5 Fun Ways to Colour Your Rubber Stamps

Craft rubber stamps are a popular, quick and easy way to add great designs to your creative projects. Here are 5 different ways you can use colour with your stamps to achieve some stunning effects.

Watercolours

Colouring a stamped image using watercolours produces amazing results. Lots of people are put off trying this method, imagining it will be difficult. But it's really simple once you know how, and the results are well worth it. All you need is a paint brush, water and some suitable ink or paint. We like to blend Dual Tip Embossing Pens or Watercolour Pencils, but you can also use watercolour paints.

The first picture shows the image coloured with watercolour pencils, and the second picture shows the image after blending the pencils with water.

Firstly, to create the outline, you need to apply colour directly to the stamp. To keep a solid outline, it's really important to use a suitable waterproof ink pad - Stazon is perfect for the job. However, if you'd rather blend the outline into the image, colour your stamp with watercolour pens or pencils, or brush on watercolour paint, then stamp. This way, the outline will bleed into the rest of the image when you apply water.

To colour in the image, again you can use watercolour paint, pens or pencils. If using pens or pencils, colour in the image first then go over it with a wet paintbrush to blend. If using paints, dip a wet brush in the paints and colour the image.

Embossing powders

Embossing powder will help you create impressive raised images like these with your stamps:

Hearts coloured with glittered red embossing powder

Butterfly coloured with purple embossing powder, and hearts with glittered red embossing powder.

All you need to do is stamp using a glue pad, embossing ink pad, or suitable pigment based ink like Brilliance. You then sprinkle your chosen colour of embossing powder over the image, shaking off the excess, and melt it with a heat gun. You can read more about how to do this in our "How to Emboss" article.

Chalks

Chalks are a great way to add subtle blended colour to your stamped images. Special chalk applicators or finger daubers are the easiest way to apply it, but you can also use cotton wool, a paintbrush or just rub it on with your fingers.

Stamped image coloured with chalks

The great thing about using chalk is that it is erasable, so you don't need to worry about going over the lines. Chalk erasers are available for this, but we find a normal eraser tends to work just as well.

Picture stamped with embossing ink, before and after colouring with chalks

Another way to use chalk with your stamps is by stamping with an embossing ink pad then going over the design with chalk (see above). The chalk will stick to the ink just like embossing powder does, giving you a soft and subtle finish.

Glitter

Flowers stamped with a glue pad and coloured with ultra fine glitter

If you're looking for spectacular colour and sparkle, glitter is the perfect way to do it. Use a glue pad instead of an ink pad, and stamp the glue onto your paper or card. Then simply sprinkle your glitter on and shake off the excess. You can then either fill in the image with complementary colours or leave it as a sparkly outline.

ProMarkers or Gel Pens

Pens are one of the simplest ways to colour in a stamped image, but to achieve the best results you need great pens. Letraset ProMarkers are among the best markers for colouring stamped images, since they won't smudge where you've stamped. The ink in ProMarker pens is semi-transparent, which allows you to create your own unique blends. You can have lots of fun experimenting with them on rough paper until you come up with just the right shade.

The picture on the left has been coloured with ProMarkers, and the one on the right with glitter gel pens.

Gel pens are quick and simple to use, just like regular pens, and their ultra-fine nibs give you lots of control over where you're inking. There are a few different types, each one allowing you to achieve a different finish. If you want metallic colour, a glossy shine, or even a raised "souffle" effect, there's a gel pen that will do the job.

There are lots more ways we haven't mentioned here, but these are just a few of our favourites. Why not try something new next time you get out your rubber stamps?

Related Tags

Craft Ideas Rubber Stamping Technique

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Watercolour Pencils

A pack of 24 brightly coloured watercolour pencils. Use them like normal pencils, then go over them with a wet paintbrush to create a fantastic blended watercolour effect.

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Letraset ProMarkers

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