Inexpensive Rubber Stamp Storage Ideas

Rubber stamping is a fun and engrossing past-time, and like many hobbies, benefits from organizing your tools and supplies. Many organizational tools can be low-cost, as well as effective. Here are some handy tips to keep your rubber stamps stored safely and organized carefully.

One of the most important things with rubber stamps is keeping them out of direct sunlight. The rubber will degrade over time, and the stamp image will become less clear and crisp. The sun's rays will cause the rubber to crack and dry out. You also want to avoid excessive humidity. Ideally, you should keep your stamps in a cool, dry place, without excessive temperature changes.

Mounted and unmounted rubber stamps should be stored separately, which will help you find what you are looking for easier. Unmounted stamps can be stored in flat, thin containers, like CD cases. To store in a CD case, just use EZ mount to stick your stamps to the inside of the case. You can then label the spine and the front of the case for easy filing. Another storage idea for unmounted stamps is to store them in a photo box on card stock. Attach Velcro to the card stock and place your stamps on the Velcro on one side of the card stock, and have the image on the front of the card stock, making it easy to flip through and find the appropriate stamp.

With wood mounted stamps, you may want to store them on a rack, which makes for space-saving and convenient storage. While there is a variety of ready made storage racks and cabinets, you can easily make your own. A cassette tape rack can be an effective stamp holder and organizer. You may need to create more space for each stamp by breaking off every other rung so your stamps will fit properly. Another inexpensive rack idea is using the side of an old baby's crib, the kind that has wooden slats. If you turn the crib on its end and remove any hardware, you will have shelves that can easily hold your stamps that are wood mounted, just install it to the wall.

If your short on time, you may want to consider purchasing pre-made stamp holders and racks, but, with a little creativity, you can easily make your own inexpensive racks and displays for your stamps and your stamping materials. As long as you can easily find what you are looking for, and have protected your stamps from the extremes of heat and humidity, then your organizational system works!

Amy Wells writes about effective rubber stamping tips and techniques. Looking for stamping supplies? Find discounted, high quality rubber stamps and supplies at: http://www.BuyRubberStamp.com

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How to Make Custom Rubber Stamps

Did you know that you can create your own custom rubber stamp for all of your crafting projects?

Do you enjoy creating custom artwork? Are you into making unique holiday cards?

Do you enjoy scrap booking and other home crafts?

Have you ever wished you could make your own rubber stamp for a special project? Now you can.

It used to be that you had to go through a company to have a special mold made. You were subject to a one-time mold setup fee. Then you were required to buy a certain number of the stamps and in the end you still did not own the stamp. The company keeps the mold! Or charges you a high price to get it from them.

What if you only want one stamp? What if you'd like to keep your design safe? The answer is to make your own. It is not as hard as you think.

Here is how you make your own rubber stamp:

Design Creation

1. Create your design in Black & White on your computer using whatever graphics software you are comfortable with. You can also draw it by hand and either scan it in or use an Intuois drawing pad. If you don't have a scanner you can take your drawing to an office store and have them scan it.
2. Copy it and Reverse the Black and White in the image so that the black part of the design becomes that part that you will want ink to be on when you stamp it on a piece of paper. Save the reverse image as a separate file from your original design. You will be able to use the original design to create custom stencils later. If you can't get it reversed with your software you can print it using reversing negatives. They come in the kit with the Art Stamp Maker.
3. Print your reverse image design onto a clear transparency.

Use the Art Stamp Maker

1. Put the transparency with your custom design on the Double Glass Frame.
2. Place the Rubber Dam around your design as close as possible to the design without crowding it too much.
3. Cover the design with the Liqui-Stamp (Polymer). Note: The rubber dam material is placed close to the design to save on Liqui-Stamp Polymer.
4. Expose the whole thing for 8 Minutes in The Art Stamp Maker. Kind of reminds you of using an easy bake oven. This allows the Liqui-stamp polymer to hardeninto a commercial quality art stamp.
5. Wash off the excess unexposed Liqui-Stamp with the brush provided in the kit and check to see if the stamp is completely clean and ready to trim and mount.
6. Dry your custom art stamp and trim off any excess material. Glue it to any mount of your choice. It can be a simple block of wood or a fancy commercially made mount. It is up to you.

The Really Super Cool Part

• You now have a commercial quality stamp of your own personal design and you did it in less than 15 minutes!
• Your negative copy can be reused again and again to make the same stamp. That means you can sell your design or share it with friends and family.
• The Art Stamp Maker can handle up to 25 square inches(4 ½" x 5 ½") at a time so you can make more than one at a time.
• You can make a full plate of Art Stamps at one time.
• You can have words or a design or both.

