Purchasing Personalized Wedding Stamps

Have you ever thought about the amount of mail you will need to send out to have a successful wedding? Between sending save the date cards, invitations, and thank you cards, you can end up sending out a giant pile of mail. It is not uncommon for a wedding to host around two hundred people. By the time you send every one of your guests all the mail you need, you can pay a fortune in postage. When you are using that many stamps to send out the mail important to your wedding, you might not want to keep buying standard American flag or Liberty Bell stamps. In this situation, it is not very appropriate. Instead, you should look into purchasing personalized wedding stamps.

Personalized wedding stamps will provide you with a way to place a special mark on the mail that you send out to your wedding guests. When you first send out your save the date cards, your guests might already know what is awaiting them inside the envelope. Personalized wedding stamps will work to make your wedding look all the more put together. With just one look at the stamp that marks your mail, your family and friends will be excited to open their letters, knowing that there is a piece of wedding news waiting for them.

There are a lot of options available when you are choosing personalized wedding stamps. Some of the most common stamp choices involve a picture of wedding related items such as wedding rings, flowers, church bells, a heart, and religious symbols. However, you can get even more personal with your wedding stamps. A lot of bride and grooms create stamps that bare an image that is unique to their own wedding. This can be an image of the flowers that you have chosen, a stamp related to the month in which your wedding takes place, or even a stamp with your names printed on it.

Whatever you want on your stamps, you are sure to be able to find it. Don’t settle for plain boring stamps when you can add a little something extra to your save the date cards, invitations, and thank-you notes. You can purchase personalized wedding stamps in any currency, and they come in a variety of values so that you can send your mail no matter what the size or the distance. If you would like to browse around for your wedding stamp options, there are plenty of resources online.

Where To Use Custom Wedding Stamps

Custom wedding stamps allow you to create a memorable look to your wedding invites. These are stamps the post office does accept and they do work very well for those who are looking for a way to create something extra special on their invites. Look at all of your options – you may even find that your options are more than you think. With so many options, you may want to buy a few to use for your entire wedding. The question is, when should you use them?

When to Use Stamps

There are numerous occasions when you will need to communicate with others regarding your wedding. Any of these times are great occasions to use personalized, custom wedding stamps. Here are some ideas to take into consideration.

• Use custom wedding stamps for your wedding announcements. This is often the first time you will communicate with your family and friends about your upcoming wedding. Make it special with these stamps.

• Use them for your save the date cards. These communicate with your guests when your wedding is approaching. It is one of the best ways for you to give out the first information about your wedding. stamps here can be formal or very fun, depending on your overall theme.

• Do use them for your bridal shower invites, too. This is a great way for you to bring your first theme through. You can use the stamps to help you to do that. Choose a stamp with your theme on it, or something that works well with it.

• Choose to use the more formal and elegant custom wedding stamps on your wedding invites. This is perhaps the most important place to use them since you want to convey a formal image, or at least make an impression on those you are inviting.

• After the wedding is said and done, it is still a good idea to write thank you notes to your loved ones who came to your wedding or gave a gift. Use a photo wedding stamp here, one that shows a picture of the two of you on the honeymoon or at the wedding.

There are many ways that you can use wedding stamps for your wedding. The key is just to use them where and when you see fit. You really cannot over use them, so do consider using them for every step of the wedding process.

Pay Attention To Detail With Personalized Wedding Stamps

Do you want to make sure that your wedding is absolutely perfect? The most important thing to remember when you are trying to plan your wedding is that the best weddings pay very close attention to detail. It’s the little things that matter, and some things as small as the napkins you use and the candles you pick to light your tables actually have an affect on people. If you make sure to pay attention to the little details, your guests won’t notice a lot of the bigger elements of your wedding. As a result, you can save a whole lot of money. One tiny little detail to keep in mind is personalized wedding stamps.

The little details in your wedding are what ultimately tie everything together. When you invest in the small things, your guests will get a sense that you have really made an effort to make your wedding as organized and unified as possible. Personalized wedding stamps are one of the very small details that people really take notice of. When you send off your mail consisting of save the date cards, shower invites, wedding invites, thank-you notes, and anything else, they will all be tied together by a single element.

Personalized wedding stamps are wonderful because they are completely original to you and your wedding. You can browse through options online and choose the perfect stamp to adorn your wedding mail. There are several choices you can make. You can choose between a wide range of wedding like images such as flowers, rings, bells, hearts and others. You can also look around for personalized wedding stamps that can come marked with your names or a word or phrase that you would like to associate with your wedding. Whatever stamp you choose to purchase, you will be able to use any form of currency and buy your stamps in a variety of values so that you do not have to worry about not having enough postage to send heavier letters or long distance mail.

When you are planning your wedding, do not look over the small details. If you are not particularly detail oriented, ask someone in your family or your bridal party to think up ways that you can make the small aspects of your wedding like personalized wedding stamps shine. If you show the proper attention to detail, your guests will be amazed at the wonderful planning that went into making your special day as perfect as can be.

