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Hello fellow stampers
I am new to stamping and just got my first clear stamp set. I used Memento ink but I am not getting a crsip image. I have attached an image of the same.
I used the same ink on rubber stamp and had no problem with those.
I have used a base. It's not exactly foam but I think it serves the purpose. (not sure)
Aastha, is it a new clear stamp, some clear stamps have a slight film on them when you get them, there are lots of different suggestions on how to get it off your stamp, I personally either use a white eraser gently on the stamp or get a scrap paper and stamp off the image a few times.
Photoploymer stamps (clear stamps) require a little bit more effort to ink if you want the same kind of crisp image as a rubber stamp. The ink does tend to bead up. Some brands of stamps seem to be more prone to this than others.
The paper you use will really make a difference. A coated card stock like Stampin Up's Very Vanilla or Whisper White (there are other brands out there that you can get at the big box stores and others will be able to tell you what they are) will help you get a cleaner image.
If these are new stamps, you might want to rub them down with an eraser to remove any film left from manufacture.
Others will have good tips, but there is nothing like practice! You'll have to experiment. Sometimes you want to tap the pad onto the stamp and check to see that it is well inked, sometimes you want to gently tap the stamp onto the pad so you don't over-ink. We get to know our stamps after working with them for a while and make small adjustments in inking technique or brand/type of ink used.
Also: Don't be quick to reject your less-than perfect images. The one you posted has a nice watercolor look. It might end up looking great on a card.
Don't feel overwhelmed! I was exactly where you were only a few years ago, a complete newbie. I posted tons of questions on the forum (with pictures if it would help make my question/problem more clear) and over time the wonderful folks here trained me up!
Not that I don't still ask questions! I'm just not discouraged by my need to anymore. I know it's all part of learning.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
You got good advice about conditioning your new clear stamps.
I personally get much better images with my clear stamps when I use a pigment ink, rather than a dye ink.
I think Memento is a great brand of ink, and it's especially good for using when you want to color your images with markers.
I haven't found it is as good for getting crisp, clean images with clear stamps. I have better luck with pigment or chalk inks when using my clear stamps.
Also, I don't remember if someone has mentioned this, but sometimes the pressure you use to press when stamping with clear stamps needs to be less than when using rubber stamps. If you press too hard, it will "smoosh" a little, and your image will spread out.
But, like has been said, the pic you posted is actually very appealing, even though it is not crisp. It does have a watercolor look to it.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
You got good advice about conditioning your new clear stamps.
I personally get much better images with my clear stamps when I use a pigment ink, rather than a dye ink.
I think Memento is a great brand of ink, and it's especially good for using when you want to color your images with markers.
I haven't found it is as good for getting crisp, clean images with clear stamps. I have better luck with pigment or chalk inks when using my clear stamps.
Also, I don't remember if someone has mentioned this, but sometimes the pressure you use to press when stamping with clear stamps needs to be less than when using rubber stamps. If you press too hard, it will "smoosh" a little, and your image will spread out.
But, like has been said, the pic you posted is actually very appealing, even though it is not crisp. It does have a watercolor look to it.
Thank you for the reply.
I have the Memento ink pads and not markers. Hopefully I won't regret this decision..
Thanks for mentioning the pressure point. I was actually trying to press as hard as i can to get a good image( like I do with the rubber stamps.) Will keep this in mind next time.
Photoploymer stamps (clear stamps) require a little bit more effort to ink if you want the same kind of crisp image as a rubber stamp. The ink does tend to bead up. Some brands of stamps seem to be more prone to this than others.
The paper you use will really make a difference. A coated card stock like Stampin Up's Very Vanilla or Whisper White (there are other brands out there that you can get at the big box stores and others will be able to tell you what they are) will help you get a cleaner image.
If these are new stamps, you might want to rub them down with an eraser to remove any film left from manufacture.
Others will have good tips, but there is nothing like practice! You'll have to experiment. Sometimes you want to tap the pad onto the stamp and check to see that it is well inked, sometimes you want to gently tap the stamp onto the pad so you don't over-ink. We get to know our stamps after working with them for a while and make small adjustments in inking technique or brand/type of ink used.
Also: Don't be quick to reject your less-than perfect images. The one you posted has a nice watercolor look. It might end up looking great on a card.
Don't feel overwhelmed! I was exactly where you were only a few years ago, a complete newbie. I posted tons of questions on the forum (with pictures if it would help make my question/problem more clear) and over time the wonderful folks here trained me up!
Not that I don't still ask questions! I'm just not discouraged by my need to anymore. I know it's all part of learning.
