Which Tool to Use for Precision Stamping Cling, Clear, Unmounted and Wood Block Stamps?

I recently got a Hampton Arts Stamp Perfect Tool and I love it! You may have seen my previous post where I mention how expensive the MISTI Tool is and how I made my own DIY version. Well, stamp companies have caught on and now there's plenty of competitors offering lower cost options. However, you may not always want to use one of these tools while you are stamping and I will tell you why.

Cling Mounted Stamps: 

These can be tricky because you can't see through them and they are not always cut very close to the stamp. The best way to get absolutely precise stamping with these is with a hinged letterpress style stamp positioning tool (listed at the bottom of the post) AND a piece of acetate.

First, you need to remove the foam layer from the stamping tool since the cling stamps are usually much thicker than clear stamps. Then add your piece of paper and tape down or use magnets if your tool allows. Then place your stamp in approximately the place you will want to stamp it and pick it up with the lid. Now put your piece of acetate on top of the paper. Tape it to create a hinge where you are still able to move the paper underneath. Ink up the stamp and stamp onto the plastic. Lift the lid and see if it has stamped where you want. If it hasn't then move the paper underneath until the image lines up where you want. Now all you have to do is take the plastic sheet out and ink up the stamp again and stamp it perfectly where you wanted. I use the Little B perfect positioner sheet for this since it has a helpful grid. Sometimes I use the plastic sheet that came with my stamp-a-ma-jig tool.

Clear Stamps: 

A lot of times you can get away with using just an acrylic block with clear stamps. I've been able to get some pretty precise stamping done with one. However, when you have a sentiment that you would like to be perfectly straight it can be very hard to do with just a block. In this case you will do something similar as above but with less steps (if you want ultra precise stamping then do exactly as above except leave the foam pad in the tool).

First, add your piece of paper and tape down or use magnets if your tool allows. Now put a plastic grid sheet over the paper to give you a guide to have a straight line. You can also use this to find the center if you are stamping a different image and want it perfectly centered. Put your stamp on the grid sheet where you want it and close the lid to pick it up. Then open the lid, remove the grid sheet and ink up the stamp. Close the lid to stamp and it will be in the perfect spot!

Unmounted Stamps:

These are really flat red rubber stamps that you may have bought at a rubber stamp show or really cheap on e-bay. I'm talking about stamps that don't even have a foam cushion of any kind. The best way I have found to stamp these in the right spot is with the Stamp-a-ma-jig and a square acrylic block. The stamp-a-ma-jig was made for use with wood stamps but you can certainly use it this way. There's a video on Amazon that shows how to use it, I recommend using blocks without the etched guides for this technique since we don't want adhesive getting stuck in the lines. These one's are smooth and have no lines. You can actually dedicate an acrylic block for use with your unmounted stamps and add a piece of Tack N Peel to it if you desire. The other option is adding Aleene's Tack it Over and Over  to the back of the stamp. You will want to let this "dry" and then stick it onto your acrylic block. I say "dry" because this interesting glue is sticky when dry and that's why you can tack it over and over. You can wash it off the stamp when you are done or find a place to store it where it won't stick to something. (Extra Bonus! I use this glue to make my own glue dots!).

Another option is simply turning these into Cling mount stamps by attaching them to some EZ Mount Cling Foam. 

Wood Block Stamps:

To date the best tool I've found for these is the Stamp-a-ma-jig. However, there's a new tool called the Position It Tool and it's a leterpress style stamping tool that allows the use of woodblock stamps! Pretty Impressive.

Here are your options for letterpress style Stamp Positioning Tools:




RESERVE Tim Holtz Tonic Craft STAMP PLATFORM 1708E - $39.99
from: Simon Says Stamp

I hope this has helped you in some way. If you need more information on the stamping tools, please leave a comment and I will be happy to help! 

Best Paper for Smooth Watercolor isn't even Watercolor Paper!

Yes, you read that correctly!

Bristol Paper creates some amazing SMOOTH watercolor effects. 

Bristol Smooth Surface Paper by Strathmore is not traditionally used for watercoloring. In fact, it is meant for pencil and ink.

It is acid free and heavyweight at a 100 lb. weight. This makes it PERFECT for using on cards, mixed media and scrapbooking. 

Why should you use this paper? 

