stamping ink

[Ivy-Alice]

I am planning to take up stamping and embossing and am having trouble knowing which ink to use. I want a black permanent ink pad and have found one in a craft shop for �5.99 and was wondering if this price is good or not. Also they told me that I would have to buy stamp cleaner because the ink was permanent, but I have had other advice that I can just clean them with baby wipes. Also is there a particular brand that you would recommend?
P.S. Sorry my question's so long.

[Jules001]

Hi there,

If you want to emboss then you will need a pigment ink pad and embossing powder and a heat gun to melt the powder. if you just want to stamp without embossing then any of the craft ink pads will do the job, but it depends on how you intend to colour your stamped image. If you plan on using water colours or paints then some of the ink pads won't be suitable as they are not water-resistant and will run, so if this is the way you intend to go then you will need a permanent ink pad such as Stazon, but you will not be able to emboss and get the raised edges using this ink pad. I have been stamping for many years and I have never used a stamp cleaner. Most of my stamps are unmounted so it is easy to use an alcohol free baby wipe (must be alcohol free otherwise the alcohol will ruin your stamp) as a quick fix, but every so often I take my stamps to the sink and wash in a very mild and very weak washing up liquid solution. As to a brand I would recommend - if you intend to water colour your stamped images I would suggest a VersaFine pigment ink pad (be careful as there are a few brands around that sound like this, but won't do the same job) this is an oil based pigment ink so will resist water enabling you to paint etc, but also cleans up very easily off your stamps. If you do want to emboss then I would suggest buying a VersaMark ink pad, this is colourless so you will need a black or other colour embossing powder to go on top as if you use a clear powder you will not see your image. �5.99 seems a little expensive to me, although if it is a smaller craft shop they may have a bigger mark up. I never normally pay more than �5.30 for any ink pad I have bought. Here is a good site to give some hints and tips, it is American so some of the products mentioned won't be available in the UK. Hope this helps http://www.stampin.com/tips.htm

[Ivy-Alice]

Thank You