Thankyou for the advice. Should I have a preference for the clear stamp brand next time when I decide to buy? This was a Stampendous stamp.
.
I am just using the paper that I have on hand for now(sheets from a drawing pad). Was thinking to get either Recollections cardstock or Neenah cardstock(from Target).
Aastha, is it a new clear stamp, some clear stamps have a slight film on them when you get them, there are lots of different suggestions on how to get it off your stamp, I personally either use a white eraser gently on the stamp or get a scrap paper and stamp off the image a few times.
Thanks Jukie..
I heard about this tip before but totally forgot about it! Thanks for reminding me. Will try it out..
Drawing paper is going to soak up the ink. Try the Neenah or Recollections for sure. If you feel your drawing paper, you'll feel that it isn't smooth. The Neenah or Recollections you buy should feel smoother. You'll see a definite difference in your image crispness.
I have some Stampendous stamps. They are a good company. You should be able to get a very clean image with them. Others will chime in with companies they like for clear stamps. If that's what you want to stick with. I have a mixture because I just buy images I like, don't care whether they are rubber or photopolymer.
Bugga mentioned pigment ink. I love especially to use Colorbox Chalk Ink, which is kind of a hybrid dye/pigment ink, with my clear stamps. Great coverage. But this ink does stain the stamp. I don't care about that.
But start by getting some better paper and working with your Memento. Memento is a great ink. If you want to explore other dye inks, try SU or Papertrey or Hero Arts or Adirondack or Ranger Archival. (Lots of others, and people will chime in.) Pick a color you love from another brand and see how you like working with it. Again, you'll eventually start to know your inks through trial and error and practice. But give yourself time and don't rush out and buy lots of different inks immediately. Get some better paper first.
And play with your drawing paper to make those watercolor images. You can actually ink up your stamp and mist it very lightly with water before stamping to create an even more watercolory image and see if you like that look. Maybe let it dry, re-ink your clear stamp and re-stamp without misting on top of the loose, watery image to add more dimension.
If you frame these watercolor images crisply by matting them on colored card stock and adding a stamped sentiment, you'll have a beautiful card.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Use a white eraser to go over the clear stamp, use even steady pressure with a pad under the paper, hold the inked stamp onto the paper for maybe five seconds so the ink has time to absorb into the paper, use VersaFine inks, when using Memento inks ink the stamp really well, use a MISTI so you can restamp if you need to.
I like chalk ink for clear stamps; as mentioned earlier, it does stain the stamp, but I get a much better image. I have used Georgia Pacific cardstock from Walmart, and they also have a Neenah White cardstock at Walmart now. I think your image is really pretty, and would lovely on a card!
Wow! I didn't see Neenah card stocks at my WMart recently, but if you do go there and you see a choice between Georgia Pacific and Neenah brands, go for the Neenah branding. GP tends to be a bit "gray" instead of a true white, and it's also a rougher texture, i.e. 'more tooth'. That definitely affects the outcome with your stamps & inks. Neenah offers smother card stocks ... although I am as yet unfamiliar with which of the Neenah styles may be offered at WMart. ;)
You've gotten some terrific tried and true suggestions, and they work great. I love my clear stamps for a number of reasons, and another trick I've used is inking them first with Versamark ink. It's a clear ink, and even though you wipe your stamp after, it almost "conditions it" for future stamping. You might try that and see how that works too! Good luck.
Dont push so hard. A well inked stamp does not need it-regrdless of kind. Leave it in place for a bit for ink transfer. Common newbie mistake and one I made too. We're not doing CPR here lol. However-too much ink and you dont get a clear image either. Different with every stamp. Try a little less and see what happens.
Dont rock side to side. That could be doing it. Straight down and up with the stamp. Be careful to hold in place if you are taking a finger to press around all the edges.
It looks like you have ink around the edges too-or did you do that? The nice thing about pigments is that they take longer to dry so you have longer to work. So you have time to wipe edges if you want.
I dont see anyone has mentioned huffing to you. Huffing is huff-breathing on an inked stamp before you stamp. Helps with even inking, esp with dye inks.
I still will use a magazine or some loose copy paper to create a stamping surface. No worries if you dont have the foam yet. If you see a cheap mouse pad-that works just fine.
There is a running discussion of which clear stamp companies are better than others. I am not the biggest fan of them for solid images myself, regardless of company. I'd rather have red rubber/cling for that.
Now the ironic thing-right now people are spraying their stamps with water to purposely soften the image/get a watercolor look. Very similar to what you have there. So dont just toss it.
