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I just got my first background stamp yesterday (canvas). I really like it, but I'm not sure that I'm doing it right. I lay it down rubber-side-up and press my ink pad down on it to ink it. Then I lay the piece of cardstock down on top of the rubber and a piece of scrap over that. Then I press down and rub over the scrap paper. This works pretty well, except that I get darker lines in my image...I think it's from the edges of the ink pad. Does this make sense? Since the ink pad is smaller than the stamp, I have to press down in several areas, and that's what produces these lines. Is there any way around this?
Since I don't have a brayer I just rub my ink pad all over the surface. (instead of pushing it down). I rub it up and down, side to side, diagonal until the coverage looks even. Usually if there are lines on it you can tell when it's inked up. I also find that if my stamp pads are well inked they do even better!
LOL! Knew I couldn't be the only one that avoided cleaning the brayer....must get over fear of cleaning so I can stamp more!! It can't be that bad, right? (I have this aversion.....)
Susan
__________________ I'm still stampin', yeah, yeah, yeah!
Hmmm. Good thing to bring up! I wonder if anyone else has more than 2-3 brayers to reduce cleaning problems?
I have one brayer just for black. Even when I clean thoroughly, I can never get Basic Black out completely. Then it stains my other pads a little. I'm pretty anal about my ink pads, so that is a real issue for me.
I also have one just for versamark and craft inks and one for "all others."
I love using my brayer, and could never get consistent ink coverage tapping/rubbing with my ink pad. Besides, if I did that, little threads come loose from the ink pad and wears it out more quickly. Brayers are wonderful.
How do the rest of you clean your brayer? Does anyone use bleach and then condition with Stampin' Mist to recondition the rubber?
Inquiring minds want to know!
All my best,
Nancy
__________________ You can always tell a real friend; When you've made a fool of yourself, he doesn't think you've done a permanent job.
- Lawrence J. Peter http://community.webshots.com/user/neighbor_nancy
Oh! never thought about that Beate! I have one stamp pad that's starting to look "rough around the edges!" I'll have to get a brayer with my christmas money! Thanks for the tip!
i'm a little confused. are you folks saying to run the brayer over the ink pad, then brayer over the stamp. or ink up the stamp, then even it out with the brayer? man, i'm feeling quite stupid right now. i'll blame it on the impending holidays.
While many others might have their variations, the general way to brayer is to brayer on your ink pad and then on your stamp. Be sure to do this several times to get the stamp fully and evenly inked. Definitely have your stamping surface covered, as sometimes the brayer might slip off of the rubber stamp (which is rubber up on your stamping surface, by the way).
If you have a particularly detailed stamp, it can be very advantageous to place your cardstock (precut is easier) directly on the stamp (again, rubber face up).
Then, with one hand keeping the cardstock immobile, use your other hand to "massage" the cardstock all over every teeny tiny crevice of the stamp. I have obtained my best images this way!
Good luck, and let us know if you have other questions.
Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone in the duplicate brayer dept, Beatte!
All my best,
Nancy
__________________ You can always tell a real friend; When you've made a fool of yourself, he doesn't think you've done a permanent job.
- Lawrence J. Peter http://community.webshots.com/user/neighbor_nancy
background stamp help