Things to do with your Custom Stamp

• Make Personalized Greeting Cards
• Decorate your walls, cabinets, doors
• Dress up your scrap book
• Put your company logo on it
• Make your own stationary
• Use it to turn an old piece of furniture into a great piece of art

Have Fun!

For more information and ideas visit us at http://www.art-rubberstamps.com

Reuse that custom design and make your own stencils at http://www.stencil-maker.com

Martronics Corporation has been in business for over 41 years in the Pacific Northwest specializing in everything you need to make your mark.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marie_Marshall

Holiday Postage Stamp

Are you looking for ideas for a holiday postage stamp to send out your holiday cards with this year? Sure, you have the limited selection of standard-issue holiday postage stamps that the United States Postal Service makes available to the general public every year.

But wouldn't it be a novel idea if you could unleash some of your own creativity and design your own holiday postage stamp? Yes, a custom postage stamp of your own creation. Your very own photographs or graphic design art work, could be used on your postage stamps this year!

Impress your friends, family, loved ones, and colleagues during the holiday season this year with a unique holiday postage stamp. Add a touch of pizazz to your stamps. You can use a photograph. You can draw your own picture. You can use a digital image off of the Internet or which you scan onto your computer. You can even add your own text to your stamps!

All you need in order to print your own holiday postage stamp are:

- A computer with Internet access

- A printer (color is preferred but black and white works just as well)

- Adhesive printer label paper

- A metered weighing scale

Yes, from the comfort of your own home or your own office, you can create and print out your own postage stamps. You simply weigh your envelope or package, pay for your postage online, and print out your custom stamp designs onto your own printer, and then affix the stamp to your package.

It doesn't get any simpler than this!

Sign up for a 4-week risk-free trial and you can start to print your own postage online today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Howard_Klein

How Concrete Stain Can Drastically Improve Your Concretes Appearance

Concrete stain solutions are applied by brushing, spraying or rolling. The most effective way of applying these substances is by spraying the surface with a plastic garden sprayer. Concrete stain can actually highlight and intensify the variations found in the concrete a natural as well as man made blemishes and markings. Custom texture, color and finish are part of the quality craftsmanship of a true professional .If they are skilled in this trade they will create a look that magnifies the natural beauty of concrete.

Concrete stains are only left on an overlay for 1-2 hours as opposed to 4-6 hours on concrete slab. Frequently acid stains produce too much variation on an overlay. Concrete stains come in a variety of colors and can create a beautiful custom look to any walkway, patio or indoor floor. Concrete stain consists of an acidic; water based liquid containing acid and mineral salts. When applied, concrete stain can drastically improve the appearance of most concrete surfaces.

Acid Stain gives concrete a mottled, variegated, marble like look. It creates beautiful colors on concrete, mostly earth tone browns, reddish browns and greens, although now more vibrant colors are becoming available for a variety of taste and effects blues, violet and pink tints. Acid stains normally only come in 8-10 earth tones. Most cement yards carry reactive acid stains for concrete, acrylic concrete sealer, and stamped concrete products in stock. They also carry a full line of adhesive and non-adhesive stencil designs.

Acid stains provide a transparent marble like look to concrete; the colors are more limited and go from shades of blue-green to dark brown earth tones. The other option includes concrete dyes, which provide transparent colors and accents in bright hues that help achieve results not possible through acid staining.

Surfaces must be porous for proper penetration. If necessary, abrade surface by sanding, grinding or non-hazardous concrete etch. Surface contaminants such as curing agents, glue, sealers, waxes, paint, oil, dirt, water repellents and anything that will prevent stain penetration must be removed. There are several steps in cleaning an exterior floor.

Preparations for acid staining will depend on the condition of the slab; on new concrete the only thing needed is to allow time for curing, (at least three weeks after poured) and some rinsing and scrubbing to remove laitance. For old concrete, a thorough cleaning is necessary; any dirt, grease, paint, sealer or curing agent will prevent the stain from penetrating and reacting. Prepare concrete by using a sealer stripper, hot water pressure washing, rotary floor scrubber, sandblasting or shot blasting the surface. Clean areas that have no sealers or contaminants with a non-solvent degreaser, TSP, or citrus cleaner and follow with pressure washing.

Colored concrete is also something that you might be seeing more of lately. The color is applied directly into the concrete. Color floor can be applied via airbrush, high volume low pressure unit (hvlp), production gun, pump (bug) sprayer, sea sponge and traditional bristle brush. For best results, create a mist of Color floor on the intended surface.

Just be sure to do research on any company you might hire to perform this job. If you hire a company just based on price, it may not be your best decision. If the Concrete Stain is not applied correctly and the job turns out wrong then you might just be tearing your concrete out.