How to Take Care of Your Stamps and Inks
ORGANIZATION
You have a few favorite stamps, some ink pads, and maybe some markers. How do you best protect your investment and make your products easy to find and use? You can use an organizer like the one below for your Close to My Heart ink pads, and favorite gel pens, glitter pens, or distress markers.
You can also use a small plastic bin, shelf, or keep them in a drawer. I like to see what I have, and have them close to me while I work. Different types of inks need to be stored differently.
The Close to My Heart dye ink pads should be stored right side up as the ink pad is in the lid. I believe it is the same with Stampin' Up ink pads. However, if the type of ink you own has the ink pad in the bottom, or base, it should be stored upside down. This prevents the ink from settling in the bottom, leaving the top dried out. Most ink pads can be re-inked if they dry out, so no worries if you suddenly find your favorite color has dried out.
If you have a collection of Close to My Heart stamp sets, or other clear stamp sets, the storage unit above holds fifteen 6 x 6 stamp sets in envelopes. You may have purchased clear stamp sets at Michaels or Hobby Lobby and they were packaged in a way that makes them hard to store. CTMH also has 6 x 6 envelopes that you can use to store stamps that didn't come with their own packaging.
Some people prefer to store their stamps sets in a binder system, so they can flip through the pages, and see what they have. You can even make your own binder storage. Simply laminate some paper, stick your stamps to the laminated pages, slide the pages into 3 hole punched sheet protectors, and put them all in a binder.
No matter which type of storage you choose for your clear, cling stamps, make sure you use labels, dividers, or tabs to separate the different themes. You might organize them by holidays/events, alphabets, sentiments, animals, children, etc.
Wood mount stamps won't fit in these types of storage, of course. I prefer to keep my wood mount stamps on a shelf with the picture of the image showing. It's nice to see my House Mouse collection, and other favorites, on a shelf in my craft room when I walk in.
CLEANING AND CARE
It is important to have a way to clean your new stamps. A great way is a spray and scrubber combo. You simply spray your stamp while it is still on the block, and then run it over the scrubber. Baby wipes are great for a quick clean up, but you also need a more thorough cleaning. Baby wipes are also useful to clean any excess ink from your block (wood mount or acrylic), before you stamp. Make sure your wipes are alcohol free. More on this later when we discuss how to get a good, clear stamped image.
Do you have a favorite storage or cleaning system that you use? Please comment below and let us know. I am always happy to learn something new.
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