Bleaching technique?

[KarrieLyne]

Hi there everyone! I just had a quick question and would hope someone could offer a piece of advice. I have heard a little about this "bleaching" technique but my concern comes in for the stamps. Is this technique hard on the stamps and how do you clean it, just with water? I dont want it to ruin my ink pads or my stamp scrubber? I do love the effect but i just want to make sure that i take care of the stamp! Your help would be appreciated.
Karrie

[splitcoaststampers]

how about it folks? can anyone help KarrieLyne with her question about bleaching?

[Boss]

Please, someone take pity on us and tell us the do's and don'ts of bleaching....I've been checking back on this for several days hoping that an answer had been posted, and I didn't even ask the question! I saw several samples that were picked up at convention and they were awesome.
Patiently awaiting an answer,
Boss

[Christine Coslet]

Hi...I'm not an authority but have read that you do need to keep papertowels soaked with water next to you when you work. After stamping with the bleach you should wipe it on the wet paper towels as soon as possible..don't let it sit. My recommendation would be to do that and then wipe with a baby wipe since it has some lotions in it which would moisturize the stamp.

They do have an article about it in the new October Stampin Success.

Hope this helps...I have yet to try the technique but it's on my list for when I get some REAL time to play.



Chris

[HB]

I've done quite a bit of bleaching as it makes such a elegant card. I pour a small amount of bleach on a folded piece of white felt which is placed on a glass plate. Once I've stamped, I instantly tap the stamp on a wet wash cloth. Try bleaching various colors of card stock to get some surprising results. Forest Foliage bleaches out to look like Taken With Teal. Ruby Red and Barely Banana, etc. Try using the French Script background stamp with bleach. Makes an awesome background. Just remember that "less is more" here. Too much bleach on your stamp just creates a blob.
Hope this helps.
HB

[KarrieLyne]

Thanks everyone! That helps, and they are great ideas. When i was searching for the answer one thing i saw was after you clean with the water is to clean it on your stamp n scrub (with the mist) like normal to condtion you stamp again.

Happy Stampin'!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JKinAK]

While we are on the subject of bleaching...
I found this technique quite by accident. I have a note pad that a demonstrator had made by covering the cover with stamped cs in Perfect Plum. I used to keep it in the kitchen next to the phone. One day I was cleaning with Clorox Clean Up (the spray cleaner w/bleach) and got some overspray on the cs cover! It was just on the top edge, though, but I still almost panicked. Then I noticed the effect: a speckling of pale peach! I think this is an easy way to make a unique background effect. Give it a try!

[Papertrey Ink]

I have actually let my stamps "saok" in a thin puddle of bleach for up to five minutes to remove black StazOn residue. It also can remove dye ink from the wood if you had a customer accidently drop it into your ink pad upside down. After soaking in the bleach, rinse well with water and condition with mist and scrubber like usual. I actually discovered this by accident because I was stamping with bleach when the phone rang. I had been stamping with one of my favorite stamps that had been quite discolored from so much use. It looked like a brand new stamp!

Another bleaching tip I would like to offer is that you can soak the tip of an old blender pen (that is no longer useful for it's original purpose) in a small bowl of bleach for about 10 minutes. You can then use it in your AirWorks tool. Another one of my favorite things to do with it is to clear emboss an image on a dark cardstock (like old olive or chocolate chip) then use the bleach blender pen to color over it. Where you clear embossed will remain the original color of the paper, and everything else will bleach out around it.

Any one have any other techniques?

~Nichole