Messy stampers unite
 

Ok, I admit it. I could NEVER sell my stamps. And not just b/c I wouldn't part with my sweet rubbah. No, it's b/c I'm a messy stamper. I am embarrassed to admit after reading about the folks that use a toothbrush in the sink to clean BG stamps or seal their wood, but it's true, I hardly ever clean my stamps. I stamp on scrap paper, so if I use classic ink, I just stamp off a few times and then put it back in the box. I guarantee there is ink on my blocks (although this is from my stamp campers, not me....but it doesn't bug me - now if they cut the rubber or made the stamp unusable, I'd get emotional ...ink on the block just doesn't bug me). Versamark and craft ink, I may clean....but really only if it's a bold stamp and even then, my stamp cleaner thing never really cleans...I always end up with a dirty gray image that I just end up stamping off. And don't say put it in the dishwasher, I have a few times, nothing takes care of this. If it's not a bold image and I used versamark or craft I just stamp off a few times. My stamps are dirty but they work fine and so I just don't care.

Just wondering if I'm the only one...<hope you cleanies out there aren't havign a heartattack....:p )

haha you made me laugh! Unfortunately I am one of those anal people... I like keeping everything looking brand new after every use. I use simply green and staz on cleaner. I have like 4 scrub pads that I rotate. If I do massive stamping it's nice to have several clean pads on hand before I wash em in sink. haha

For someone whose usually fairly anal about this sort of thing, I'm very relaxed about my rubber stamps. I clean my rubber on baby wipes (alcohol free) for everything except stazon, for which I use the stazon cleaner. I do like the rubber stamping surface clean. But I don't give a hoot if there are stains on the rubber or ink on the wood block. If it doesn't affect how the stamp works, I just don't worry about it. All that "mess" just shows how much I love them!

I think I am in between the two of you - I clean my stamps when I use them but am not anal about having them look brand new. I find that my stamps look used and loved, but that does not bother me. I clean my scrub pad after a couple uses - it's the OLD SU one that is (was) white. Mine is almost black from staining and I am having a hard time replacing it as I've had it since I started stamping 5 years ago.

Hi my name is Faereygirl.....

And I'm a messy stamper.

I do clean my stamps pretty well because they're on acrylic I don't have block staining....but man do I get ink EVERYWHERE when I stamp...on my hands, arms, sometimes my pants...the table, the scratchpad, my computer, the cat....

And I leave things laying around. I get them out, use them, and don't put them back.

LOL!

Yep, I'm a messy stamper! *Phew!* So glad to know there are others... few as they may be...

I always clean my stamps, but there's LOTS of staining on my blocks and it doesn't bother me. I always have ink all over myself. My boyfriend made me have a designated stamping shirt -- like an apron kids put on themselves for crafting -- cuz I've ruined more than one by staining it!

I'm the type of stamper who will blow off particles of glitter or EP that are sticking to her card... forgetting that the container is open right in front of me.

I'm the type of stamper who leaves a pile of scraps 3" high before finally getting around to putting them away (and then I've wasted all my stamping time cleaning).

I'm the type of stamper who accidentally flings her ink pad halfway across the room. Who has inky fingerprints on 80% of her creations... Who has stuck her fingers together on more than one occasion with crazy glue... Who cannot be trusted with a pair of scissors...

Oh yeah, I'm just a klutz.

Another with severly stained blocks. I don't care! They are well-loved, and well-used. :grin:

OMG. You would not believe this--I *never* thought I could possibly WEAR out a stamp, but I did!!!

The speckle stamp of my Itty Bitty Backgrounds is nothing but nubs. :shock:

I actually am gonna hafta replace it!!! And, nobody would ever buy it . . . it's NUBS, I tell ya'!!!!!

[QUOTE=RidiculouslyAddicted]Yep, I'm a messy stamper! *Phew!* So glad to know there are others... few as they may be..

I'm the type of stamper who will blow off particles of glitter or EP that are sticking to her card... forgetting that the container is open right in front of me.

I'm the type of stamper who leaves a pile of scraps 3" high before finally getting around to putting them away (and then I've wasted all my stamping time cleaning)

OK so these apply to me too. My pile of scraps is on my printer. I've had to move that heap many times to print something- then one time my printer wouldn't work because a teeny piece of paper fell into it. You'd think I'd learn.

I have an empty nest, so IF I would take the time I could have a nice craft room, but here I sit talking to ya'll. Need to make some samples for a class on Saturday. I'll try to close the EP before I blow.:rolleyes:

OMG I am the one trying desperately to get staz on off. I hardly even use it because of the staining and was devastated when my aunt borrowed my stamp and it came back with dirty wood (GASP I KNOW). I tried to not sweat it because she was visiting her DH in the hospital at the time and it was a way for her to destress from a stressful situation, but I can never use that stamp again.

