With the release of the 2018-2019 Stampin’ Up ! annual catalogue days away, a few people have asked me “what retiring stamp set will you keep forever ?” How would anyone choose? There are so many gorgeous and fun quirky stamps.
For me there is only one answer! It isn’t a stamp set but a single stamp. That’s right ONE stamp out of a 233 page catalogue! Can you guess which one? It might surprise you.
Okay I’ll put you out of your misery…
My Forever Stamp is…
Watercolor Wash… Bet you’re shocked! It’s on page 165 of the 2017-2018 Annual Catalogue if you want to take a look.
It doesn’t look all that impressive but let me tell you it is well loved and used so much on my projects! The wooden block is stained from continuous use. Even though it’s retiring, I know I will dig it out regularly and use it on so many projects – cards, scrap pages, junk journals, off the page creations, my planner and the list goes on and on!
Watercolor wash: how to use it
About two weeks ago, I was helping my sister, Deb with her class preparations following her freak accident that left her in plaster and unable to stamp for a few weeks. Her class theme was retiring products. We were talking through her Magical Mates card idea with a “washed” background to build on the background techniques she’d previously taught. I suggested that instead of breaking out the aqua painters, it would be great card to utilize the retiring Watercolor Wash stamp on. This is what I can up with based on Deb’s concept idea.
The Watercolor Wash stamp was sponged with three different colours, Tempting Turquoise (retiring), Lemon Lime Twist and Daffodil Delight and very lightly spritzed with water using my Stampin’ Spritzer before stamping. Spritzing it with water gives the background a softer “washed” look.
A huge thank to Deb McLean for the idea and having me at her class. It was a great night!
Other Ways with Watercolour Wash
Of course you don’t have to spritz the stamp with water. On the card I whipped up today (in an attempt to use my excess Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper – Yes, I hoard pretty paper!), I used the Watercolor Wash as the background on the tag. I didn’t bother to spritz it with water as I wanted to keep the stamp’s texture.
The powder pink Watercolor Wash is a perfect background for the Fresh Fig “Statement of My Heart” from the Share What You Love, Gotta Have it All Bundle. (Don’t forgot this promotion ends on the 31st May 2018 – after that this stamp won’t be available!)
The third example using the Watercolor Wash is this element for a card currently under construction.
One side of the stamp was heavily spritzed with water but I didn’t spritz all the edges. Where the water “pooled” on the stamp created some different shades and shadows.
Don’t forget you can stamp Watercolor Wash on colored card stock in matching ink to get a “tone on tone” look. Take a look at the shapes on these two cards:
The Watercolor Wash on the punched Tailored Tags completely changes how the cardstock looks. (The Stamps are from the Truly Tailored Bundle, also retiring this week!)
As you can see the Watercolor Wash background stamp is NOT just for backgrounds and it can be used on very different projects with so many different results. Head over to my online store to grab your Watercolor Wash stamp set before 31st May 2018. You don’t want to miss out!
Why use wood mount background stamps?
I am a huge fan of clear mount and photopolymer stamps because they save space and personally, I find them easier in general to use. Clear Mount stamps are also considerably cheaper than wood (always a bonus!) Usually, the only time I order wood mount stamps is by mistake OR when I am ordering a background stamp.
Although Watercolor Wash available in both clear and wood mount, I have Watercolor Wash in wood and I “wood not” (hahaha…wouldn’t) have it any other way! For me, wood is the way to go for background stamps!
Three reasons to go with wood mount background stamps
- Once you’ve adhered your background rubber stamp to the wood block, you never have to look for the right size block for your stamp. This is great if you go to a stamp club or have a few projects on the go at once. It’s always ready to go!
- Another huge advantage to wood mount background stamps, especially if you live in the tropics and temperate zones where there is high humidity (like me) is that you never have to worry about them falling off the acrylic block when stamping. I’ve had many a stamping disaster due to the humidity affecting the static cling of the stamps on acrylic blocks. This is NOT an issue with wood mount stamps.
- Better background stamping… The background wooden blocks are heavier than the acrylic blocks so it allows you to get a more evenly distributed weight over the entire area of the rubber stamp. Background stamps are big so once it’s all inked up, you want to make sure that you stamp with even pressure all over the stamp enabling you to stamp a crisper image.
No, I’m not going to ditch all my clear and photopolymer stamps for wood ones. However, I strongly that it you are investing in background stamps that you want to have the best results and wooden background stamps will give the best result.
What retiring stamp set will you “keep forever”?
Make sure you comment below what stamp set is retiring from the 2017-2018 Annual Catalogue that you will keep forever. I’d love to know what stamps you wont ever part with!
Products used on the unicorn card
