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I'm a seasoned Scrapper who has recently become interested in Stamping. My first question is: what do I actually need to stamp?
Quite honestly, I'm looking to stamp as cost efficiently as possible. I'm a struggling college student! ;) I should also add that I do have a lot of Scrapbooking supplies and I know certain things (like cardstock) can be used both in Scrapping and in Stamping.
Clearly I need stamps, ink, and cardstock-- but what's next?
Thank you so much for helping me out!
PS. If there is already a thread dedicated to this, please feel free to redirect me! Thanks!
If you can;t afford to invest in a stamp cleaner, I would suggest baby wipes. They work great in a pinch and you can get them at any dollar store. just make sure they are unscented.
If you can;t afford to invest in a stamp cleaner, I would suggest baby wipes. They work great in a pinch and you can get them at any dollar store. just make sure they are unscented.
I didn't know there was such a thing as a Stamp Cleaner! I will have to look for it at Michaels.
a stamp scrub pad to clean your stamps helps too...michaels carries those too they will be by the bottles of cleaner...but baby wipes do work too..i use them often even though i have a scrub pad...i suggest you use black stazon ink to stamp with b/c you can watercolor and everything..it is just a better investment in the long run than a basic black in pad to me...hope that helps..i was a scrapper first too so the first stamps i got i made sure i could use in layouts too...like alphabet stamps..images that i could colro and decorate pages with etc.
Baby wipes should be alcohol-free as well as unscented.
I know everyone always says a paper-cutter is a must have, but to be honest I just use a craft knife and steel-edged ruler on my cutting mat 99% of the time.
Choose your ink depending on what media you plan to colour with - pencils, watercolours, markers, Copics...
Versafine is good with water-based media - it's my go-to pad.
StazOn is good on slick and glossy surfaces as well as regular cardstock, but not good with Copics and alcohol-based media.
Memento seems to be recommended for use with both water- and alcohol-based media, but maybe I've got a dud pad because it never looks as black as my other black pads.
A good cleaner and a scrubber would be tops on my list.
A good black ink pad, like the Jet Black Memento ink pad from Tsukineko, would also be something I recommend. The reason I recommend this pad is it's good for basic stamping, but it also handles coloring with markers really well.
I'd also recommend picking up a few small clear blocks. There are a few different ones available now through the dollar bins at M's. Those usually do the trick for the clear stamps. If you are using a clear stamp that doesn't fit on your block, consider using a small glass plate or glass as a block. I know, it sounds funny, but it totally works.
Next, I would get a few extra tools.
Coloring is really big in stamping. If you think that is something you'd like to try, I'd recommend picking up a box of pencils from the school supply aisles. That way, you aren't spending too much on a tool and you can see if you really like the coloring thing.
Have fun!
__________________ Teri
Retired Paper Craft & Scrapbooking magazine Go-to Gal & Contributing Editor
Retired Moxie Fab World Hostess All-around lucky girl
One of the most "low tech" and affordable things that create lots of wow are adhesive foam pop dots. Cut out an image and pop it onot youtr card. The dimension that adds really brings your card to life! I use them on almost every card I make, and cutting out the image always makes it look like you worked extra hard on it! ;) So get some good little scissors too like Cutterbee!
Good luck with yor crafting, you will love this hobby!
You received some great advise from everyone.
You might want to get some glitter too, stickles glitter is so easy and mess free to use. My favorite color is star dust.
Plus if you are getting some pencils, you might want to pick up some blending stumps too and baby oil for blending. Gives beautiful results. And I think that technique works with crayola pencils too. Here's a great video that shows the techique, and you can use baby oil instead of gamsol.
Oh, and if you have time, you can check out GinaK's stamp tv. Great video tutorials.
Faith (btw - love your name) - since you are a scrapbooker, maybe you already have a few punches. But if you don't, I would say that getting one or two good punches might some add "wow" to cards and other stamped items. I might also suggest that you find local individuals who want to stamp with you. You could share supplies like stamps, punches, etc. It would make a few tools go a long way. Lastly, scrounge at yard sales for buttons, lace, interesting fabrics, etc. You can find some great things to use on cards in the most unusual places. Lastly... use really good adhesive (ATG gun, or red line tape) if you are working with smooth DP or any paper that has sparkle. Regular tape runners work fine for normal paper to paper / cardstock to carkstock.
