Rubber Stamping Polymer Clay – 4 Tips for Keeping Your Stamps Clean
Has this Kind of Sticky Clay Mess Ever Happened to You?
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What a pain! You made some beautiful rubber stamp textured beads, but now there is polymer clay sticking to the stamp surfaces which needs to be cleaned up. What are you going to do?
Here’s 4 Tips To Keep In Mind…
1) You can get out that pesky clay by using a soft tool. Don’t use a sharp metal tip like the one in the photo above. It can scratch your stamp pattern. I just used that to point at the sticky clay area. Instead, get something like a tooth pick or a rubber tipped clay shaper like the ones from the Studio by Sculpey 5 in 1 Set. I like using the flat shaper the best, since it can get into fine crevices and won’t damage your stamp in any way.
2) If after removing the bulk of the stuck polymer clay there is still a residue left behind, you can clean that off with baby oil followed by rubbing alcohol. Then, just to make sure there are no chemicals left behind on your stamp that could degrade it, wash with soap and water.
3) But the best thing of all to do is prevent the clay from sticking in the first place, by using a release agent. Either a small spritz of water or a light dusting of cornstarch will work.
4) Also, using firmer clay can help to prevent sticking. Pop your clay into the fridge to firm it up if you need to.
As you can see, it is much better to plan ahead and use a release for your stamps, than to have to clean up after yourself later. But sometimes you just get excited to try a new technique and temporarily forget what you already know. In case that happens, at least you’ll be able to fix it!
So do you have any tricks for keeping your polymer clay rubber stamps and texture sheets clean? Do tell…
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I spritz my clay with water and the stamps or texturing sheets don’t stick.
@Jocelyn: Great tip on making your own insulated gloves for sanding!
@Carrie: that is a good idea for making your own stamp. Thanks for passing that along!
@Anna: Thanks for the sale alert!
@sandra yb: That is a very clever idea! You can also tint clear liquid clay with alcohol ink if you didn’t have the colored stuff. Thanks for the comment. It is so nice to have you here!
@ Stacey: I think I read on a website (can’t find it now) to put cling wrap down on your piece and write through it and the edges wouldn’t be rough. Haven’t tried it and I guess you would have to be careful not to poke holes in the plastic while you’re writing or use something less sharp. I also haven’t tried this, but one of my brilliant ideas is to use colored liquid clay to fill in letters. I know the Kato comes in some colors, not sure about the others. The dispenser would have to have a fine tip if your lettering is really small.
Clay Alert. Premo is 50% off at JoAnns fabrics too. Ends up being about $1.25 per pack.
Stacey- There is a really cool tutorial on Polymer Clay Central on making your own stamps using scrap clay. It shows making letters with extruded snakes. Under the lessons link on the left hand side of the page, I believe it is under mixed media. Hope this helps, Rubber stamps are so expensive!
I was referring to the Alphadisc. Thanks for leading me back to the post because I could not remember the name.
Cindy,
Thanks for the tip! Been making my own using thin cotton tight gloves, lots of HOT sports creme, a dollop of Bag Balm, encased in the small sized stretch sugical gloves, but they break all the time.
With more women in the industry, bet I can goggle some of those rubber insulated ones up to work just fine. Will get me through the sanding and finishing processes during the winter.
And Doug, thanks for the heads up on the tool. Great to see you pop up every once in awhile, LOL!
I was going to do research when I got home from work, I thought I remembered something that reminded me of a large Dymo label maker.
My husband Doug just pointed out to me that Anna may have been referring to the Alphadisc Wheel I wrote about eons ago. It’s a disk Cool Tool with alphabet stamps all the way around it. To see what I mean, click the link by my name.
@Jocelyn: We used to use insulated rubber gloves on my dad’s fish boat when we were icing the fish. They are not exactly tight fitting but you can definitely work with them on. You might try a marine supply shop to find them.
@Stacey: Anna is right, I was going to suggest an alphabet stamp as well. There tons of different sets out there in many styles and it will end up looking much cleaner than writing with a toothpick. You may even be able to find a stamp the right size that says ‘peace’ since it is quite a common phrase.
The post that I think Anna is referring to is has a photo of some alphabet stamps I got at the dollar store. If you click the link by my name you will be taken to that post.
