Terrific Tips Tuesday

Are you ready for another Terrific Tip? Here it is: Clean your stamps!

I know it's not an earth-shattering tip, but it sure is an important one. And, I've had many people ask me the best way to clean stamps. It's always good to get back to the basics. At my Stamp Camps I used baby wipes. Those things are good to have on hand long after you've potty trained your last child. They work great when I have 10-15 ladies making 20 cards in one evening. However, your fingers will be covered in ink by the end of the evening.

My favorite tool to use at home or with just a couple friends is the Stampin' Scrub:

Item #126200 $16.95

Spritz Stampin' Mist on one side and rub your stamp in different directions to clean all the details. Then rub your stamp dry on the other side. Your fingers stay clean! Also, keeping your stamp clean from ink and the oils from your hands helps the ink to adhere better on the stamp's surface the next time you use it. Keeping your stamp clean is also important so you don't accidentally mix ink. Have you ever dipped a stamp with Cherry Cobbler on it onto your Daffodil Delight ink pad? It will ruin your day! Keep your stamps clean!

Stampin' Mist:

Item #102394 $4.50

You can also buy a refill for your Stampin' Mist. The 8 oz bottle will refill the Stampin' Mist spritzer 4 times, so it's well worth the investment.

Item #101022 $9.50

For StazOn ink and VersaMark ink, use the StazOn Cleaner. This cleaner is also good for conditioning your solid-image stamps when you first get them. It will clean off any oils left on the rubber from the manufacturing process and help the surface of the stamp grab ink better. This results in a more solid, crisp image. Follow the directions on the bottle; you won't use the Stampin' Scrub with this cleaner.

Item #109196 $4.95

Another little tip, if you have wood-mounted stamps: If (more like when) you get ink on the wood block and this really bothers you, you can always sand it down a bit. Viola! No more ink!