I kind of wipe them down but not really all that much and sometime I don't clean them off at all, just stamp off. My stamps are all stained, I am not one of those stampers with a complex, lol.

I could care less if I get ink on the wood just don't hurt my rubber and I better not care after teaching my senior ladies the rock and roll technique...oh those purple woods are beautiful!

If ever the rubber wears out for me it'll be the itty bitty too, same one!

I sure do clean my stamps, but have no problems with either the rubber or the wood being ink-stained. In my book, that's a sign of well loved stamps!

ha ha. I'm also a messy stamper in that my space is always messy. I do clean my stamps but don't worry about staining the wood or the rubber.

LOL...I can't believe you can't use that stamp again....too funny. :)

My (almost) three year old uses a couple of my stamping sets - Fishy Friends, Unfrogettable - and "his" stamps are not any messier than mine. I love going to work with inky fingers. It makes me feel like an artist.

I do clean the rubber with baby wipes and have used a toothbrush. I also have soaked my stamps in baby oil to get the Stazon off. But I'm more than just a little messy and if I took a picture of where my stuff is kept, I would be too embarrassed to show it off.

I am both. If you saw my stamp room right now you would be convinced that I am a messy stamper. And if you watched me stamp you would be horrified to see me tap a stamp onto several different ink pads without cleaning in between. But then if you saw my stamps you would think that I was the queen of anal. They are all very clean dispite the misuse. When I am finished stamping I clean my stamps on baby wipes. That always seems to take care of it. I use ultra clean if I need to. Stained rubber doesn't bother me. Stained wood bugs me a little but it won't keep me from usung my stamp. One thing I will never do is take my stamps to the sink and attack them with water. I don't like my wood blocks getting wet. I think that would harm them more than a little ink.
M

I'm a messy stamper. My stamps are clean, but I am always COVERED IN INK!!!
Any others of you like that out there??????

Ok, if you wore out your speckle, then Kittie must have went through 5-6 watercolor mini fern stamps by now... :wink:

Well, I haven't worn out any stamps but I do have rather dirty wood! lol I clean my stamps.. sometimes. I was so embarrassed when I did a workshop, took out the main stamp we were using and it was filthy! lol Thank goodness I had my s.scrub with me ( to show it.. not to use it! lol)

I am a MESSY stamper too!! Look out when I am on a roll-if you sit still long enough you will have ink on you for sure!
I also have a cat that is addicted to SU ink padsany other brand she could care less)--if I leave them open and turn my back she is chewing on the ends or licking the pads(I know it is gross) But I have also have cat prints throughout my house at times due to her walking across my stuff--UGH!!!
But I do clean up everything when I am done for the night--so I can come back in and have a clean slate to mess up again!!

I try to clean my stamps. Gave up on sealing the wood because I'm too impatient and the process took too long. As for what I look like when I'm done playing (are we ever done)... It can get really ugly, specially when I have to wear off the stains on my hands :D

Julie, you are a riot! I wondered if it was possible to "wear out" a stamp ... I guess it is, huh?

And I admit - I'm a messy stamper. All my blocks are stained and usually so is the rubbah. I don't care though - I just love stamping my heart out and not worrying about the cleaning part. And you should see my desk when I've been stamping for a few hours ... what a MESS! It's so bad my 3 year old will come in and say "Mommy, if you don't clean up your play room (how cute is THAT - that he calls it my playroom?) I'm not going to let you play in here anymore". That's what I tell both my kids about our Bonus Room which is their playroom! ha ha ...:lol:

After my kids got ink all over my first set ever, and I didn't keel over and die, I realized it wasn't the end of the world and I could be just as messy as them. So, I blame my kids for my mess! :twisted:
bad mommy, bad! :lol:

Okay Olivia's Mom you can send that stamp to me b/c staining just doesn't bother me. I do clean my stamps but if they don't look perfect it just doesn't bother me. Now if I get an ink smudge on the card I just spent 30 minutes working on you may see steam coming out from my ears. My stamp room table right now is a wreck, but I just see that as creativity at work ;)

I took a ceramics class in high school and my favorite thing about it was getting my hands dirty while creating something. I have a good friend who is an artist and teaches print making and his hands are always stained with inks and paint. To me there is something cathartic about the mess involved in creating art. Like a life lesson: somehow in all of this mess is a beautiful creation. Maybe the messy stamping makes me feel like there can be great value in this crazy life I am living...

Hi, I'm Alta and I'm a messy stamper.

(Hi Alta)

I've been messy for 3 years now...