Also if you type ‘dog tags’ into the search box at the top of the page, there is an article called ‘Dog Tags Jewelry for Boys | Personalized Names Set in Faux Stone’. That article has a photo of pendants made using alphabet stamps and paint.
I’m not too crazy about the idea of using felt pen. It just won’t look as classy as paint or antique glaze. You will want it to look as professional as possible if you are using them for charity.
@Edie and Ken: I have had no problems using the clear rubber stamps on my polymer clay at all. I use them quite a bit and have seen no degradation at all.
Thanks everyone for your comments and input!
@ Anna Sabina
I cannot wait to get my hands on some of that Blue Tack stuff to experiment with….being a teacher early on, used similar product to hang work and posters all over.
@ Stacey
Assume you mean you are using a stylus or similar object to print the letters into the clay? I would try making the clay as cold as possible first, it seems that the warmer the clay is, the more the clay will drag with the lettering, leaving those little hanging bits. Also would have the implement cold. Might work, sure hope so. Or, try the reverse, cold clay and heated implement.
@Edie
Bless you for the vulcanized rubber stamp tip of heating it to remove the stuck bits. Tah Dah! Hate scrubbing anything in water, including dishes, lol. Need insulated tight fitting rubber gloves. Anyone know if such a product exists?
It is going to be really tough to get a clean edge unless you use alphabet stamps. You could try other techniques but how much time, discouragement and frustration can you tolerate. I think the permanent marker is a good choice but if it will run if you put a finish like Future on it (been there done that). So, use the marker after you have applied and let you finish dry. I do not know if there is a problem with other finishes such as some of the Sculpy products.
I believe Cindy showed us a alphabet stamp wheel in past post. Can’t seem to find that post so a reminder would be great.
Working on some pendants for a charity bazzar. When I write on the clay a simple word like “Peace” the edges are not clean. After it is baked, I’ve added black paint and wiped off the excess on the surface. Any suggestions on how I can get the edges of my letters to be sharp and crisp? Also, might a black felt tip pen be a better choice? By the way. I am writing on the clay with a toothpick.
Sure would appreciate any help you might be able to give!
Thanks.
Stacey
I’ve used clear plastic seran wrap over the clay, then write keeping the seran wrap loose for following letter indentations. This, for me has made my writing clear with no drag. Much the same for cutting out shapes with a rounded edge.
I have an alphabet stamp set that are the clear they work with PC without any side effects so far and I’ve used them for about six months. Thanks for the heat info edie, knew about stamps taking the heat from an iron (some sort of thing done with a certain type of velvet, not a sewer so don’t know more about that), didn’t know about the oven.
Thanks for the Sculpy III alert. i love the colors in that line and am experimenting with leaching it to increase firmness.
I love the term vulcanized…it is a real word and is often used with rubber products. It is kind of like when I see the words “Virgin Vinyl” on a notebook, it makes me feel extra special. I am going to refer to my leached Sculpy III as Vulcanized.
Hi, Cindy!
It has to be a “rubber” stamp, which classically came in red but now can be grey, lavender or pink – depending on who manufactures it. They all are vulcanized rubber, and can take ironing, baking, boiling…. it just can’t be the clear “newer” style that are sold to cling to the acrylic blocks. Those can’t take the heat, and I don’t know how they would react to the polymers in the clay, either. You can actually roll the rubber stamp around a substrate that can take the heat (say, a wooden bangle or a metal cuff), put the clay on, bake it, then roll the rubber away from the back. The caveat there is that you need a rubber stamp that doesn’t create a lot of undercuts when it’s rolled (they’ll hold on to the clay), so really detailed stamps aren’t the best.
Edie
Great ideas guys!
@Edie, I didn’t know you could do that with those kind of rubber stamps. I take it, you’re talking about the red rubber unmounted stamps?
Hey, everyone! I just went to JoAnn Fabrics and I don’t know if it is all stores or just my local one but Sculpey III is 50% off!
I use soap and water and a stiff paint brush!
If you’re using the classic rubber unmounted stamps (NOT the clear ones) you can just pop them in the oven for about 10 minutes then roll them backwards a couple of times and the hardened clay will pop out of the crevices. They’re vulcanized at a much higher temperature and the little bit of heat won’t hurt them one bit.
Edie
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Or, you could also try Blue Tack. Who knew ??