Perfect match

Stampin' Up is now offering repositionable RUBBER stamps with clear mount blocks. This is big news for stampers because until now, the main product in the clear block category was repositionable ACRYLIC stamps. Yes, I've used acrylic stamps from time to time, but rubber stamps remain the gold standard, offering crisp lines and fine detail.

While I love the solid feel and natural beauty of a rubber stamp mounted on a traditional hardwood block, there's no denying that clear mounted stamps offer stampers the ability to position their images with precision because you peer down through the block and visually line things up before making the impression.

I recently ordered the set "With All My Heart" from Stampin' Up to try out the new acrylic block set up. The die-cut rubber stamps were easy to mount and remove from my clear blocks and offered some great options.

For example, the flower in this card was created by layering the two flower images in the set over one another. I was able to position them easily because of the clear mounts. I experimented using different color inks, but ultimately I thought the best effect came when I used different shades from the same color family.

I was also really pleased to find paper in my stash that echoed the colors and style of the flower images and the flourishes on the "friend" stamp. I just love when the elements of a card tie together this way.

Because of my success with the above background paper, I thought I'd try a similar approach using a piece of black and cream background paper that had the same kind of flower in it. But I wasn't fully satisfied with my attempts to use my new stamps with it. Instead I pulled out an old stamp from Stampin' Up's "Carte Postale" set and used it to create a focal image that syncs with the background paper. Very simple and elegant card. The colors are darker and richer than I'm seeing on my monitor. The red is a true scarlet.

I've been in a cardmaking mode lately, but I feel I'm overdue for making an art journal piece. Maybe this week...

Comments

[apathy lounge]

So...do you have trouble sleeping at night...what with all of those creative ideas flying around in your mind? You should. You're awesome.

[mamatulip]

I love them both.

[Chris]

I love, love, love the red card. LOVE it.

[Neil]

Those really came out excellent. How much more expensive is rubber over acrylic?

[V-Grrrl]

Thanks y'all [smiling]

As for the cost Neil, it's a little hard to come up with a number because rubber stamps come mounted on hardwood blocks, so they're complete. When you buy acrylic stamps, you get just the stamp portion that makes the image and have to buy the mounting blocks separately. Craft store acrylic stamp sets can be pretty cheap, $10-$15 for a set of images. Better quality acrylics will be more like $20 for a set. A similar size set of rubber stamps mounted on wooden blocks would probably cost closer to $30.

[Shirl Grrrl]

Thanks for the SU! plugs and your cards are awesome! I also wanted to add that as for now, Stampin' Up! will be offering all of our stamp sets in both clear mount and wood. Once you have invested in the whole set of acrylic blocks, the stamp sets will run a little cheaper than the traditional wood block mounted stamps. Another wonderful thing about the clear mount sets is they are so much easier to store in the less bulky cases. I love the sunflower card!!