Almost all crafting stores sell stamps. You'll even find some over in your 'home decor' section. So what are they all about? I'll bet you could find 'early stamping' samples from back in the caveman era. The idea of using an implement to create an image, and then recreate it perfectly every time seems like an early version of "type setting". We probably have all made "potato stamps" at one time or another. It's where you carve an image into a potato half, dip into paint or ink - and stamp away! Well, now we have rubber, foam, and clear plastic stamps to do the job.
Rubber stamps are probably the most prevalent of the art stamps. These are either mounted or unmounted and set onto wood handles or acrylic mounts. There are a lot of them out there, and a lot of manufacturers. There are a few things you want to look at before you buy. Firstly, is the image clear? When you look at the rubber stamp, do you see the defined image to be stamped or are the edges of the raised parts uneven or bumpy? I'm talking specifically about the quality of the rubber and the part of the stamp that makes the impression. If it's warped, uneven or looks frayed, it will not make a good stamp. Some manufacturers ship their stamps just thrown in a box - some stores display them this way - if so, you'll need to check the stamps individually to see if the rubber was damaged from contact with another stamps wood mount. Also, if it is a mounted stamp, and you wish it to be so, check the adhesion of the mount to the rubber. If it's loose or a weak bond, then you'll either want to look for another, or get ready to use rubber cement and glue it back on later.
There are, truly, countless numbers of manufacturers. There are even companies that will let you design your own stamp, and they make it for you! The companies I see most represented at my local stores are Rubber Stampede, EK Success, Sugarloaf, Inkadinkadoo, Stampendous, Anita's, & Hero Arts - to name a few. And for a cool way to have and store unmounted rubber stamps - there's See D's.
You'll have to go see why - they have great tutorials, a beautiful gallery, and they are the only good supplier I know of for ...... flocking.
And there are the "home sales" companies - for example: Stampin Up. I'm personally a big fan. Maybe I just like to go to parties, but the idea of a crafting party will always get me out of the house! This is a cleverly marketed line of stamps and inks. The stamp designs and the color palettes (for the paper, pens, markers and ink pads) are all original, coordinating, and patented. My favorite is the stamp wheels. I can't begin to say how much fun I have with those - edges, borders, ribbon, etc! Then, they make single stamps to match - with an image from the wheel. So you can have a nature themed stamp wheel with a lady bug somewhere in there, and the lady bug as a separate stamp. It's a nice little design feature. Remember, these images are original to Stampin Up, and you can only buy them through a rep or from the company directly (easily found on the web).
But, I liked the stamp wheels so much I wanted more.... That's when I found Clearsnap - the makers of the Rollagraph. There's a good reason why the SU wheels fit Rollagraph handles and vice-versa - but the reason isn't advertised. So I started shopping from Clearsnap directly. Larger Michael's stores carry several of these wheels from Clearsnap, and they can sometimes be found on sale. The whole line, however, is available from Clearsnap. Look for the stamped borders on my projects (i.e.: card: DAD) over at A Gallery of Artwork.
Storage - I've given a lot of thought to my stamps. I like them, I collect them - but what is their inherent value? I am a big fan of tools that may last my lifetime. Based on certain conditions (heat, storage, usage) I wanted to know what I could do to make my stamps last. If you think about the materials used in rubber stamps - it's rubber - wood - the adhesive - and maybe a foam cushion. So, if I store them out of the heat, keep them clean, and dry them immediately after cleaning (so no water sits on them to ruin the wood) - then they should last a very long time. But I was still looking at them.... stacked together. I realized that the only other part of them that could wear out is the rubber - if pushed or flattened or chipped - especially if it is being stored with a lot of stamps on top of it. That's when I decided to store all of my stamps on their sides, and not pushed up into one another. I don't know if this is any "manufacturer's suggestion", but it just made good sense to me.
Usage - There are better forums on the art of stamping, and I don't wish to belittle them by trying to write my own. I will give the benefit of my experience, though, and write about the simple way to get started.
I have learned that it is better to place my stamps - rubber side up - on a table and gently ink them from the pad, by tapping the ink pad onto the rubber, until the image is fully inked. (I store my pads right-side up - but when I know I'm going to use them, I turn them up-side down to get the ink closer to the surface.) I then pick up the stamp - and holding the paper flat with my other hand - I press the stamp onto the paper straight down. It shouldn't go down at an angle. When it is flat against the paper, you can push in the middle of the stamp - careful not to 'rock' it. Then it needs to come straight up, while holding the paper still with the other hand. All of these things will help keep the image 'clean' - without blackened edges, ink blotches or smearing. Okay - now that you have a perfect stamped image - we'll talk about ways to enhance it in Embossing and Inclusions.
We'll discuss storing them in the "storage" section.
