I actually really wanted to try these out for some time now, so I bought them as soon as I saw them. They’re a little bit different from the usual rubber stamps. It did take some experimenting here and there to get used to them, but they were definitely worth it.
So coincidentally, I already had some of these stamps, but in the form of individual rubber stamps. The image above shows how the clear stamps look on paper (Rhodia paper 80g/m2), compared to the rubber stamps. When I first used the clear stamps, they turned out so grainy and smudged. I used the same exact ink pad for both rubber and clear stamps too. Strangely, the clear stamps with the generic stamp pad turned out to be a lot cleaner. Hmmm…
The colored-inked stamps were used with the yellow owl workshop ink pads. If you look at them closely, the ink pads have a grainy texture to them. Don’t get me wrong though, they’re great ink pads. When I used these ink pads with the rubber stamps they stamped out to be consistent with thin clean lines. It might be due the nature of the stamp? The yellow owl workshop ink pad uses a soft squishy sponge-like pad. Since the clear stamps also have a soft squishy texture, you can’t really pat the ink in one-go. Therefore, you end up patting the ink multiple times, which helps the ink get through the whole stamp. But because now that there is excessive amount of ink on the stamp, the lines would come out to be a lot thicker. The problem with this is that the detailed designs may end up looking smudged because the lines end up colliding with one another. This might change if the ink pad itself were big enough so that the whole stamp can pat onto the ink pad in one-go. Since the pads are small, you have to kinda have excess amount of ink onto the stamps, or it would just turn out inconsistent (just like the blue cat stamp above).
When I used a generic ink pad, it came out to be consistent with clean thin lines. Maybe the stable flat surface of the generic pad helps the ink get through the whole stamp with minimal amount of ink? Also, I’m not sure what kind of ink the generic stamp pad uses so I can’t say for sure, but perhaps that is partly why it came out the way it did? Another factor may be the compatibility of the ink and paper. I don’t really have a wide selection with ink pads yet, so I’ll probably get to that eventually. Well, either way, it’s best to experiment before journaling with them.
Another thing you’ll be needing is an acrylic block as a base for you to hold on to when stamping. I don’t know how I feel about using the BGM acrylic blocks. You definitely need one in order to use the stamps, but do I like it? Not really. So the material of the clear stamps allow it to stick on the acrylic blocks. There are two sizes, 50x50x8mm and 80x80x8mm blocks. The top two images are 50mm and the bottom image is the 80mm block. Personally, I feel like it’s harder to stamp when using the smaller clear stamps with the 50mm blocks because the stamp is so much smaller than the block. Hence, the smudged cat stamp (green) in the rubber vs clear stamp comparison image. It probably would have helped if the block had a handle on the center, that way we can press down with a more consistent force when stamping, regardless of its stamp size. Still, I understand that this way is probably the best way to save production costs and etc. I thought it was a bit inconvenient, but it’s still something that can be tolerated. Also, it seems like other companies or online shopping sites like etsy sell the smaller ones, so you can get them there. I’m just worried that the stamp’s adhesiveness may decrease over time. One tip is to clean the stamps and put the them back on the clear transparency paper once you’ve finished using them.
Overall Thoughts
Sometimes, I do feel that they are frustrating to use. Still, I think it’s worth it if you like the design. When I buy stamps, I usually spend approximately $5-10 for one single rubber stamp. On the other hand, there’s 10+ designs in one pack for about $12.95, so it’s a good deal! It might be cheaper if you buy online, especially if you buy enough to qualify for the free shipping. If you’re worried about stamping inconsistently, you can purchase different acrylic block sizes from different brands. So there’s no major reason for you to not buy them ahaha. Just make sure to EXPERIMENT before journaling with the stamps!
NanokaJourney 