Well, it is the best paper for someone who is starting out and feels a little intimidated by watercoloring. I like using it because I don't do shading, highlighting or blending. I simply want some even color on my image. I generally use this on an image that I have stamped with memento tuxedo black ink.  Unlike watercolor paper, which will soak in some color initially, this paper tends to allow the color to float for a little bit before seeping in.

What types of watercolors work well on this paper?

I specifically wanted to try this paper with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. I was very pleased with the results. It also worked incredibly well with my Tim Holtz Distress Markers and Staedler Ergosoft Watercolor Pencils.

What if I am more advanced?

Since I am a novice at watercolor I can only recommend what I've seen other professionals recommend. If you want to do "proper" watercolor techniques then you may want to try Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper or Canson XL Watercolor Paper. I have used Canson XL before and experienced no pilling even with heavy saturation and a lot of  brush strokes.

If you have been struggling with watercoloring for cardmaking, this just may be your answer. Remember, your surface is just as important as your medium. The same watercolor can look terrible on one paper and beautiful on another!

Best Tools for Getting a Perfect Stamped Image

In today's high tech world we have so many options to chose from even in the crafting world! Today I am going to run through some of the various options we crafters have to chose from to get a crisply stamped image. I'll briefly explain the best situations for each tool and why you may want more than just one of them depending on the type of stamp you have.

• Standard Acrylic Block. 

This is the cheapest option but it can also be the most frustrating. Regular acrylic blocks are great for stamping images that you will be cutting out later or the placement is unimportant. They're also good if you are stamping something that you will be adding to your card. I do not recommend using a standard acrylic block to stamp something on a card base that you have put a lot of time into. The reason is because it can be easy to stamp the image poorly and it's hard to place your stamp directly back on top to re-stamp it. It's also hard to stamp sentiment stamps perfectly straight when you are basically eyeballing it. 
Apple Pie Memories makes some good acrylic blocks. There's have grooves in them that makes getting a grip easy. They also have a grid laser etched in them which makes lining up your stamp easier. 
Inkadinkado also makes a large one which is the one I own. 
Prima makes one that has a handle. Many people like that but I actually feel like that gives me less stability. 
If you get an acrylic block I highly recommend getting one with an etched grid and finger grooves. There's some cheap ones out there without these features and I feel that they are far less superior. 

Prima 4 x 8" block with handle $17.24: 

Apple Pie Memories 4 pack $18.68: 

Inkadinkado Extra Large Acrylic Block $11.94: 


• Fiskars Stamp Press and Martha Stewart Stamp Mount. 

Both of these are offered in a smaller and larger size. 
You can use these as your one and only stamping block if you want but there's other ones I'll mention later that have benefits in certain situations. I personally own the larger Fiskars Stamp Press and I like it for sentiment stamping. Even with some of my other stamping tools, I still use it for stamping large sentiments on the inside of my cards. The benefit of these type of stamping blocks is the foam feet provide height and stability so you can line up your stamp perfectly over your paper and then press straight down when it's in the perfect position. This also makes it easier to get stamps really close together without overlap such as when you are stamping a garden of flowers. You can even put all of the stamps on the stamp press and get it done in one shot. The large surface area makes this possible.
Compact Stamp Press at Simon Says Stamp $13.99: 


Large Stamp Press at Simon Says Stamp $22.99: ( This is the one I own and it's $14.07 on Amazon)



Medium Martha Stewart Stamp Mount at Amazon $9.24:


Small Martha Stewart Stamp Mount at Amazon $5.72:



• Stampamajig

Stamp a whaaa? Yeah it's a mouthful but this little tool is a major help with wood mounted stamps. This 2 piece set includes a plastic bar and a clear plastic sheet. All you do is put the corner of your wood stamp in the corner and stamp straight down onto the plastic sheet. Then you take the plastic sheet and put it on the area you want to stamp and place the plastic bar on the sheet. Now you remove the plastic sheet, ink up your stamp and stamp down exactly where you wanted to. This is the best tool for getting straight stamping with wood mounted stamps. 

Sold at Amazon for $7.19: 



• Crafter's Companion Rock a Block
The Rock a Block is supposed to make it easier to avoid smudging or over-stamping by stamping in one smooth motion. You roll the stamp from bottom to top. I haven't used these myself because I already have many ways to get a good stamped image, but if I didn't already own a ton of stamping tools I'd definitely give these a try. I may even buy them for my Mom since I think she'd enjoy them. 

