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The ever-elusive "perfect" stamped image shall be elusive no more! Here are some tips for getting it right every time.

First, be sure you're using a quality stamp. Think all stamps are created equal? Think again. The type of material, the depth of the image, the size of the image and the detail in the image are all factors in good vs. bad results.

Once you have a good stamp, you have to have a good inkpad. Cheaper is not always better in this case, either. For example, the inkpads you get for free with some stamp purchases or the ones you find in the bargain bin in your local craft store can sometimes be dried out, uneven surfaced, poorly glued into their case or otherwise sub-par for quality. This can be a huge factor in getting bad images. Also, be sure that your good inkpads are inked well. If there is not enough ink in your inkpad, the images will look weak and cloudy, not solid and rich the way they are supposed to. Any good inkpad will have refills available, so be sure to have those on hand in case you need to re-ink before stamping.

So once you have a good stamp and a good inkpad, you also want to have a good quality cardstock to stamp on. Yes, quality is important. I have stamped on the cheapo stuff with all kinds of weird textures and varying degrees of porousness and believe me, it matters. If you get a nice smooth cardstock, you're ready to get the perfect image.

If you're using a brand new rubber stamp, it's in your best interest get a regular eraser and gently rub it along the surface of your stamp before using. This will rough up the fresh rubber just enough to keep it from being "slick" and causing the ink to sort of puddle up on your stamp and make your image look blotchy. When rubbing the eraser on the stamp, be sure to go in different directions so you don't inadvertently create stripes on your stamp, either. Also, you may want to stamp a few practice images on some scratch paper to be sure the stamp is prepped properly and is ready for stamping on a project.

Ready to put ink to paper? Okay, then let's talk technique. If you're using a regular dye-based ink (which is the most common), the surface of the pad will have a fabric top. If it looks spongy, then you most likely have a pigment ink, which requires an entirely different technique.

1) For dye-based or solvent-based inks, you will gently tap-and-twist on the inkpad several times to get an even coat of ink on the stamp. Then, press the stamp to the cardstock, taking care not to move it around and thus smudging the image. For large solid images, hold the stamp still against the cardstock and rub your fingers along the entire stamp block (the wood or acrylic block holding the rubber) to be sure the entire stamp images makes contact with the cardstock. Then lift the stamp straight up off the cardstock.

2) For pigment inks, do not twist stamps against the pad or you could ruin the surface and end up with a big mess on your stamp. For this type of inkpad, very gently tap the stamp on the inkpad to ink up your stamp. Take a moment to look at the stamp before pressing it to cardstock to be sure you haven't over-inked the image, and if the layer of ink looks even, press stamp to cardstock the same way as you would for dye inks, being sure that you make good contact with the entire image before lifting the stamp. Remember, pigment inks will stay wet longer, so be sure to allow drying time or plan to use a heat gun to dry the ink before handling it to prevent smudging.

Now that you've stamped your images, take a moment to look at the beautiful work you've done, because if you follow these steps, you will get the perfect image every time!

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