:-)

I am a messy stamper but also clean my stamps after I use them. Only thing is, sometimes I forget :mrgreen: . I have several stains on certain stamps & to me that just shows which are my favorites.
My youngest dd on the other hand is very anal about her stamps. I never use her sets. All of her stuff is being stored here because of her job, and believe me I look through them, but I am terrified to use them! She would be upset if she knew this. "Mom, just use them but be careful." I say "no way, Jose!" :rolleyes:

I am a mess when I stamp I have ink on my elbows and even my ears on occasion(hey, when it itches you've gotta scratch regardless of inky fingers!). I will say that I now work with baby wipes next to me, though, to swipe my fingers occasionally, as I've ruined too many card based by "stamping" with my smeared finger. As for cleaning up, Lava soap is great for getting most of it off, and Kiss Off is a wonder to use on my clothes.
My blocks are quite inky - but that just means they're well loved. Have you ever seen stamps used by Tim Holtz or Suze Weinberg? They are both amazingly talented stampers, and their stamps frankly look terrible. But they still stamp wonderfully, and isn't that the whole point?!? It's about the image left behind, not the tool itself!!

I take pretty good care of my stamps and really try to clean them as soon as I am finished with them. My stamps are probably the only thing that I keep clean! Ha Ha. Putting them back in the cases is another story! I had to spend the entire weekend cleaning my stamp room (oh, I know, what's so bad about spending a weekend in your stamp room?). My husband knows I am a slob and he came up with an idea to help me. He built a table with a hinge on the end so I can lift flip the end section up or down as needed (like a drop-leaf table). I use that table to cut and get things ready and I have a really nice table across the room with natural lighting and my tools on the wall. Now, all the "junk" is on one side of the room and I have a clear space to work!

Cecelia

....clearing throat....

...hello? Is this thing on?....

My name is Heather and I am a messy stamper. There is ink all over my stamps, the wood blocks, my craft table, me... There is glitter and embossing powder all over the floor, my socks and sometimes my clothes. And usually, I couldn't care less...

Well, I'm a multiple personality disorder stamper. I clean my stamps after I use them, but I don't care particularly if they end up stained as long as I don't get shadow images the next time I use it. Staining on my blocks aren't much of an issue since I use mostly unmounted. BUT when I buy used stamps, I go nuts scrubbing and trimming. It's like some sort of strange ritual I must perform to make them my own.

And most of the used stamps I have came from 2 demos - one TAC and one SU!- and those were some of the dirtiest things you ever saw. Metallic ink and glitter and black gunge and on the SU! wood, if you sanded away the ink stains, I think you'd be left with a block about a quarter inch thick. I actually think twice about buying any that aren't stained - makes me think they didn't really find much use for those sets.

My stamps aren't too messy but my stamping space is usually very unorganized. I always said if I moved it would give me the incentive to really clean and reorganize. Well, guess what? We moved two months ago and my stamping space looks the same as in the old house.I keep asking myself "how did this happen!"

Andi

So true. I love to buy well loved stamps- it shows me that they are versitile, and I will be able to get alot of use out of them as well.

Oh God, I am so not a messy stamper, life would be so much easier if I could. I can't bear ink on my rubber or wood, I have clear varnished all my wood.
I have to scrub the rubber with a toothbrush and stazon if there is the slightest mark and I throw so much work away because it is not perfect. I always clean every stamp after every stamp, not even every use. I cannot stamp over and over again, then clean, I clean between each use with a baby wipe and stazon if necessary. I cannot recycle things they just get put in the trash.
Oh, to be a messy stamper! :mrgreen:

Ok, we all need to band together and give Ally some much needed suport. We gotta teach her to MAKE A MESS!!!

I think my screen name should be "Stamper Sybil"!!

I like my stamps to be clean. I used to have panic attacks over stained wood, but I've learned to relax. Okay, it still bugs me when its brand new and I wasn't the one to do it. I keep telling my self, its just wood....:cool:

Now, my stamping area? Its NEVER clean!! I keep trying and trying but to no avail. And my hands, well, mom never let me write on my hands, so I like those clean as well. Ink on the table? No problem! Ink on the shirt? No problem! Ink on my hands? Gotta go wash them!

See, I'm a Sybil - multiple stamper personality.

Awww, thanks Sharlene! :mrgreen:

My stamps are usually clean, but I'm notorious for staining myself, the wood and anything surrounding me. One of my wood chairs has a perfect (black) ink pad square on the seat, I have clothes that are inked up and I have to be very careful not to smear ink on my work from my hands. Sometimes I don't realize I'm inky (duh, I am ALWAYS inky) and I'll swipe my hand across and mess it all up...ugh. I can be anal about a lot of things, but I just don't see the point with my stamps and it's a good thing since I can look at any block and know what colors I've used with that stamp. As for being messy, I don't have a stamping space of my very own here (renting) so I use the dining room table-hence the ink stained dining room chair...so I have to put things away afterwards but WHY do I have to drag every single thing in the world onto the table when I make one card? What am I thinking? I end up putting stuff away forever because I've taken so much out.

My stamps are clean and I try to be real organized. But if you ever saw my work table, one would think that FEMA might be arriving shortly. ;)

You're quite welcome...anything to help! :p