Stamp story: June 2009

Creative Uses of Rubber Stamps

Rubber stamps - those cute and creative pieces of rubber (and sometimes wood) that we use for arts and crafts - can be great tools to use for aesthetic and pleasing works of art, no matter how young or old. They are simple and easy to use, and ensure that you or your child can use basic shapes and designs with a minimum of effort. All you really do is dip in the paint and apply, right? This is how most people use them, but there are a couple of other creative ways to use rubber stamps.

The first way to use rubber stamps is actually to make pottery. I bet you didn't think you could use them to make pottery, but you definitely can. All you do is take some polymer clay - the kind you can bake - and impress the clay with a stamp while it's still soft. Dipping them in multiple colors of paint will also impress the paint into the clay along with the design. After this, just put on a couple of layers of glaze and put the clay into an oven. When it's done, you'll have beautiful and creative pottery, made simple!

The second way to use rubber stamps creatively is to personalize coffee mugs or t-shirts, or really any surface or material that can be used or worn to make it special. Just get stamps in the shapes of individual letters and use them together to spell out a name or phrase. Your child or significant other will smile when he or she sees a t-shirt or coffee mug with their name on it - and if they're a big coffee drinker, I bet you'll see them use that special mug over and over again! Just cover the mug with a coat of sealant so its dishwasher safe and you're set.

There are many other ways to be creative with rubber stamps; they're just waiting to be discovered by you and your kids today! So if you're looking for a cheap new alternative way to doing crafts with the kids give stamping a try today!

From custom self inking stamps to Christmas rubber stamps, stamping is a great way to express your artistic talent and creativity. Almost any scrapbooking page can be enhanced with the use of a few well placed stamps and most other craft projects could use some stamping too. Try rubber stamping today!

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The Rubber Stamp - A Low-Tech Tool That Does the Job

There are many low-tech items in our world that just can't be improved upon. Consider the bath towel. It's just a rectangular piece of looped cotton that's been around for hundreds of years. But there's no better way to dry off after a bath. Another is the simple potato peeler. Inventors have tried to come up with electric peelers, but they don't take the peel off a potato or carrot any better than a peeler like your grandmother had in her utensil drawer. Another simple tool is the rubber stamp. Even though we have the computer on which we can process and store forms, we still need paper forms for many transactions. And often the person processing the form needs to add a quick additional message, such as "Paid" or "Received" or "Past Due." Rubber stamps can be made with any message that you need.

Although rubber stamps are a low-tech solution, they have been given one improvement. Self-inking stamps have been around for fifty or more years. These stamps eliminate the need for a separate ink pad. Just press the stamp down, and the message passes over a source of ink on its way to the paper. Address stamps allow you to quickly put your name and address wherever it is needed. They are not just for return addresses on envelopes, however. You can use them in place of bookplates in your books. Your name and address stamped in your books can help to ensure that they are returned when you lend them out. If an address stamp is tossed into the purse or briefcase, it will come in handy when you need to fill in your address on a form. For example, if you visit a trade show or conference, you won't have to write your address over and over on the various interest forms. Another example is forms to enter contests. These can be found in many places, including the mall. The address stamp is not only a faster way to fill in a form; it also ensures that your address is legible.

If you have a business or sell real estate, self-inking address stamps can be a handy and much appreciated customer gift. The stamp can have your logo, name, and phone number plus a message such as "Good luck in your new home" or "Thank you for your business" on the top and the customer's name and address on the side. The customer then has a personal address stamp.

There is also another type of self-inking stamp. This stamp fits onto the end of a pen. This type of stamp is useful for the person behind the desk who is assisting others with registration or sign-in.

Has anyone ever invented a stamp that resembles a stapler? This type of stamp would allow the user to slide the paper into the slot and slam it shut as if stapling. This configuration would eliminate the step of reaching over and picking up the stamp.

Every day we use many low-tech devices that work so well that a high-tech version is not needed. Among these items are the bath towel, the potato peeler, and the rubber stamp. Rubber stamps can be self-inking and make a good customer gift.

Chuck R Stewart recently bought several rubber stamps for his daughters arts and crafts time. Chuck R Stewart recently bought several address stamps for his new start up business.

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

Stamp Collecting - 7 Values of Being Old Postage Stamp Collectors

Stamps collecting, especially the old postage stamps has great value. They are fun, affordable, history, travel, art, valuable, and important. Here is the explanation of their great value.

1. Stamps Are Fun - Stamp collecting is fun because it's personal - you collect the kinds of stamps you want, the way you want to collect them, whenever and wherever you want to. There's no right way or wrong way.

2. Stamps Are Affordable - Imagine owning a genuine U.S. postage stamp that's over 130 years old for as little as $1.25! Even very old stamps can be very affordable, especially in postally used condition. Used stamps have a real history and romance all their own.

3. Stamps Are History - Every time you open your album, stamps take you wherever you want to go in our nation's past... the plains of the Old West, the Space Race, the White House, the American Revolution, the battlefields of the Civil War, and so much more. Stamps chronicle 19th and 20th century America like nothing else. Stamps are souvenirs of our past - history you can hold in your hands.

4. Stamps Are Travel - Stamps show us traveling the globe as well as taking our first tentative steps into outer space... exploring the frigid icefields of Antarctica and the eerily beautiful landscapes of the moon; celebrating the diversity of America from exotic Hawaii north to Alaska, with the variety of 48 great states in between; discovering the Pacific Ocean and blasting off aboard the space shuttle; flying across the Atlantic to Paris with Charles Lindbergh and floating above the clouds in a lighter-than-air ship called the Graf Zeppelin.

5. Stamps Are Art - Having a stamp collection is like having a miniature art gallery right in your own home.

6. Stamps Are Valuable - Some stamps are tremendously valuable. A stamp may be worth thousands of dollars because it has a tiny printing error, or because only a few examples survive.

7. Stamps Are Important - Stamps are important because they enable us to communicate through letters. The issue of the world's first adhesive postage stamp in England revolutionized the way mail was sent.

Ryu is a stamp enthusiast, knowing and searching information about postage stamp is the ultimate hobby. If you need information about stamp, find at World Stamps Pictures

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