All About Special Stamps

While snail mail has definitely been declining since it has been replaced by email, a lot of people still value and cherish old fashioned writing. Ask anyone in this hi-tech world, and most would admit to be excited to see real mail on their old mail box, well, as long as it is not a bill or an advertisement. Among the great joys of traditional mail are the stamps that are also starting to become extinct. Stamps add a nice, nostalgic feel to mailed envelopes, and they can also be collected as a hobby.

Stamps are nice by themselves especially now that their use are becoming more seldom. But there are stamps that have more charm and character than others. These are special stamps, usually released and used for special occasions. Special stamps are certain kinds of postage stamps that are intended to be use on holidays and other occasions that occur regularly. Christmas stamps are among the most common examples of special stamps. During the yuletide season, stamps with holiday designs are released and used, usually to accompany Christmas cards.

Special stamps are usually confused with definitive stamps and commemorative stamps as their characteristics are very similar. Like definitive stamps, special stamps can be used for postage, but special stamps are more elaborate and attractive. Definite stamps are just regular stamps, the ones people see in the mail every day. Like commemorative stamps, special stamps celebrate specific events, but they are issued a few weeks before the occasion rather than on the day of the occasion itself, this allows specials stamps to be available during the season in mind. Unlike commemorative stamps, which are primarily for collecting purposes, special stamps are used by more people as they are released during occasions when people send a lot of mail. The production of special stamps are not as limited as that of the commemorative stamps since special stamps are usually intended to be used for a period of time rather than just a one-day event.

Christmas is not the only occasion when special stamps are released. Some time around Valentine's Day, love-themed stamps are released in the US, since 1973. They are typically used for sending valentine cards and packages. Some love-themed stamps are also used for sending wedding invitations throughout the year. In Japan, where New Year's Day is more celebrated than Christmas, New Year stamps are also released.

Some places issue special stamps for United Nations Day, independence day, or other national holidays, but such stamps are usually used as commemorative stamps since rarely would people send United Nations Day cards as much as they would send Christmas greetings.

Certain special stamps released by the United States and the United Kingdom have failed because they are rather too specialized. Examples of which are birthday stamps and get well soon stamps. Rarely did they appear in the mail because such occasions are too scattered to for people to buy stamps for them by bulk as people would for Valentine's and Christmas.

The more popular special stamps are successful because they can be used whenever the occasion they celebrate comes. This is especially true in the United States, where stamps usually retain their value and validity, making them usable even after several years. Thus this year's special Christmas Stamp can still be used for the next Christmas and several Christmases thereafter.

Some other recently popular special stamps are those that signify a special theme of the year. For instance, places that observe Chinese traditions, like the Chinese zodiac, issue special stamps that celebrate the assigned animal for that year (e.g. Year of the Dog stamps). There are also special stamps that would depict pictures of things and personalities that normally would not appear in stamps, an example of this would be Disney stamps, some of which can be used for postage while still having a decorative purpose.

Receiving traditional, old-fashioned letters is still very much fun today especially when snail mail is become hard to be received. But getting mail with special stamps could definitely add more fun to the joys of getting postage. With special stamps, waiting for the postman can still be enjoyed even by the coming generations.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/collecting-articles/all-about-special-stamps-795579.html

Customize Your Correspondence Using Photo Stamps

Photo Stamps are a new and exciting way to turn your favorite photos into real useable U.S. postage! Creating photo stamps is easy, all you have to do is upload your favorite photo to one of the many of the websites offering photo stamps and use their online editing interface to move, zoom or rotate to perfect you photo stamp. Many of the custom photo stamps websites also allow you to choose a border in a color that will match your photo perfectly. Photo stamps come in a variety of postage rates to meet all your mailing needs ranging from postcard rates of twenty four cents to thirty nine cents for regular first class to up to four dollars for packages. Photo stamps can be ordered in just a sheet with twenty stamps to large roll of hundreds for bulk mailing. Photo stamps can be ordered and delivered to you and there are also special packages that allow the consumer to print his or her own photo stamps.

No matter what you are mailing there is a way for photo stamps to add a little extra something special to every envelope that is sent out. One widely popular use for photo stamps are for wedding invitations and the thank you cards after the wedding takes place. A wonderful idea is to use one of the wedding photos of the couple showing their rings or just a close-up of the bride in groom in their gown and tux. Another of the more popular ideas is using a photo stamp of your favorite snap shot of your new baby to send out birth announcements. Holidays are another fun and exciting was to use photo stamps. Christmas cards are just that much more special with a family picture as the stamp.

