Where do I buy a mirror image stamp?
 

Do you mean the flat/blank rubber that you use to mirror a stamp you already have? If so, I got mine at Ellen Hutson.

I don't know if some are better than others (I assume there are variations), but everything I've ever bought from Ellen has been fabulous. She teaches stamping, so my guess is she thinks the products she carries are wonderful.

I have seen them at Michaels....

I bought mine at hannastamps.com

How do you use these tools to make a mirror image of a rubber stamp ?
Thanks
Barbara

ink up your stamp and stamp it on the mirror imager.
'huff' some hot breath on the mirror imager and stamp it like a regular stamp.
i have used a clean pink eraser for smaller stamps.

-laura s

Wow thanks!
I have seen stamps that I think would look better facing in the opposite direction.
I learn something every day here :)
Barbara

You could try this instead of buying the stamp - http:////www.splitcoaststampers.com/...ion_technique/

I have an extra mirror image stamp if you are interested in it just let me know. It's in excellent condition :)

I saw one at michaels in edmonton, alberta about a month ago! :)

I bought mine at Michael's, but it looks like that has already been suggested. Sorry, don't know anything about comparing quality of one brand vs another. Don't know that there are many choices out there anyway.

What does this "mirror image stamp look like?

I just got back from Michael's and Joanns, and no one has heard of this. They asked me what this looks like. They fully understood the concept, but said they have not seen something that would create a mirror image :confused:
Is it plain rubber on a wood mount?
Thanks
Barbara

The ones I have seen at Michaels have a cow and a reverse cow on a wood block and are just there with all the wood mounted stamps normally with the large backgrounds. It doesn't look particularly special.

Is that the one at Mike's with the cow on the front side of it?

It's just a rubber stamp that has no etching/image -- a blank piece of rubber.

Here's a picture of one that Ellen Hutson sells. She also has a Medium one.

Laura S. in post#6 describes the technique.

So there is a cow on the front then Is the back red rubber part plain?
Barbara

I think so. I saw one at a stamp show in January and then saw that at Michael's. I may have to check it out tomorrow.

Okay, we're talking two different things here! LOL

Yes, you can buy stamps that include a mirror image of the stamp either on the same block or in the same package (shrink-wrapped together or something similar).

-OR-

You can buy a blank stamp and create a mirror image of any stamp you have.

The cow is just used as an example of how the stamp works. The 'stamp' part is a block of plain rubber.

You can save some money by stamping on a non-porous surface like the sheet that comes with a SAMJ, then huffing on the image, placing it on the paper, and using the brayer over the top to transfer the image. I have done this before, and it works great. Plus you can see exactly where your image will be!

Good luck!

No! the cow on the front had nothing on the back...just a blank rubber. I thought they forgot to make the stamp. One the front with the cow it said Mirror Image Stamp. But I did not want a cow; when I saw there was no cow, I was lost.

I think I am still confused but I am going to Mike's in the am to check this out!! I will give a report on my findings.

I will go back to Michael's tomorrow and report what I find.
Barbara

You have the correct stamp Linda. It has the cow and a lot of writing on the front of the stamp - the back is just rubber.

though I would think the acetate use link I gave in post #8 will do the job as well.

Thanks! Now I know I am not having a blond moment--whew! i saw the acetate thing and I am working on that right now. The Stazon was not such a good choice tho....dries too fast.

It has the cow and a lot of writing on the front of the stamp - the back is just rubber.

I've never seen anything like that! Neat! I have seen sets or double-mounted stamps that were mirror images of each other, but not anything where the back of the stamp was blank for you to mirror yourself. Interesting!

I think a medium or large blank (Mirror-It) stamp would pay for itself in the long run, and you could use it over and over on any of your own stamps. The acetate sounds good, too (though I bet I could mess that up easily LOL)!

I have never seen double mounted mirror image stamps. I guess in Texas we don't have such a thing. But, of course, I am still new to all of this.

There's a photo of this stamp on M. Zindorf's fabulous blog
 

I have the one with the cows on it and I got it at a Michael's in Houston a year or two ago. They still carry them. I saw them recently when I was shopping there. The cows are on the label, on the non-stamping side of the stamp. The stamping side is just solid rubber. It is the same stamp that Michelle Zindorf (she's so awesome and talented!) used on her blog. (I love her blog and she is so generous to post such wonderful tutorials. I'm a big fan of hers!) I'll try to link it here because she shows a picture of it. Scroll down over halfway through the post. If I counted correctly, it's shown in photo 22.

Mirror Image Stamp
 

Rubber Stampede is the maker of the stamp you're talking about. I bought my direct from RS online. There are also a lot of them on ebay. A Great Must Have Stamp!

Minneapple

The ones in Ellen Hutson's store are the CHF ones - you can get them direct from CHF, too. Ellen carries the unmounted version, it's just plain red rubber with cushion on the back so you can stick it to your acrylic block - cheaper and easier to store than the wood mounted ones! I have the medium sized one and find it really useful.

If anyone's still not sure what this does, there's a recent example in my gallery here. There's only one bear in the stamp set and he faces left. There are two bears on my card, the original one and his companion who was made by stamping onto the Mirror-It stamp, then onto the paper.

Yes, we have them here in TX. :D I bought mine at Michael's last year.

But Joanne, I want to know how you got the second bear (the reverse bear) to come out so clean. My reverse image is always SO faint!! I would love to know how to get them darker. Thanks in advance everyone!

I just went through this same thought process, and tried all kinds of things- the reverse image stamped images do come out lighter unles you have really thick slower drying ink, lol. The fix for me was to stamp off the original image once so it matched the reverse image one, stamping a bit lighter.

You can also stamp the image, cut it out and flip it over and color it to look like the original. Only works with some images, of course! Ultimately, this is what I did,, you can see it here- http://bethscards.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-day.html The deer stamp faces left, and I wanted it to face the skunk!!

Get a 005 black Prisma or copic pen, stamp your image with the reverse stamp, then go over the lines with the really thin pen to get it to look like the original~

For me reversing the image and getting it dark works ok with line images, but not with solid images...

Good luck!

I usually stamp onto my mirror stamp and then leave it face up on the desk and lay my paper on top. I rub over with my fingertip (or even the back of my fingernail) in little circles to get the best ink transfer I can. If an area needs a bit extra "oomph" (like the bear's eye, for example) I use a fineline marker pen just to fill in. HTH!

Don't you want the reverse image to be fainter since it is usually a water reflection? See Zindorf's examples of this technique. She stamps the reverse image in a gray so it will appear not as faint. If the reverse is fainter, I think you've done it right.

Minneapple

Correction
 

I mean Zindorf stamps the reverse image in gray so it WILL appear fainter. She give DETAILED instructions on how to use the reverse image stamp. Check her blog.

Minneapple

You're all awesome! Thanks so much for all the info....I'll check out some of the sites you suggested. I live near Hobby Lobby, not Michael's, but I'll check there too.

I also appreciate all the info on how to stamp the image. It seems like you would want it lighter for a refection, but could stamp off the original image if you want it to match....wow, great stuff....thanks! :D

I agree I have learned so-o-o-o much here. Thanks to all who share their knowledge !!! I deeply appreciate it.
Barbara

If you need to, you can wipe the Stazon off the acetate with a little alcohol on a napkin.