You've gotten some terrific tried and true suggestions, and they work great. I love my clear stamps for a number of reasons, and another trick I've used is inking them first with Versamark ink. It's a clear ink, and even though you wipe your stamp after, it almost "conditions it" for future stamping. You might try that and see how that works too! Good luck.
Thankyou for the suggestion. I don't have Versamark ink at present. But I tried the eraser trick. At first, I felt the image was better without it but after 2-3 trials it improved.
Isn't Versamark ink used for clear embossing?
Thanks
Thank you for the pic. Helps us help you. That actually isnt that bad! You didnt double stamp it, you didnt smear it, you have ink throughout the image
Dont push so hard. A well inked stamp does not need it-regrdless of kind. Leave it in place for a bit for ink transfer. Common newbie mistake and one I made too. We're not doing CPR here lol. However-too much ink and you dont get a clear image either. Different with every stamp. Try a little less and see what happens.
Dont rock side to side. That could be doing it. Straight down and up with the stamp. Be careful to hold in place if you are taking a finger to press around all the edges.
It looks like you have ink around the edges too-or did you do that? The nice thing about pigments is that they take longer to dry so you have longer to work. So you have time to wipe edges if you want.
I dont see anyone has mentioned huffing to you. Huffing is huff-breathing on an inked stamp before you stamp. Helps with even inking, esp with dye inks.
I still will use a magazine or some loose copy paper to create a stamping surface. No worries if you dont have the foam yet. If you see a cheap mouse pad-that works just fine.
There is a running discussion of which clear stamp companies are better than others. I am not the biggest fan of them for solid images myself, regardless of company. I'd rather have red rubber/cling for that.
Now the ironic thing-right now people are spraying their stamps with water to purposely soften the image/get a watercolor look. Very similar to what you have there. So dont just toss it.
Thankyou for the cool tips explained in a really nice way.
I did that around the edges. Saw alot of people do it on youtube, but their's was more subtle and evenly spread out. Maybe because I was using dye inks and not distress inks.. I wish I had purchased those instead of Memento because there are are so many cool techniques with Distress. :(
Hey hey-you can do cool things with Memento too! Do not fret! It is water based. You can water it down too and paint with it. You can sponge with it. Maybe not blend as easily as Distress but you can. You can edge with it. It comes in a lot of colors that Distress does not. Some very basic too. Distress is about vintage looks so the colors lean that way. There are holes in the line for every day stamping.
Just try to keep in mind the basic rules of the inks because then down the road you can branch out to inks with special properties within the main groups.
What I might suggest to you is to get the Onyx black versafine. It is a pigment ink but it is made specifically for fine images-I think it is a little thinner? Anyway, I use it constantly. I think it would work well on that flower of yours for example. It comes in colors but start with black.
Yes-versamark can be used for embossing. It's primary role is supposed to be for watermarking. If you stamp it straight onto paper, you will see your image in a very light way which can be cool for a background subtle effect-nice for making stationary for example.
Hey listen-your edging is fine. There is no rule about that...and it is just one of those things that takes a little practice. We all have different sized hands for example so we might hold the CS differently. We all like different amounts of edging. You will get comfortable with this stuff over time!
I know...people here and in the world make it look SOOO easy. Um, no. LOL. It is very different from other things we do so there may not be a lot of carry over from daily life skills, other than cutting but even fussy cutting takes practice. (around images)
Quilting could look easy...just sewing right? Till you try to do it.
Keep in mind...people here have been doing this for years...as in up to 20 years in some cases. You are just starting out. Depending on how much time you can give to practice you could ramp up very quickly. What I did was one technique at a time. Some are fundamental and you can do just that or you can build on it. What's so great about it is you can do this across your whole life-there is no "time window" like in sports and you will be giving people unique cards from you and not Hallmark.
Relax into it. Enjoy the learning process and it becomes a lot of fun. Dont be hard on yourself. As is said a million times, we are our own worst critics. I totally get it. It can be frustrating. Even the vets will tell you there are things they just cant do or dont like to do-so they dont. Some people dont like coloring, some peole dont stamping at all..
If you look at the threads in the general board-like how long to make a card...vets are telling us that it can them hours to days to decide what they want to do. Other people can just bang em out. There are a bunch of threads like this-people talking about the challenges. So it isnt just you. We can drive ourselves crazy looking for just the right color or die shape or whatever-or not.
If you feel like you cant come up with ideas, you can look in the gallery. Many will tell you what they did. (you might have to go to a blog) There are the tutorials here. If you CASE a card (copy someone elses or use the use the idea) we do give credit when we post the pic to that person just a polite thing. Or you can come here and ask for help. There is a running thread about helping finish a card you post your pic to and people will come to your aid.
