You often ask which colours we use for our stamping projects. That's why we have put together our favourite colours in a small overview. We prefer to use the Japanese colours from Tsukineko with our stamps because they have such beautiful strong pigments and leave a rich colour impression. First a few words about stamping and cleaning.
Stamping & Stamp cleaning
You will get the best stamp impression if you dab the stamp with the ink pad. You can also use this method to colour stamps in several colours - for example, a black unicorn with a coloured horn.
After stamping, the stamp should be stamped on a sponge cloth soaked in water or wiped with the sponge cloth. Then dry stamp on a piece of paper. Please be careful with very small or fine motifs - we dab these off so that the rubber is not accidentally torn from the wood. Always clean the delicate plant stamps lengthwise.
For StazOn and StazOn pigment stamp-pad ink we recommend a stamp cleaner - for example the StazOn Cleaner. The cleaner also dissolves all other inks. Both StazOn and StazOn cleaners should not be used with Clear Stamps, as they can damage the sensitive surface if used frequently.
Versafine Clair is a durable ink pad with pigment ink. The ink dries very quickly and gives a nice even and rich impression. Perfect for paper and very fine details.
The VersaMagic stamp pads are based on chalk pigment. The ink dries very quickly, covers quite well and is great for paper and scrapbooking.
We especially love the many great colours, which can be combined very harmoniously. For the black motives of our scenes we use the Versafine Clair Nocturne in addition to VersaMagic.
StazOn Stamp pads are the all-rounders among the colours 🙂
They are particularly suitable for surfaces on which the ink cannot be absorbed - such as paper with a surface coating (e.g. photos), glass, porcelain, blown out eggs or candle foil. StazOn Pigment Snowflake White is often used for dark surfaces because of its good covering power. The stamps are cleaned after use with Stazon stamp cleaner.
In our experience, the new StazOn pigment ink pads on glass and decal paper last even better than the older StazOn Midi ink pads. On glass, the ink can be fixed with a hot air dryer.
We have experimented extensively with porcelain and found that we cannot make a generally valid statement about its durability. Our experiences are:
- The new StazOn pigment is more durable; best is the colour black
- The durability seems to depend on the porcelain quality; in our case the colour has held better on high quality porcelain
- We baked the stamped cups in the oven at 180 °C for half an hour - in the dishwasher it held for about 3 months; when hand washed, the motive has not come off yet
+++ UPDATE +++ We have tried and experimented extensively how to make our creations more durable on porcelain and came across Glass & Porcelain Thinning Medium from Kreul. After drying the motifs, we applied it with a fine brush to the motif and then added it to the porcelain. Here you can watch a video example >>>
It's best if you just try it. Before baking, the ink can easily be removed from the porcelain with StazOn stamp cleaner; motifs stamped crooked are therefore no problem 🙂
