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Regular sized ink pads are fine, or 1” cubes work if you’re getting frustrated with the regular sized ones.
You can use microfiber cloths to not have so much baby wipe waste, which is what I mostly use now on my stamping platforms. I use hand sanitizer on my Tim Holtz platforms, but just a mild stamp cleaner with the Misti.
While they get thoroughly stained, the ink doesn’t come off on my hands or anything else, and I toss a load in the washing machine occasionally.
Also you can try not to tilt the ink pads.
In case you’re interested, these are the towels I buy - thick, absorbent, smallish. ETA: Right now the 24 pack is less expensive than the 12. Go figure.
It truly depends on the size of your stamp. Standard pads for larger stamps work great. For small stamps, especially for wreath stamping, there's less mess with the smaller ones.
'Depends on the size of the stamp' is the best answer. The bigger the pad the harder it is to apply without too much mess, but very tiny pads are a pain to get even coverage on a big stamp. You may find it easier to keep the ink confined to the stamp if you hold the lid w/stamp vertically and 'clap' the ink pad onto it with your other hand. This lets you see where the ink pad is from the other side.
I'd second the microfiber cloth suggestion instead of baby wipes. It'll pay for itself very quickly and is far less wasteful than a disposable wipe each time you need to clean. Get a few so you can toss the dirty ones in the wash and still have some for use in the meantime.
I have to add that if I am using craft/pigment ink or versamark ink, then I wipe them down and then go clean them well with dawn and a toothbrush to remove all the residue.
What made me do this? I bought secondhand stamps that had been used over and over with pigment ink and not completely cleaned. They were awful!
Hero Arts stamp cleaner aka Stewart (which you can get as a refill in large bottles, just not from Hero Arts - removes pigment and Versamark inks well. My stamps never see a sink and are clean. Certain yellows stain the photopolymer slightly but that’s fine.
BTW, my microfiber cloths are covered with all the colors of the rainbow but are as good as the day I bought them. And they don’t “let go” of ink after use. IOW a stamp or mat will be wiped off and the ink or watercolors, etc., won’t transfer onto anything else, including hands, so I can keep using that cloth without worrying about smudging something.
I wouldn’t take a chance if cleaning up gritty stuff - glitter, embossing powder, etc. Those cloths get put aside for laundering - but even then they seem to even hold tight to what’s been picked up. Part of it may be because the cloths are pretty thick.
Back to stamping platforms - if I do get ink on the platform it generally isn’t going to mark the card, but if concerned it can be wiped off before stamping.
misti ink
