2, 3. Peel the stamp from the backing sheet and position on your block.

4, 5. Gently rub stamp against the skin on your forearm. This will transfer some of the oils on your skin to the acrylic. The stamp should become a little cloudy.

6. Get a good amount of ink on the stamp. Tap, tap, twist, twist.

7. Stamp the image a few times on scrap paper till you are happy with it.

8. Clean using scrubber and spritz.

9. Now your stamp is ready to be used in any colour you like!

Is it too late?

If you have stamps that are turning violet, you might be using black ink a lot! I find that by using a pale colour first (such as bamboo), not as much of the black transfers to the acrylic.

If you already have violet stamps and want to clean them up, try making a solution with one part water to one part spritz cleaner, and soaking the stamp for an hour or so.