Sold at Simon Says Stamp for $14.99 for a pack of 4: 



• MISTI & Stampaholic

These bad boys are new to the scene and they cost a pretty penny! 
Both of these tools use the letterpress technique to stamp clear or cling mounted stamps (just remove the foam when using cling). This unique system makes it incredibly easy to re-stamp perfectly. You can also lay down an entire scene and stamp it at once. Grid patterned paper and rare earth magnets to hold your paper in place make this a fool proof way to get straight stamping done. There is a metal plate on the back that the magnets are attracted to. You also get rulers around the outside for extra precision. 
The MISTI (stands for Most Incredible Stamping Tool Invented) comes in three different sizes depending on your application. The Mini MISTI is perfect for card makers. The original MISTI is larger and makes stamping directly on the inside of a card base possible. The Memory MISTI has a 12 x 12" stamping space which is perfect for Scrapbookers! The MISTI's range in price from $49.99 to $110.00. This is an investment in your stamping and not a cheap tool by any means. There's also one called the Stampoholic which is around the same size as the original MISTI and it's $54.95 which is about $25.00 less than the MISTI. However, there is a patent on the MISTI which the Stampoholic may be infringing on. I am not a patent lawyer so don't take my word on it. Patents are expensive and normally get built into the cost of an item to make some money back. Many people own the MISTI and are completely in love with it. It's extremely useful when you are stamping multi-step stamps such as Altenew's Vintage Roses. I am a little cheap and have spent more than my fair share on expensive crafting tools (Silhouette Cameo 2 and the MINC machine to name a few!), so I did it as a DIY which we'll talk about next! 
Mini MISTI for $49.99 at Simon Says Stamp:



Full Size MISTI for $79.99 at Simon Says Stamp :


Memory MISTI for $110.00 at Simon Says Stamp:



• DIY Letterpress Style Stamping Tool 

I found this video on YouTube and thought "Wow, what a great idea!"

There was a link below the video to the store that carried all of the necessary supplies. I recently went on their website again and it appears they have everything but the metal sheets by Darice. 
Here's what you need: 
DVD case  $2.99( or you can get a 10 pack here and store your stamps in them too!) 
Rare Earth Magnets $2.49 x 2 = $4.98 (or get an 8 pk here for $5.08)
Little B Perfect Positioner $3.99 (or $2.79 here)
Craft Foam $0.69 ( or $7.49 for a 10 pk and use the left overs with adhesive as full back foam adhesive on cards!)
Metal Sheet $9.67 ( this is more than you need so find another project to use the rest!)

Total cost for the DIY stamping tool is $22.32 if you buy everything you can from Hallmark Scrapbook and the metal sheet from Amazon. The Darice metal sheet was smaller and less expensive so hopefully those come back in stock some time. I've used mine more than a handful of times now and I really like it. I especially like being able to double stamp when I'm working on watercolor paper. 

• Stamping Pad

A stamping pad can help you get a nicer image than stamping on a hard surface. It lets the stamp sink into something. You can use a cheap mousepad or fun foam for this but there are special stamping pads out there that are a little thicker. Darice makes a rubber one and it has great reviews. Obviously you won't need this when using your MISTI or DIY stamping tool. 




That covers it for the best tools to get a perfect stamped image. I hope I have enlightened you today and you learned something or found a new tool you didn't know existed that will make your stamping a little easier and more fun! If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I will be happy to help you out! 

Un-Boxing The Silhouette Cameo 2 Bundle from Amazon

Here's a video of me un-boxing the Silhouette Cameo 2 Bundle I purchased from Amazon.



It was extremely easy to get set up and make my first cuts. I immediately dove in to using the included PixScan Mat, which I forgot to show in the video.

Even though I haven't had much time to play with this electronic die cutting machine yet, I can already tell you that it is pretty amazing. I will be trying to cut various materials in the near future to find out exactly what it can handle. It cut my 140lb Watercolor Cardstock with no hiccups. The machine is not what I would consider quiet, but it is quieter than my SLICE Machine. It is pretty light for how large it is and that is nice since it does not have a permanent spot on my desk and I have to slide it in and out of a little cubby in my IKEA Kallax shelving unit.  ( LOVE that shelving unit with desk attached by the way!). When I first got the machine out of the box I actually dropped it from maybe 1-2 ft onto my desk. I was terrified! However, it still works just like it should. I'm considering getting the Silhouette Designer Edition of Silhouette Studio to unlock more design potential, but I haven't made any final decisions on that quite yet.

I'll be back with some videos of the PixScan mat!