Blessings,
__________________ Louise Bergmann DuMontAuthor, Speaker, Serious About Her Coffee, Lover of all that is Chocolate...Worshiper of El Shaddai (The All Sufficient One)
__________________ Louise Bergmann DuMontAuthor, Speaker, Serious About Her Coffee, Lover of all that is Chocolate...Worshiper of El Shaddai (The All Sufficient One)
I've been watching some heat embossing tutorials on YouTube and think I'm going to attempt that today! I went to Michaels and was incredibly disappointed with their selection. They had very few stamps, hardly any tools, markers, etc. I'm pretty bummed. There is a scrapbooking/stamping store nearby that I will check out but I'll miss my Michael's Coupons!
Can anyone tell me what a stamp cleaner/scrubber looks like or give me a brand name? I asked a worker at Michael's and she looked at me like I was from Mars. She told me to rinse my stamps off with water. Does this work? :confused:
Anyways, again, thank you all so much. I really really appreciate it!
A stamp scrubber is usally about 5x7 or there-abouts. It looks like a big stamp pad. inside are two "hairy" scrubber pads (one on the bottom - like where the ink would be on a stamp pad, the other on the back side of the lid). You put the "cleaner" solution on the bottom piece and rub your stamp over back and forth over it. When it is clean, you rub the stamp over the top side to dry it. Simple once you see it.
ALSO... you can use just plain soap and water to clean your stamps. Just a little inconvenient for some of us who don't have a sink in our craft rooms LOL
Also there is a "homemade" stamp cleaner that is cheaper than buying the little bottles of cleaner:
1/4 c simple green (envirnonmentally safe cleaner stuff you can buy at HomeDept and other places)
1/2 c water....distilled water is best, as it will not have any impurities.
You can use the homemade stuff on the stamp scrubber.
__________________ Louise Bergmann DuMontAuthor, Speaker, Serious About Her Coffee, Lover of all that is Chocolate...Worshiper of El Shaddai (The All Sufficient One)
I have never purchased a stamp scrubber. Instead, I buy the inserts for the paint edger tool from the hardware store. (Like this: Shur-Line Paint Edger Pad Refill - 200ZS at The Home Depot) They're incredibly cheap and they seem to be the exact same material as the stamp scrubbers from the craft store. I wash them in the sink with dish detergent and they last a long time. I keep one pad for scrubbing that I spray the Simple Green solution on (recipe listed in this thread) and one pad for drying.
On another note, it will save money if you buy the appropriate ink for the type of stamps you have. If you are buying clear stamps, then choose ink designed to work with those stamps (like chalk or pigment ink). If you are buying rubber stamps, then dye ink works well. I thought I was getting such a great deal buying clear stamps, but then I had to invest in a completely different set of inks to use them.
I use baby wipes to clean them too.
good trimmer for sure.
dont throw those coupons, they come in handy for sure.
My Michaels doesn't have new stuff all the time but when they do I love me my coupons ;)
You want to do this affordably; so I'm guessing you won't run out and start buying Copic markers for coloring. They are expensive. But I will warn you that if you decide to try them down the road you will want to invest in GOOD paper to use them with.
Brands that get high marks out here are Gina K, PaperTrey, Neenah, and (more affordable) Georgia Pacific that can be bought at Walmart. But having the right paper makes all the difference where these markers are concerned. There are at LEAST two different threads out here about this so if you decide to start looking into the Copics be sure to check the threads for paper brands.
Cheaper ways to color in line drawing type stamps have been mentioned; colored pencils and baby oil to blend. Check YouTube for tutorials. I've been stamping for 8 years and just now getting into coloring images. Before that I pretty much stayed with "stamp and go" stuff.
You might want to buy some ribbon. It's a nice, easy embellishment for a card front and you can use your Michael's coupons for that!
To create "put together" looking cards you might want to start out buying stamp SETS. I don't know what you have from your Scrapbooking supplies but it's nice to have a set or two with images and sentiments that help you pull together a card quickly. I don't know if your LSS carries sets but it's worth a look. Otherwise you can check online at places like GinaK, or PaperTrey, or Unity, just to name a few.
as a scrapbooker and then a stamper I like to keep my papers seperate. Don't ask why, I am weird, I know. ;) About the only things that "cross-over" are the tools. The paper trimmer, the punches, and the adhesive.
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My first response---a lot of money and a bigger craft room. ;)
Here is a picture of a stamp scrubber--you can get one at Mike's. In mine it is near the embossing powders etc.
Just take it slow--and find what you like--a lot of stuff you have as a scrapbooker works for stamping too. There may be a place to take a class near your school that will help too.
Pkg of "love" is in the mail to you. I think this will start you off nicely. Enjoy. Consider this a gift to "pay forward" when you make those lovely cards for others.
