Tutorial: Stamping with Bellas
Sunday, March 30, 2008
A lot of times when I'm cruising the forums on SCS, I see people who have questions about using Bellas. The Stamping Bella is a wonderful site that offers unmounted rubber stamps. (or "rubbah", as the designer, Em would say!) Unlike Stampin Up, these stamps don't come with a wooden block to mount them on, but that's OK! They are pretty neat, easy to store (no plastic cases, klunky blocks to worry about), and all you need is an inexpensive acrylic block, some adhesive...and you're good to go! I took some photos while I was stamping with my Bellas to show you all how it looks. I hope this helps some people who were confused about the whole un-mounted process!
Here is what she looks like when mounted. Notice some adhesive on the block that I'm not using...it's OK it won't affect your stamped image.
Now onto stamping. I wasn't sure if I would be watercoloring with this Bella, so I decided to use StazOn ink. Notice how the stamp is flipped over but because the block is clear, I can see through it.
The best part about the acrylic block is the ability to see where you are placing your stamped image. It saves you from having to bust out the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig every time you want an accurate image! Here I am stamping my Bella down on the paper.
Here is the final image stamped with acrylic block to the side. Once you are done, simply clean your rubber stamp while still on the block. Once clean, you can peel the Bella off your block and put her away! Some people also choose to peel the adhesive off their block (just run your fingers over it, should come right off). I actually leave it on mine because it will remain sticky for a while.
Now, onto the Tutorial:
Here I am in all my Bella glory, LOL. These are how the Bellas are packaged. They have a nice little hole in the top which allows me to hang them on my hooks in my craft room. Very easy to store & access!
Once you take the Bella out of her package, this is what she will look like. She is already pre-cut for you (aka you don't need to cut around the image with scissors).
Now, on to mounting the rubber on your acrylic block. Take your acrylic block and run some dry adhesive on it. You can use your Tombo, Double Sided Tape, or even the ATG. I used the ATG on my acrylic block some time ago and it's still sticky. The rubber sticks to it nicely, but also peels right off when you're done.
Once you had the adhesive on your block, take your Bella and mount on the block FLAT side down, so that you are looking at the image. See photo below.
**OK so PLEASE make sure you TOTALLY ignore my extremely unmanicured hands, fingers, nails, etc! It's been a while since I've pampered myself!! **
Here is what she looks like when mounted. Notice some adhesive on the block that I'm not using...it's OK it won't affect your stamped image. Now onto stamping. I wasn't sure if I would be watercoloring with this Bella, so I decided to use StazOn ink. Notice how the stamp is flipped over but because the block is clear, I can see through it.The best part about the acrylic block is the ability to see where you are placing your stamped image. It saves you from having to bust out the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig every time you want an accurate image! Here I am stamping my Bella down on the paper.Here is the final image stamped with acrylic block to the side. Once you are done, simply clean your rubber stamp while still on the block. Once clean, you can peel the Bella off your block and put her away! Some people also choose to peel the adhesive off their block (just run your fingers over it, should come right off). I actually leave it on mine because it will remain sticky for a while.Here is my finished version of my Birthday-Bella Card. I colored her with SU! Markers.
I hope this was informative for some people! I know there are lots of tutorials and guides out there, there might even already be one like this for Bellas - but I was stamping with them today and thought it would be a good way for me to try my first tutorial on my blog. Thanks for looking, now go get some Bellas and have fun :)
Labels: Tutorials
