I made these Valentine cards and thought you might like to see them!
The stamps are Magenta’s new clear stamps — I was sent them as a thank-you for participating in the Roxane-le-Cat swaps last year.
A note on clear stamps — I had trouble with the clear stamps when I first used them because pigment ink was beading up on the stamp and I couldn’t get a good impression — so I emailed Picatso at Magenta, and here’s what she said: “The beading on the stamps is normal with your first inking as during manufacturing there is a thin coating of silicone on the stamps. This is normal for photopolymer stamps and rubber. I’ll scrub my stamp with stamp cleaner before I use them to remove the coating…..try it, it works!” Hope this helps someone — does anyone else have any tips on using clear stamps?
Supplies: All stamps by Magenta. The brown frame on the square card is also by Magenta — it is some kind of silky material, and I stamped on it with Ancient Page Chocolate ink and colored on it with Prismacolor pencils. The pink paper is by Bazzill. I also used Tim Holtz Distress inks in tea dye and old paper.
These are gorgeous Lisa ! I think that you could take any stamp and work magic with it !
clear stamps are awesome but there is a learning curve if you are used to rubber-they are softer so you don’t need to press as hard when using them,they are more fragile and will rip if you are too rough with them and they need to be cleaned better than rubber-there is a special polymer cleaner out to use.
Love your cards-I haven’t seen much from magenta lately.
Hi Mary — what polymer cleaner do you use? I’ve just been using baby wipes and now the stamps are kind of tacky/sticky.
Thanks,
Lisa
Don’t have any tips for the stamps as I don’t use the few I have enough but the cards are just beautiful.
I emailed you privately but I’m not sure it went through-it is Ranger’s perfect Polymer cleaner-if you can’t find it in your local stores I’d be happy to ship you some.
These are simply, utterly gorgeous! I live near Clearsnap and they say their Ancient Page inks are wonderful with clear polymer stamps.
And, although I haven’t tried it yet, I’ve been told Stewart Superior’s Ultra Clean is designed for use in cleaning polymer stamps? I know it works fabulously on rubber for removing stubborn stains . . .
I have used Judi-Kins Solvent Cleaner in the past with fabulous results on rubber, but you must take care to use it in a well-ventilated area? I cannot say how well it works on polymer, however . . .
A new and ardent fan of your work,
Julie
Hi Julie, thanks for your comments! That Judi-Kins Solvent Cleaner sounds scary — think I’ll try one of the others first. That sounds dangerous living by Clearsnap!! Do they have a retail store there too?
;^) Yes, living even 40 min. from Clearsnap is dangerous!!! And, yes, they do have a retail store . . . Dewey Inkum & Howe. Harriet, the manager, is an absolute peach, and always willing to give a personal one-on-one lesson on anything in the store! She’s also the resource/info person at Clearsnap’s website about anything having to do with their inks.