Once you have your clear stamp on your clear block, you are ready to apply ink to your stamp. Here are some tips for inking up clear stamps:

1. Start with clean stamps. If you are using a brand new stamp, it will look crystal clear but the surface of the stamp may not be completely clean. Material from the packaging may have gotten stuck on the stamp surface or there may be left over residue from the manufacturing process on the stamp. To make sure that your new stamp is ready to be used, simply ink up the stamp, stamp on scratch paper, and clean the stamp a couple of times. We've heard that some people recommend using an emery board, sand paper, or other abrasive substances to "season" clear stamps. Do not do it! We tried these "seasoning" methods on several different brands of clear stamps. In nearly all cases, these abrasive materials marred the surface of the stamp or completely ruined the stamp. High-quality clear stamps don't need to be seasoned. They just need to be used.

   If you are like me, you clean your clear stamps each time you stamp and you always clean them before you put them away. However, I've also known many crafters who pretty much never clean their stamps and have a beautiful mess of used, not-so-clean clear stamps scattered around their work area. Please be aware if you are one of those messy crafters, any ink that is left on your stamps may transfer to other ink pads or the left-over color may mix with the new ink color and transfer to your project. If you are one of those stamp cleaning freaks, like me, you should know that no matter how hard you clean your stamps, they are probably never going to be crystal clear again. Once you have used a clear stamp, even when it is thoroughly clean, it will have a transparent tinted color. If you are not sure whether your stamps are just tinted or aren't clean, simply clean them before applying ink.

2. Ink up your clear stamp. Technique Tuesday Clear Stamps can be used with many different kinds of ink pads. To get great stamped images, consider the following tips for inking up your clear stamps.

   If you are inking up a very small stamp, it often works best to tap your stamp onto the ink pad. For most other stamp sizes, start by placing your clear block on a flat surface with the stamp side up. Then tap your ink pad down directly onto the surface of your stamp.

   Use firm and even tapping pressure. Consider tapping first in one direction and then other to get a uniform coating of ink on your stamp. Don’t twist your stamp or drag it across your ink pad. Remember too much ink often is just as bad as not enough ink.

   With clear stamps and a clear block, you can see whether you are getting enough ink on your stamps. If you notice an un-inked area, you just need to apply more ink. When you are inking up your stamp, try to avoid getting ink on your clear block. Stamping inks won’t hurt the clear block but the extra ink may end up on your project. If you notice some stray ink on your block, you can use a cotton swab to remove it before stamping on your project.

3. Consider stamping on scratch paper first. Once you have inked up your stamp, consider stamping on a scratch piece of paper or on a scrap of your project material. Ink can look very different on different types of paper, colors of paper, and the difference between how it looks on scratch paper and your actual project surface can be very dramatic. If the stamped image looks crisp and clean, you're ready to stamp on your actual project.

4. Consider adding more color. Once you have mastered stamping with a single color of ink, you may want to explore other ways of adding color to your projects in the "Adding Color" section of our website.