Rubber Stamping with Clear Stamps

Clear Stamps add a whole new dimension to rubber stamping. Since you can see right through them while you're working, you can see exactly where your image is going to end up. This makes it possible to carefully and accurately place different parts of the scene on top of one another.

Materials and Tools

• A Fluffles The Cat Clear Stamp
• An acrylic block
• Glitter Pen and Ink Pads

Instructions

1. Place the cat in the centre of an acrylic block (the size of the block does not really matter, but you may find it easier to use as small a block as possible as it may be easier to hold and position. The stamp sticks like magic to the block and stays in place until you remove it.

2. Ink the cat stamp by dabbing the ink pad onto the stamp, trying to get an even coverage. We have used a non-pigment ink here, as we did not want to emboss the image. We have used a charcoal Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink pad, but you could also use a Staz On ink pad.

3. Position the stamp carefully, holding it above the card. As the stamp is clear, you can see what you are doing and it is easy to position the stamp centrally. When it is in the correct position, press down, applying an even pressure across the stamp. For larger stamps it can help to stand up to do this. Take care not to rock the stamp, as this will cause the image to be blurred. Lift the stamp off the card carefully, clean the stamp and remove the cat, placing it back on the acetate sheet for storage.

4. Next we are going to make Fluffles the Cat hold a Christmas tree. It might sound tricky, but with the clear stamps it is quite simple. Place the tree stamp on the block and ink it. Again, because the stamp is clear, you can see the cat though the block, making it possible to position the stamp so that the cat is holding the tree. When it is in the correct position, press down applying even pressure and remove the stamp carefully from the card.

5. Colour in the image. We have used Sakura glitter gel pens, but you could use chalks or watercolour pencils. Make sure you stamp with a colourfast ink if you want to use watercolours though, otherwise the stamped image will run when you wet it.