(You see also see CAS-clean and simple. Not the same thing. Just so you dont get confused)
On your edges it looks like you did direct to paper with the ink pad? That will always give what I call a rough/grungy look.
I use a sponge wedge (it's a Stampin' Up! sponge (a circle) and I cut them into 6 pieces), and get ink onto my sponge from the ink pad. Then I apply the sponge to the edges of my card stock. It gives a softer look and you can add more if needed.
I liked your card front. I would trim that down and run over to my card bases in a flat minute! I'll let everyone else tell you how to do it differently next time.
Here is the Neenah cardstock I got at our local Walmart. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Neenah-Bri...heets/45373339
It is only 65 lb., so I don't think it would be good for the base of the card, but I stamp images and cut them out, and it seems to work fine. I think it was around $5/6 or something, but can't remember the actual price. It is 80 sheets of bright white. Haven't bought any of the colors; wasn't sure they were heavy enough to make the actual cards with.
They were'nt with the scrapbooking papers: they were in the office supplies section.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasGrammy
Wow! I didn't see Neenah card stocks at my WMart recently, but if you do go there and you see a choice between Georgia Pacific and Neenah brands, go for the Neenah branding. GP tends to be a bit "gray" instead of a true white, and it's also a rougher texture, i.e. 'more tooth'. That definitely affects the outcome with your stamps & inks. Neenah offers smother card stocks ... although I am as yet unfamiliar with which of the Neenah styles may be offered at WMart. ;)
If you feel like you cant come up with ideas, you can look in the gallery. Many will tell you what they did. (you might have to go to a blog) There are the tutorials here. If you CASE a card (copy someone elses or use the use the idea) we do give credit when we post the pic to that person just a polite thing. Or you can come here and ask for help. There is a running thread about helping finish a card you post your pic to and people will come to your aid.
Thankyou for your reply.
I was looking for a forum today where I can get help about improving/finishing my cards and remembered that you said something about it.
Can you please refer me there? I tried in "Constructive Criticism" forum but it seems to be inactive.
Thanks
If you want to actually take a class online, I suggest that you go to Online Card Classes (Onlinecardclasses.com) and register for one of theirs. For the most part, they are not interactive - not running live at the moment - but you can register for any of them and then you can go through the class day by day and watch all the videos and print out the daily PDF's. And once you register, you have access to that class forever. You can go back and log in and rewatch all or part of it anytime you want. I have taken at least five or six of their classes, and even though the cards they make are usually not exactly my style, the instruction is well-done and the techniques are easy to adapt to what I do. Their classes run around $25 and are worth it, you get a lot of instruction for the money.
But let me say that, as someone who has only been stamping for three years and remembers starting out very clearly, the best teacher is practice. Make cards and then make more cards. Go through the gallery of uploads for the day and look at cards that interest you. Leave comments on them - if someone comments on my card I almost always make an effort to go check out their latest upload and comment in return - and you will start to get to know people. You can also private message the card-maker with questions you might have about how they did something or where they got a specific stamp or supply. People are happy to share their knowledge and their supply sources. But keep making cards! That's the only way to get better at every aspect of this - design, stamping, coloring, using embellishments, various techniques, all of it. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by all the things you see that you can't yet do. Just pick something and learn to do it and use it on a card and then it's yours, you own it.
Glad you have a gallery up and running! Now post stuff to it. If you want to be assured of feedback, the best way is to do some of the weekly challenges if you can. Look in the forum for the challenge section and you'll see that they run all week. I like to do the Color Challenge on Tuesday and the Inspiration Challenge on Saturday. But there is at least one new challenge posted every day. When you do challenges, it pushes you, and when you upload your card you place it in the challenge gallery (it automatically is placed in your own as well) and everyone always checks out each other challenge cards and comments encouragingly.
Just some ideas from someone who really remembers what it was like just starting out. ;)
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Last edited by Rachelrose; 11-05-2015 at 10:24 AM..
If you want to actually take a class online, I suggest that you go to Online Card Classes (Onlinecardclasses.com) and register for one of theirs. For the most part, they are not interactive - not running live at the moment - but you can register for any of them and then you can go through the class day by day and watch all the videos and print out the daily PDF's. And once you register, you have access to that class forever. You can go back and log in and rewatch all or part of it anytime you want. I have taken at least five or six of their classes, and even though the cards they make are usually not exactly my style, the instruction is well-done and the techniques are easy to adapt to what I do. Their classes run around $25 and are worth it, you get a lot of instruction for the money.