__________________ Louise Bergmann DuMontAuthor, Speaker, Serious About Her Coffee, Lover of all that is Chocolate...Worshiper of El Shaddai (The All Sufficient One)
Ok... so we got inks, stamps, and paper. Stamp cleaner and a scrub pad. I will say, that when it comes to scrub pads, I LOVE the double sided ones. The pads I've found in Michaels and Hobby Lobby were only one sided but I got hooked on having a wet/cleaning side and a dry/dry it off side of the scrub pad. It looks like bound4london sent you a link to one or Stampin' Up sells a great one that you can take out the inner scrub pads for cleaning. Oh yeah, and good adhesive is a have-to-have.
Other than that, it really comes down to your personal style. I LOVE punches, especially for punching out sentiments and stamped images. Also, I agree that foam dimensionals are cheap and make your projects look so fancy. Oh, and my paper piercer... couldn't live without that. I use it for poking holes as design elements, to start holes for brads and embellishments, and to unclog my liquid adhesives.
I would suggest browsing blogs and the gallery to see what styles and techniques catch your eye. You'll probably notice that you are drawn to certain things like adding ribbon, brads, embossing, eyelets, etc. Then buy a few to try it out. I bought a TON of eyelets when I was getting started and then realized that I didn't really like using them. So now I have a bunch that are just collecting dust. Maybe take a class or see if there are friends or local demos that will let you try out some things so you can find what really fits your personal style and go from there?
;) Has anyone mentioned you'll need your very own craft room?
I had to laugh at this. I FINALLY got my craft room when my youngest son got married. I always WANTED one... but honestly, its amazing what you can do on a kitchen table. Back then I would plan things out and only take the things I need into the kitchen. Now I pull out a bit of this, a bit of that... I don't think before I work. Maybe I need to get back to the kitchen-card-making mentality. LOL
__________________ Louise Bergmann DuMontAuthor, Speaker, Serious About Her Coffee, Lover of all that is Chocolate...Worshiper of El Shaddai (The All Sufficient One)
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Oh yes, I do love my stamp scrubber and I did purchase mine through Stampin Up but I was trying to show you what to look for. But you don't need one to start off---water and paper towels do a great job too. As a mom of two college students I encourage you to not go overboard and remember to not get so excited about stamping that you forget about your classes (I know you roll your eyes and say yes mom--like mine do)---hee hee hee. Just sayin....enjoy, start slow and enjoy your creative side.
Since u already have the basic tools and supplies u can start with whatever u have first. Stampers use almost the same things that scrapbookers use. We also use things like punch, glitter glue, embossing powder & heat gun but u can get these when u have the spare $$. Next step is to learn as many stamping techniques as u can. U can also make use of the templates found in splitcoast.
Oh yes, I do love my stamp scrubber and I did purchase mine through Stampin Up but I was trying to show you what to look for. But you don't need one to start off---water and paper towels do a great job too. As a mom of two college students I encourage you to not go overboard and remember to not get so excited about stamping that you forget about your classes (I know you roll your eyes and say yes mom--like mine do)---hee hee hee. Just sayin....enjoy, start slow and enjoy your creative side.
Thanks, Mom!! ;)
And, again, a big thank you to everyone!! I really appreciate all the suggestions and tips! You ladies rock!
there is an user group here inside split coast (you can find these on the home page) and one of them is called RAK and inside that user group there is an sub-forum called Wish Rak, and this is a way to try things before you buy them...
(people swap stamped images, or colors of cardstock quarters kind of a thing) and this is a good thing to find out what you don't like without buying it as much as it is to find what you do like. if that makes sense?
for instance, i am near sighted and i love to color. so for me if i find a stamp line in the gallery that catches my attention i will "wish" for images from that co, and if i receive some and they are too small for me to color in the lines that saves me from losing money on something i would not use again, the only dangerous part of this form of swapping is that you will find more companies that you L O V E then what you will find in your Micheals store so, it's an two edged sword.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FaithCaitlin
Hey Stampers!
I'm a seasoned Scrapper who has recently become interested in Stamping. My first question is: what do I actually need to stamp?
Quite honestly, I'm looking to stamp as cost efficiently as possible. I'm a struggling college student! ;) I should also add that I do have a lot of Scrapbooking supplies and I know certain things (like cardstock) can be used both in Scrapping and in Stamping.
Clearly I need stamps, ink, and cardstock-- but what's next?
Thank you so much for helping me out!
PS. If there is already a thread dedicated to this, please feel free to redirect me! Thanks!
A few years ago I may have listed 50 things that are must-haves but now I am realizing all you need is cardstock, stamps, ink, patterned paper, scissors and a paper cutter...ribbon is good, too.
Some of the most beautiful cards I have ever seen are made with cardstock, a stamp, black ink and a piece of ribbon
New to Stamping- What Do I Need?
