Technique Sheet – Stamping

Technique Sheet 1 – Stamping

What You Will Need

ESSENTIALS:

CraftiMetal Blanks – we used our A4 Brushstroke Shape and Artist’s Paintbrush in this project.

Stamps – any should work: they come in clear polymer and coloured rubber.

Stayzon Permanent Ink Pads – these come in many colours, for this project we used just 4 colours. Other brands of permanent and archival inks may be used, you just need to test their durability on metal first.

Black Stayzon Re-Inker – we have a small bottle of extra ink to use if needed.

Stamp Cleaner – To clean stamps following crafting. Please note: Although we are using Stayzon ink we are using a clear stamp cleaner and not Stayzon Cleaner because it can cause deterioration of clear stamps over time.

Stamping Platform and Magnets – this handy piece of kit allows you to position stamps and re-stamp when needed, giving a clear and professional finish.

EXTRA ITEMS (USEFUL TO HAVE):

Teflon Sheet – protects surfaces during crafting and to be used when using a heat gun.

Non-Stick Crafting Mat – ours is glass and useful to work on with grid lines and a easy to clean surface.

Step 1 – Positioning

Once you are all setup and ready to craft, remove the plastic from the metal. Either side of the metal can be used for crafting but one side will have a plastic film which will need removing. Use the stamping platform magnets to hold the metal in place whilst you lay out the stamps on your design until you are happy with the positioning.

Once happy, keep the stamp on the platform you are printing first, remove the others and close the platform door, pressing firmly to stick the stamp to the plastic, being careful that it doesn’t slide from the original position. Once the stamp is secure, re-open the platform slowly, ensuring the the metal doesn’t lift as you do.

Step 2 – Stamping

The stamp will now be on the left side ready to be inked with the inkpads. Select the inks you wish to use for your design and dab up and down across the stamp where needed. Once happy, close the door and press firmly all over.

The Stayzon Ink can dry quickly so you may find the colour you put on first hasn’t transferred across as well as you hope. Don’t worry, just re-ink and re-stamp until you are satisfied. This is why the stamping platform is so handy, giving a clean and professional look to designs, as it allows you many attempts to repeat the process until you’re happy.

Step 3 – Cleaning

When you are happy with the design, make sure you clean the stamps after use. Although we are using Stayzon Ink we are using a Clear Stamp Cleaner and not Stayzon Cleaner as it can cause deterioration to clear polymer stamps over time. The Stayzon Stamp Cleaner should only be used on rubber stamps. Use a piece of kitchen towel with a little of the cleaner on. The sooner you clean the stamps following crafting, the easier they will be to clean, the surface of the stamp may remain stained, not clear – just clean enough so nothing transfers when you are finished…

USEFUL TIP: Stamp Cleaner can also be used to rub inks off the surface of the metal if you over stamp or get mucky marks where you don’t want them!

Step 4 – Stamping an Overlay Colour

For our design, the next step was to use a Black Ink Stayzon to stamp over the previously stamped colours. This is the same process as above. Ensure you have allowed time for the original stamped design to fully dry before stamping the overlay colour.

Often the black ink pad dries out quicker than the colours (as it tends to be used more often), so a spare bottle of ink is useful to re-ink the pad as needed. To do this, work a small amount of ink into the surface of the pad with the nozzle of the bottle. As before, re-stamp as often as needed.

Step 5 – Continue to Finishing the Piece

Ensure the cleaning process is followed using the overlay stamp, same as previously. Allow the design time to dry, before going to the next step with your crafting design. With our design we created an art room plaque and went on to do embossing and alcohol inking and lifting (which we will feature in our next technique sheet).

If you would like to watch the full video and see more stamping ideas, please head over to our website: www.craftimetals.co.uk