Mid Week blog #73 - Looking after your stamps.

 Hello & welcome to my blog,

My name is Alison & I am an independent Stampin' Up® demonstrator in Melbourne, Australia. I love creating cards & gifts for my loved ones & this blog will show you how to create something special for those you love. I blog twice a week, once on a Sunday where I mainly showcase a stamp set or dies & sometimes special DSP. My second blog is mid week on a Wednesday where I look at techniques, colour challenges, card sketches, fun folds, tools & equipment & ways to make or improve your projects. That's what this blog is about. Today I will be sharing with you three different ways that you can care for your stamps.

First up is the Stampin' Scrub.

The Stampin' Scrub is my favourite method of cleaning stamps.

I use this handy little tool the most as it's self contained in a sturdy carry case which has one side that cleans the stamps & the other that dries them off. The pads are removable if you want to wash them too. 

To clean the stamps you simply apply a few sprays of Stampin Mist to the wet side....

which you can identify by the little droplets in the corner. The mist contains a light oil which helps to protect your stamps. You then rub the stamp over the moist material before rubbing it over the other side....

which you can identify by the little sun picture in the corner. And that's it! Close it up and you're done.

The second method I used to use before I purchased the Stampin' Scrub. It's a shammy available from Stampin' Up® & is called Simply Shammy.

This material fits into a regular stamp case. All you need to do is wet the shammy & it's ready to go. To clean your stamp you rub them over the shammy & it removes the ink. I recommend stamping off any unused ink before washing it to reduce the staining on the shammy. When it appears a bit too dirty all you have to do is wash it in some warm soapy water & it's ready to go again. 

The final method is the original method that I used when I first started stamping. Baby Wipes.

Baby wipes are convenient as they are readily available in the shops & there are some great environmental options available too! The only drawback with using baby wipes is that they will sometimes leave little pieces of lint on the stamps which can affect the quality of your stamped images.

When it comes down to it though, you have to use what you can afford and what works for you.

That's it for this week.  I hope you enjoyed this little tip. 

My next blog is on Sunday & features a lovely new design I saw on Brandy's Cards which I have teamed with the Brightest Beauty stamp set & Golden Beauty dies. In next week's Mid Week blog I will show you some colouring techniques. I hope you can join me again for both of those.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Til next time, take care & keep creating. XX Alison