How Many Rubber Stamps Do You Have in the Big World of Art Stamps?

For me it all started with these rubber stamps. That's right this cute little butterfly art stamp and this set of alphabet stamps.

I can remember my first rubber stamps. My brother gave them to me for my birthday. It was a butterfly art stamp, and an alphabet stamp set, that was 15 years ago. I can remember thinking to myself "what am I going to do with these rubber stamps"? Boy did I find out what to do with them. I made cute little butterfly note cards and I remember coloring them with a colored pencil (since that is all that I had back then or crayons), then with the alphabet stamps I stamped my family and friends name and of course finished it with a butterfly. Holy crow, he is the one that created my obsession with art stamps, and I am so happy that he did, thanks Mike.

What can I say; I Love Rubber Art Stamps and all the rubber stamping supplies that go along with them. Take a look at just some of the art stamps that I have. I have labeled each drawer and bin so I kind of know what is inside. I also have a few scattered around my craft studio on shelves. I told you that I Love Art Stamps. Now do you believe me?

Rubber stamps have come a long way. There are a ton of manufacturers for Art Stamps, depending on what you are looking for. A long time ago the only kind of art stamp that was available was the red rubber stamp mounted on a wood block. Now, those stamps are still available but there are also clear un-mounted art stamps that you take off of a cling sheet and adhere to an acrylic block. When you are done you just clean the stamp and take off the acrylic block and out back on the plastic sheet or in a clear plastic CD case.

The great thing about these art stamps is that you can see exactly where your image will be stamped on your card stock. This gives you less room for error (even though there is never an error in art, it just makes a different masterpiece then you expected).

What I love about the acrylic block rubber stamps is when you are working with alphabet stamps. The reason is you can have the correct spacing between each letter and word. When I have used alphabet stamps that were wood mounted, I usually had crooked words and phrases on my card or scrapbook page.

Another cool thing about these clear un-mounted rubber stamps is that they do not take up so much room as the original wood block art stamps. So if you do not have a lot of space to store your rubber stamps then this is the ideal way to go. I have two ways that I store my clear un-mounted rubber stamps. One is in a 3 ring binder, and the other in my Crop in Style Stamp Store tote. The stamp store can hold hundreds in the drawers.

There are also red rubber un-mounted stamps that you can purchase. They are cheaper than mounted rubber stamps. You can then mount them any way that you want; either on a wood block or use the ez-mount foam system (I will explain that in a near future article)

The last kind of rubber stamps that I can think of is the pre-inked art stamps. I have some art stamps that are pre-inked wheels. They are great for backgrounds or borders. All you do is insert the small cartridge of ink into the handle of the rubber stamps wheel, insert the wheel and away you go.

Well, as you can see I have a lot of rubber stamps. And with all these art stamps I do not have any duplicates and I can honestly say that I use or have used each and every one.

Tag : stamps,rubber stamps,art,Big World

What Are My Stamps Worth?

Stamp collecting has been a hobby for many generations. Whether you inherited a collection, casually collected stamps over the years, or are just about to begin collecting a commonly asked question is “What are my stamps worth?”

Whether you want to buy or sell stamps it’s important to understand how to properly describe the condition of stamps and how to properly grade stamps. This is a task each collector must learn to do.

It will take some practice and most likely some mistakes but over time you should be able look at a stamp and know the condition as well as give it a fairly accurate grade. Of course an exact grade can be given with close examination. This skill will save you time and money!

If you’ve ever had a look at a stamp catalog you’ll know that they generally have a section that outlines the stamps grade and its value. Usually the catalogue prices are based on one specific grade with the understanding by collectors that premium grades will sell for more and poorer grades for less.

Generally web sites follow this same format. The difference with a web site is that they will often scan all of the stamps they have in various grades for your viewing. The big problem is that scans may not always show faults so it’s important that the site also provide a detailed description as to the stamps condition.

The grading of stamps is fairly standard around the world which makes is relatively easy to buy additions for your collection from any part of the world or sell stamps to any part of the world. The big question that remains is do your stamps make the grade?

Grading is quite a technical process. It describes how well the stamps design is centered both vertically and horizontally between the perforations, the condition of the gum on mint stamps, and the effect of the cancellation stamp on used stamps. Stamps are graded like a school student earning marks such as superb or poor with an attached description that further outlines their condition.

Condition describes the physical characteristics of the stamp relating to the ink, design centering, and the paper. A description should be concise and provide the detailing that a standard grade does not supply. Whether you are buying or selling stamps you should always have a grade and a description available.

Superb defines a stamp that is perfect in every respect and it actually a very rare grade to see.

Extremely Fine or Extra Fine defines a stamp that is near perfect with a well centered design, cancel marks are neat and light, mint stamps have OG. The colors are rich and bright and there are no visible faults on the stamp.

Very Fine defines a stamp that is balanced and centered though not necessarily perfectly even. The imperforates have three normal margins, cancel marks are neat and light, mint stamps have OG. The colors are rich and bright and there are no visible faults on the stamp. This is the common grade for catalogue stamps. As you can see the difference between extra fine and very fine are nominal.

Fine defines a stamp where the design is slightly off center but is clear of the perfs with two normal margins. The cancel does not detract from the stamps design and mint stamps have LH or HH depending on when they were issued. There are no visible faults.

Good or average defines a stamp as having an off center design and the perfs may cut the design. The cancel is heavy and obscures the stamps design. There are no tears or thin spots. This is the lowest collectable stamp grade. Anything less is not considered collectible.

Poor defines a stamp that is not suited for collecting unless in the odd occasion when it is a very rare stamp. It may be off center, have thin spots or tears, and the cancel may be thick and smeared.

About The Author:
Jude Minar