Metal stamping is an increasingly popular craft and as well as being therapeutic, allows you to truly individualize creations. Whether its stamping to decorate or personalize, the possibilities are endless so we have pulled together our top 5 tips which we hope you find useful.
- Mark your tools to stamp right every time. Some stamps, such as the Beadsmith one pictured on the left are already marked with the brand name so as long as you place your thumb over this point you’ll be holding your stamp correctly every time. Many stamps, however, do not have this and to avoid costly mistakes we advise you mark them either with a permanent marker pen or some masking tape. It’s also a good idea to always do a trial stamp on a piece of wood or even folded aluminium foil so you can see if the stamp requires a single central hit or whether you need to move the stamp back and forth to get all impressions visible.
- Use a sharpie pen to define impressions. When you’ve made a lovely stamped impression, particularly on lighter metals, it can be hard to distinguish the details. There are many products on the market for adding oxidization to the metal but a Sharpie pen or permanent black marker works just as well.
- Add shine with steel wool & alcohol. Steel wool, a painting and decorating staple, is a great addition to the stamping tool box and the fine version doesn’t mark metal but allows you to quickly remove any unwanted stamping ink whilst giving your metal a beautiful sheen. Rubbing alcohol acts as a robust metal cleaner and applying a small amount via cotton wool will remove any finger marks and it dries streak free for a pristine finish.
- Tape to stamp straight ~ stamping in a straight line takes practice but placing masking tape in a straight line on your metal block provides a valuable guide. You can also mark the tape with points where you want to stamp for accurate letter spacing.
- Use anti-slip underlay for stability – To prevent your metal block moving around whilst you strike we recommend using rug or carpet underlay to keep the block in place and prevent accidents.
Remember you are advised to wear safety goggles when metal stamping and it’s a good habit to always practice with new tools and materials until you feel completely confident.
Above all we hope you enjoy creating and you can see another article HERE on suitable metals for stamping projects. You can also see our range of metal stamps and tools HERE.
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