My Virtual Studio: Stamping and storage
I’m not a “stamper’s stamper” by any means; I’ve always said I’m awful at the stamping part itself! I tend to just stamp the image that I want to color – and years ago, I wasted so. much. paper. Stamping and re-stamping. Even with other tools that were out there, I couldn’t seem to use them correctly and get good impressions! Then…along came the MISTI.
The MISTI, the “most important stamping tool invented,” really did save my bacon! It’s a tool that allows me to restamp an image in exactly the same position until I get it right – holy guacamole! Trees around the globe wept for joy! I still do occasionally stamp with regular blocks, but man oh man. Love my MISTI and miniMISTI.
If you’re just getting one, I definitely recommend the regular sized MISTI – the small one is convenient for travel and size, but lots of the placement things I do requires having more space. There are a gajillion videos on YouTube about how to do fancy stamping that require the larger palette, and some stamps are made just to be used with the MISTI!
There are extra things you can get to make the MISTI more effective – one is the pads; you can get one that feels like a mousepad, which is washable, or the paper pads, which are recyclable. Both have their environmental benefits and detractions, so you can judge which you’d rather use. Extra magnets are also helpful, as mine walk away and get stuck to the bottom of things all the time (LOL) – I love the bar magnet because it’s the only one I’ve never lost!
The magnets DO stick together firmly if you’re not careful – watch your fingers, I’ve pinched some skin before! But I show in a video below how you can easily separate them. Many folks wrap their magnets in washitape, but I don’t find that necessary now that I know how to separate them with a finger and thumb!
- Regular MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (8-1/8 X 10-1/2), My Sweet Petunia —- EH
- Regular Mouse Pad, My Sweet Petunia —- EH
- Grid Paper Pad, My Sweet Petunia —- EH
- Mini MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (6-1/8 X 7), My Sweet Petunia —- EH
- Mini Grid Paper Pad, My Sweet Petunia —- EH
- Mini Mouse Pad, My Sweet Petunia —- EH
- Magnets
On separating MISTI magnets….
This video shows has a fun unexpected tip in it – using MISTI magnets for holding dies in place:
For clear block stamping, which, yes, is still a part of my life, I have a bunch of blocks in my drawer – many I’ve had for a few decades. However, I find myself reaching mostly for a few specific blocks. The Catherine Pooler blocks have a soft edge on them that just feels nicer – my other blocks might be jealous, but their sharper edges are their downfall when I have comfortable blocks in my stash. Ha! The other blocks are the Art Impressions mini blocks – for small items, little stars to add to a sky, little sentiments, adding little hearts – not to mention stamped watercolor using AI stamps – these are invaluable.
- Clear Blocks
My way of limiting purchases
I probably should say this is my way of KEEPING purchases rather than making them…but I limit myself by the amount of space I have. While I *could* fill entire racks with stamps and keep them all forever, there is literally no way I could ever USE that many stamps. I love new releases, and I get inspired by purchasing new stamps to color….but often I make cards with that set right away, and maybe once or twice more, then….well, it sits in the drawer. Some stamps get pulled out regularly and I know exactly which I’m dying to color again, but lots…well, realistically, they get left behind.
So my policy is to keep a box out in the livingroom for giveaways. That way I’m not tempted to overflow my two drawers of clear stamps! The ones that I don’t see myself using again just go out in that box, and periodically I put together packages of stamps and dies, and choose randomly from students and followers to send surprise prizes to! I love the idea of people getting a package of goodies they didn’t expect. So much better than seeking more followers with giveaways on my YT and blog – those tend to bring in people, but they bring in folks seeking free stuff rather than the kind of followers I seek: makers. My channel and blog are smaller than lots of folks because I love being in close community with creatives, not just collectors! LOL (Thus says the woman who put together this class all about the “stuff” – I know, I know, I recognize the irony in this class!)
Stamping storage is a personal thing for us all – it depends on what space you have and what containers, boxes, or drawers fit in that space. For me, I purchased the big set of drawers at Costco years ago, and two rows of Storage Envelopes fit perfectly in them! I keep all my stamps in Ellen Hutson’s storage envelopes; lots of companies have made them in the past, so I do have some of those I’m still getting rid of as they fall apart….but Ellen’s are thick and strong, and I like things that don’t crumble on me.
Dies are held in place in the storage envelopes with magnetic pieces. And guess what? Buy the Ellen Hutson stamps and dies and they come WITH these storage envelopes and magnetics (if there’s a die)….which actually makes them cheaper than other companies because you don’t need to buy storage. Yeah, that’s a huge reason I have such a big collection of Ellen’s stamps. 🙂
For cling stamps, which are few and far between nowadays with the advent of clear stamps – I keep two brands of clings in-house: Art Impressions Watercolor and Purple Onion Designs. AI has stamps that mix and match, so I put them into DVD cases; I break up sets (I know, gasp!) and put flowers with flowers, containers with containers, etc. So when I need a flower I have all of them to pick from! The Purple Onion stamps are red rubber, and I’ve mounted a ton of them on EZmount, so they’re in DVD cases as well.
- Storage Envelopes
- Magnetic Die Storage,
- 10pack DVD cases, AMZ
Join our creative community! Our Student Facebook Group is for all classes here …and while there are no finished projects in this class, you’re welcome to join the group and get an idea of what kind of beautiful works can be created from learnings in classes on this website!