Past Tense

At this juncture we are in 2009 in the midst of the credit crisis, which is a grim outlook worldwide. Hence any slight thing that we can organize to jazz up our lives in the present circumstances can only be a blessing. As an artist I can lose myself by doing abstract paintings where I can express my emotions, or head on out to do some landscape painting to keep my feet firmly on the ground and include a trace of realism.

Nonetheless, not every person desires to paint, they call for new forms of outlet, whether it is for them or else to simply keep their kids amused. For example it happens, presently rubber stamping seems to stay in style, therefore my article!

There appear to be various forms of ink pads available to carry out rubber stamp with, so how do you identify which ones to go for? As a result, let me present the mixed types to you.

Pads which comprise a pigment source are most likely the most worthy of note in several ways, seeing that there seems to be additional colours obtainable, together with metallics plus some fluorescents. These pads create a really eye-catching stamped look.

You are in all likelihood to find that you can sometimes find pads which actually contain multi colours. Though, I would say don’t make an effort to experiment with these with a polished surface. These are brilliant for handling on most papers, the only disadvantage being that they will take quite some time to dry.

Then you have what is known as dye based pads, which are in actual fact, used a lot for both cards and papers. These appear in very vivid translucent colours. They are fast drying, on the contrary I would not endorse them if you aim to emboss.

Embossing I will go into further in an additional article, nevertheless they are pads principally planned for this reason. In the main, the colouring comes out fairly pastel and see-through. Embossing pads have got to be used together with embossing powders.

Do not expect to see the colour once you have embossed. These too, are slow drying. They are sometimes available in a pen format appropriate for, would you consider it, calligraphy.

The ink within the fabric pads will turn out to be permanent when it is fixed. Set aside your work to become dry for a day, after that, somewhat like silk painting, make use of an iron to press your object. The iron wants to stay on a hot setting to subsequently press your composition on the wrong side.

Friends of mine paint felt tips directly on to their stamp and sometimes mix these up somewhat to combine interest. Certain stamps, you will get, may well really be bigger than the pad. This is not a problem, just cover the stamp entirely along with your ink before you stamp.

If you then want to add colour to your images you would really need to consider your surface. However, you can use crayons, oil, glass and fabric paint, so take your pick!

When you store your pads, it is better to set your pads upside down so that the ink will remain at the top. This way they will be ready for next time when you want to use them. It goes without saying, similar to most crafts, that you need to keep them clean.

In this instance you will need a stamp cleaner. If you remember to do this with each usage, they should last you for lots of years to come.