But let me say that, as someone who has only been stamping for three years and remembers starting out very clearly, the best teacher is practice. Make cards and then make more cards. Go through the gallery of uploads for the day and look at cards that interest you. Leave comments on them - if someone comments on my card I almost always make an effort to go check out their latest upload and comment in return - and you will start to get to know people. You can also private message the card-maker with questions you might have about how they did something or where they got a specific stamp or supply. People are happy to share their knowledge and their supply sources. But keep making cards! That's the only way to get better at every aspect of this - design, stamping, coloring, using embellishments, various techniques, all of it. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by all the things you see that you can't yet do. Just pick something and learn to do it and use it on a card and then it's yours, you own it.
Glad you have a gallery up and running! Now post stuff to it. If you want to be assured of feedback, the best way is to do some of the weekly challenges if you can. Look in the forum for the challenge section and you'll see that they run all week. I like to do the Color Challenge on Tuesday and the Inspiration Challenge on Saturday. But there is at least one new challenge posted every day. When you do challenges, it pushes you, and when you upload your card you place it in the challenge gallery (it automatically is placed in your own as well) and everyone always checks out each other challenge cards and comments encouragingly.
Just some ideas from someone who really remembers what it was like just starting out. ;)
Thankyou Rachel
I will skip the online classes for now and just try and make youtube my teacher for now. Would rather spend on supplies right now. But I will definitely check out the Upload of the Day Gallery and do as you suggested. I feel that I am still figuring out how to use this amazing website as a beginner. It makes me feel so overwhelmed sometimes! I tried to search for some basic techniques which doesn't use alot of supplies, and everytime I got lost looking at the beautiful cards that people make with still no idea from where to start :(
Thanks for the tip. Hopefully I will figure out things soon..
I too have learned to not press so hard with clear stamps as it makes them squish and spread outwards. For rubber I always use a stamp pad underneath my paper but have found that with some clear stamps I get a crisper image without padding since clear stamps tend to be softer than rubber.
Honestly my advice would be to turn on some music or a favorite movie, grab your favorite beverage (in a spill proof cup), get your supplies out, start experimenting and have fun! Another words - play, play, play, it's just paper and ink. You will not break the bank if you throw away a few of those experiments so give yourself permission to make mistakes! The world will not end and you just might end up having a wonderful afternoon.
'Tis very true ... Practice ... then practice!
Practice is our best teacher.
YouTube wasn't around when I fell in love with stamping, card making, & paper crafting. I had "myself" and Splitcoaststampers as my sole "stamping team". I must admit that 'practice' wasn't the word I kept at the front of my thoughts. Instead, "try some more", "try this", and "see if I can do that" were all terms I said to myself ... because I was enjoying what I was doing, practicing, trying, i.e. learning. ;)
Helpful tips:
Gallery search here at SCS. CAS is our acronym for Clean & Simple ... it's also a great keyword to search whether you're learning, just starting out, or want to focus on easy-to-generate ideas!
Sharp cutting tools: Crisp cuts from the paper trimmer look SO much better than "fuzzy" cuts. Fuzzy cuts? Change your trimmer blade ... easy fix.
Juicy ink pads: It really does make a big difference when you compare an image stamped with a nicely inked pad vs. the same image stamped with a not-juicy-enough ink pad. Moral of story = re-ink pads at first signs of weakly inked images.
Play with inking 'pressure'. Get a blank piece of card stock, ink up an image, and explore using varying amounts of pressure when stamping. Try stamping on a solid hard surface such as a tile, counter top, table top, etc. I stamp on a costco table that has a little "give" to it. So, my best stamping is done atop an 8" square tile for the solid surface.
Find 2 or 3 favorite layouts/sketches/styles of cards that you like. Without struggling over & over for design, now just focus on changing up the colors, the theme, & the stamps to see what a difference those items make ... and make subtle changes the next time, based on what you think could be changed or improved ... or just changed up because you just thought of a new idea to try!
Play along in the challenges here at SCS. Check the challenge forum to find something of interest to you, then play along! Your confidence will grow, your ideas will begin to come more naturally, and hopefully you'll see your style & technique begin to grow as well.
Enjoy! Above all ... it should bring joy to you. ;)
Beginners need to be o.k. with o.k.. Maybe you haven't heard beginners who abandon their new art efforts because it's not perfect? Breaks my heart every time.
I have to say, you made me smile! That's an important lesson for me. "Be ok with ok"!
Yes I almost gave up, but then thought I have already spend on the inks and the few stamps, let me try once more, and took out my supplies today.
And your reply just motivated me to do something with them now.
Stamped image not crisp.. Any advice?
Practice .... then practice ... :)
