Stamping tools are all the rage at the moment. They have revolutionised people's stamping skills. Great as they are they can be very expensive to buy. However I have been able to make my own at a fraction of the cost of branded ones. Mine allows you to stamp up to A4 size.
How did I make mine?
First I bought a hinged front opening picture from IKEA. The frame is called "Hemmingsbo" at the cost of £3.50.
I removed the wrapping and then removed the fixings on the back of the frame being careful not to damage the back too much.
Next I opened the front of the frame and adhered some magnetic sheets to the base of the frame. I didn't have an A4 sheet so I used two A5 sheets stuck along side each other. I was lucky because they were self adhesive sheets making it easy to put in place They are the magnetic sheets that crafters use to store their cutting dies. I don't have the make because its been in my stash a long time. I don't think it cost me more than about £1 for the 2 sheets
I then downloaded, printed and laminated ½ inch graph paper. I downloaded it free from this site. Choose your own style graph paper that suits you. This laminated paper was adhered on top of the magnetic sheets. This just provides some guides and protects the stamping area. That basically completes your stamping tool.
How to use this tool?
Open the frame. Place the paper, you want to stamp, on top of your graph paper. Secure it either with magnets or masking tape. Position your stamp where you want the image to appear on your paper. Close the lid so that the stamp transfers to the clear lid. Ink your stamp then close the lid and gently press the stamp so that the ink transfers to the paper. If the image doesn't stamp completely simply re-ink it and stamp again. Because neither the paper nor stamp changes position you can accurately stamp over the image as many times as you like or until you get as good an image that suits you. The clear cover on the lid is perfectly usable but I have bought a slightly thicker 1.5mm perspex sheet to replace it just so its a little more sturdy. I adhered it to the frame with some strong glue. I bought the perspex on ebay for about £3. The whole stamping tool has cost me about £8 in total. To buy a branded stamping tool would cost between £25 - £40. I do have a WRMK tool but in all honesty if I am stamping my go to tool is my home made one because I can stamp anywhere on my paper A4 Card where I can't on the other one.
Unfortunately today, I used a brand new stamp to demonstrate the tool stamp but there were issues with it and it is clearly faulty. Not to be deterred I tried another stamp with greater success. I deliberately did not ink my stamp well at first.
As you can see, some details are missing from the first attempt on the left but stamping again, using the tool, I was able to get a clean crisp image. because the stamp and paper are fixed in place as shown on the right. This stamp is from the Art Impressions "girlfriends" collection. Its one of my favourites. I used it to try out the water colour markers and some permanent markers. The picture below has been coloured using Promarkers. The words were written using my Cameo and pens. I matted it on patterned paper from my stash and added ribbon and gems. Now I can stamp more successfully I'm looking forward to doing more colouring. Me future goal is to use my markers more often and learn how to use them to shade properly.........
How did I make mine?
First I bought a hinged front opening picture from IKEA. The frame is called "Hemmingsbo" at the cost of £3.50.I removed the wrapping and then removed the fixings on the back of the frame being careful not to damage the back too much.
Next I opened the front of the frame and adhered some magnetic sheets to the base of the frame. I didn't have an A4 sheet so I used two A5 sheets stuck along side each other. I was lucky because they were self adhesive sheets making it easy to put in place They are the magnetic sheets that crafters use to store their cutting dies. I don't have the make because its been in my stash a long time. I don't think it cost me more than about £1 for the 2 sheetsI then downloaded, printed and laminated ½ inch graph paper. I downloaded it free from this site. Choose your own style graph paper that suits you. This laminated paper was adhered on top of the magnetic sheets. This just provides some guides and protects the stamping area. That basically completes your stamping tool.
How to use this tool?
Open the frame. Place the paper, you want to stamp, on top of your graph paper. Secure it either with magnets or masking tape. Position your stamp where you want the image to appear on your paper. Close the lid so that the stamp transfers to the clear lid. Ink your stamp then close the lid and gently press the stamp so that the ink transfers to the paper. If the image doesn't stamp completely simply re-ink it and stamp again. Because neither the paper nor stamp changes position you can accurately stamp over the image as many times as you like or until you get as good an image that suits you. The clear cover on the lid is perfectly usable but I have bought a slightly thicker 1.5mm perspex sheet to replace it just so its a little more sturdy. I adhered it to the frame with some strong glue. I bought the perspex on ebay for about £3. The whole stamping tool has cost me about £8 in total. To buy a branded stamping tool would cost between £25 - £40. I do have a WRMK tool but in all honesty if I am stamping my go to tool is my home made one because I can stamp anywhere on my paper A4 Card where I can't on the other one. 
Unfortunately today, I used a brand new stamp to demonstrate the tool stamp but there were issues with it and it is clearly faulty. Not to be deterred I tried another stamp with greater success. I deliberately did not ink my stamp well at first.
As you can see, some details are missing from the first attempt on the left but stamping again, using the tool, I was able to get a clean crisp image. because the stamp and paper are fixed in place as shown on the right. This stamp is from the Art Impressions "girlfriends" collection. Its one of my favourites. I used it to try out the water colour markers and some permanent markers. The picture below has been coloured using Promarkers. The words were written using my Cameo and pens. I matted it on patterned paper from my stash and added ribbon and gems. Now I can stamp more successfully I'm looking forward to doing more colouring. Me future goal is to use my markers more often and learn how to use them to shade properly.........
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