Stamps for scrapbooking: functions, varieties and recommendations for use

The desire to decorate personal things, making them unique and inimitable, arose for a long time in a person.

Scrapbooking is one of the types of needlework, with the help of which family albums were originally decorated. Later, through scrapbooking technology, letters, postcards, and various items began to be decorated. In scrapbooking, there are several methods for applying the image to the surface:

• distressing - technology of special aging of the image;
• embossing - volumetric image acquisition, embossing;
• stamping - creating pictures using ink, stamps and applicators.

This concept appeared when it became necessary to put the same picture or inscription on several things. We will talk about this technique in more detail.

You can decorate any item with a scrapbooking stamp or template. The advantage of this item is that with it you can create a beautiful image, in general, not being able to draw. In addition, the stamp allows you to get an absolutely identical image as many times as needed. Using a stamp, you can decorate an entire batch of objects or create a repeating pattern on one surface.

Buttons decorated with their own hands look very interesting - they can be bought ready-made or made of epoxy yourself, chips for various purposes, stickers and logos. Using the stamping technique, you can also decorate invitation cards for a wedding, anniversary or other celebration, graduation albums, greeting cards, caskets and other hand-made souvenirs. Today, stamping is actively used even to create a beautiful manicure.

Conventionally, all the stamps for scrapbooking can be divided into two main groups, each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The first group includes workpieces made of acrylic, silicone or various polymer resins. It is possible to purchase both single copies and whole sets. All transparent stamps are used together with an acrylic block - a stand with a marking, which can be bundled or sold separately. The size of the block should correspond to the size of the stamp, since the latter should fit entirely on the stand. Typically, stamps made in Russia are made of polymers, and patterns made in Asian countries (China, Taiwan and others) are made of silicone.

Advantages of transparent stamps:

• The applied image is immediately visible. This is especially important if you need to apply one drawing to another.
• Affordable price allows you to have several different stamps at once.
• Compact sizes provide certain storage benefits.

Stamps can be made of foamed or hard rubber. Advantages of rubber stamps:

• they are more durable than acrylic, and less deformed, which allows you to get a clear correct impression;
• the depth of relief of rubber stamps allows you to use them when working not only with paper or fabric, but also with harder surfaces - for example, wood or ceramic;
• well absorb paint and ink;
• Great for beginners.

The rubber stamp consists of three components.

• Base with print and bends in order to make it more convenient to take it. It can be made of wood, plastic or rubber.
• Buffer layer. To get a clear image when scrapbooking, you need to correctly distribute the load on the decorated surface.
• Rubber cliche.

There are also rubber stamps consisting solely of one cliche without using a backing. They are as compact as acrylic and cost less than specimens with a wooden base.

In order to create a high-quality image, you need to know how to use stamps correctly. There are a few simple rules..

• It is better to dip the stamp lightly into the ink, rather than applying them to the stamp. So the paint layer is more even, and the image is clear.
• If the surface of the stamp is hard, to improve the impression under the workpiece, it is worthwhile to put something not very solid - for example, a mouse pad, several layers of paper.
• When printing, do not swing the block in order to increase the brightness of the picture. The movement should be strictly vertical.

To create high-quality prints, you must have in your arsenal several stamp pads that are filled with paint or ink. Ink pad ink can be pigment ink or water soluble. Pigment ink dries for a long time, since they contain glycerin. Almost all of them are moisture resistant and look good on a dark background. There are several varieties of pigment ink:

• transparent -to create an adhesive layer or watermark effect on paper;
• archival - durable, it does not fade with time, does not spread when interacting with water;
• small (Chalk ink) - opaque paint in pastel shades, usually used on a dark surface to create the effect of chalk on the board;
• oil - they are used for stamping individual parts, they are easily absorbed into a porous surface, but they dry on a glossy surface for much longer, after complete drying the image is clear and durable.

Water-based (Dye ink) paints are also known as watercolor. A water-soluble dye is used as a coloring pigment in such inks. Watercolor inks dry faster than pigmented inks, are easily mixed together and washed off with water. They are often used to obtain the main background or surface tinting. Against a dark background, a pale, barely noticeable trace is obtained.

For stamps to serve for a long time, you need to properly care for them.

After each use, stamps must be cleaned. Otherwise, the ink remains dry in the form, and the image will be blurry. Scrapbooking forms should be washed with warm, soapy water, and you can use an old toothbrush with soft bristles to clean difficult bends. It is strictly not recommended to use alcohol and alcohol-containing substances to care for the dies.

Alcohol has a highly drying effect, so the scrapbooking tool may crack. This will significantly degrade image quality. And contact of wooden parts with water should also be avoided.

Acrylic stamps are sold in a set with films - stands. After each use, it is recommended that the printing tool be returned to this film so that no small debris gets on it. Stamps are best stored in a dark place in separate containers. Stamps without a base should be stored flat, without bending them.

There are a huge number of different technologies for applying images using stamping.

This method is good because with the help of several pads you can create not only a variety of transitions from one color to another, but also deep three-dimensional images. Layering can be achieved in several ways: when the re-stamp gives a more saturated color or the creation of volume, when the subsequent print is less intense than the previous one.

This technique is suitable for fans of bright and catchy images. It allows you to apply paint to the stamp itself, without using an ink pad. To reproduce this technique, it is enough to purchase a set of high-quality markers and combine colors with each other.

For this method, you will need ordinary ink or paints, stamp pads, scrapbooking paper and stencils that you can make yourself or purchase ready-made. In this technique, you can decorate everything from small objects to wallpaper on the walls.

They are used in cases where you want to recreate a vintage style with the effect of antiquity. This technology is actively used by designers to decorate furniture and other interior items.

This style is actively used in the design of thematic cards, as well as for telephone emoticons - all kinds of cute little animals, flowers and other children's characters will be appropriate when congratulating a child, a sincere friend or girlfriend.

These include all kinds of numbering with a rotating design for changing the font. Most often these are numbers or letters. With the help of such a tool, you can make prints of memorable dates in your personal diary, sign crafts or commemorative photographs in a florid font.

This is the creation of a decorative element with a hollow detail, which is filled with small decorating objects - colored sand, sequins, beads, bath salt, beads - the range is limited only by imagination.

Smooth overflow of flowers from one to another. To create an ombre, pads and distress ink are required. To create a smooth transition, it is necessary to apply ink in several stages, rubbing them in the center and gradually reducing their volume in order to achieve a paler color.

This technology is usually used to design paper crafts and involves coloring the stamps themselves.

To complete this idea, you will need blanks in the form of droplets, spots or snowflakes. It is better to take transparent stamps made of silicone –So you will see the whole picture and control the intensity of the deposition of elements.

This is a three-dimensional image. Often, ink and powder are combined to add volume to a drawing. As well as in specialized stores, you can look for special markers for embossing. Some of them are used in conjunction with powder, while others, for example, velvet, are used as an independent tool.

See how to use dies for scrapbooking in the next video.