One question that consumers typically have when using photo stamps is how the United States Postal Service can allow users to print their own photo stamps without encountering fraud and counterfeiting. The postal service has developed a system known as information based indicia that prints a specially designed two dimensional bar code on the printed photo stamps between the border and the photographs. The bar code contains, among other pieces of information, the date that the photo stamps were printed, the serial number of the software package that was used to print the stamps, and other encoded pieces of information that make it all but impossible to print counterfeit photo stamps. Special electronic detection equipment at the postal service delivery centers read the information based indicia bar code and can easily report when photo stamps are created fraudulently. In addition to the machine readable two dimensional information based indicia bar code, photo stamps also contain human readable elements that are used to ensure that the photo stamps were created legitimately. All in all, information based indicia based photo stamps are highly successful at preventing counterfeit and fraud. The technology took several years to develop and then was beta tested for more than a year to ensure that the system performed as expected. Of course, given the relatively inexpensive price tag associated with sending postage, it is unlikely that counterfeiters would spend a great deal of time trying to circumvent information based indicia security. There are certainly more lucrative ways for counterfeiters to ply their trade.

Photo stamps are a great way to personalize your letters, cards, and other postal correspondence. By giving customers the ability to create their own custom, legally valid photo stamps while maintaining the security and integrity of the system, the US Postal Service has created a product that has been very successful and is likely to become even more so as more people become aware of the possibility of using photo stamps.

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Making Postage Stamps from Your Digital Photos is Easy

Making your own personalized photo stamps is an easy way to add a special touch to your holiday cards, wedding invitations, birth or graduation announcements, and any other special occasion you can think of.

How to Create Personalized Photo Stamps

Some people think customizing photo stamps is complicated, or that they aren't legal postage, but they couldn't be easier to create. And yes, they are valid U.S. Postage. To design your stamp, just upload your digital image to a photo stamp site. There are several; just do an internet search for "photo stamps." Once you've uploaded your photo, you can crop or edit it and add a colorful border. Then choose the value of postage you need and place your order.

Photo stamps are printed on sheets of high-quality self-adhesive paper, typically 20 to a sheet. You can specify the amount of postage for the stamps, from postcards to first class letter rates, as well as priority mail rates. In addition to the face amount of postage, you will pay a service fee based on the number of stamps you order. Generally the more photo stamps you order, the better the price.

What Can You Put on a Stamp?

You can put almost anything (within good taste) on a stamp. Images are reviewed before printing, so be sure to read the website's photo content policy to make sure you're in compliance.

Fun Photo Stamp Ideas:

Holiday stamps - A photo of your kids in Halloween costume, your own stamp to commemorate Christmas, Valentine's Day or other holidays.

Weddings - Put a photo of you and your spouse-to-be on your save-the-date cards, wedding invitations, RSVP cards or thank-you notes. They also make unique bridesmaid and attendant gifts.

Baby Announcements - Show off your newborn with his or her own stamp. These are great for birth announcements or first birthday party invitations.

Special Occasions - Birthday and anniversary parties, graduations, family reunions, thank-you notes, etc.

Family - Create your stamp using a vacation picture or a family photo.

Original Art - Show off your artistic talent with a stamp of your own art or illustration, nature or landscape photo.

Pets - Commemorate your four-legged friend, feathered friend, or your goldfish with its own stamp.

Business - Photo stamps are also creative marketing tools for businesses. Companies can create special stamps for new product rollouts, business logos, product photos, and promotional advertising.

Hobbies - you can get stamps with the logo of your favorite NFL team or put your favorite car or truck on a stamp.

About the Author

For more information on creating your own personalized photo stamps, software and photo service reviews, and fun photo tips, go to www.digitalphotos101.com.

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Bhutan Issues 8 Royal Wedding Stamps

To celebrate The Sacred Royal Wedding of Bhutan's "Dragon King", Bhutan Post has released eight different stamps portraying His Majesty the King and the royal bride.

In a traditional ceremony, Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, 31, married Jetsun Pema, 21, a student and the daughter of an airline pilot, on October 13, 2011.

The stamps include a sheet of sheet-lets, two sets of souvenir sheets, two sets of holograms, and one set of gold stamps. The stamps denominations range between Rs 25 to Rs 225. The stamps were launched on October 9, 2011, to coincide with the World Post Day.

The Bhutan Post said post offices will remain open during the holidays coinciding with the royal wedding (October 13-15) to provide free postal service. In addition, Bhutan Post will distribute free stamps to schools having philatelic clubs.

Wedding Postage Stamp Ideas

Imagine the smile that will cross your mother-in-law's face when she sees you and your fiancee's own smiling faces beaming back up at her from the corner of the wedding invitation. Now that's a personal invitation! It's no wonder that personalized postage stamps have become so popular. If you'd like to create your own custom postage stamps we have reviews of several sites at which you can do so here at CustomPostagePros.com, but before you check out those articles, I have a few suggestions that might help you come up with the perfect idea for a wedding postage stamp.

Of course, the standard portrait that I just mentioned is one fine option. They're going to want to come to the wedding to see you two enter bliss together, so it makes sense to give them an up close and personal preview of your happiness. What if you took it a step further though? If you had planned well enough or were plain lucky enough to get a photograph taken as the proposal on bended knee was taking place, how wonderful would that be as a postage stamp? You could even put the photo within a heart-shaped border with a cute caption like "She said YES!" or something along those lines. I know I'd break into a broad grin if I saw that on an invitation from two of my good friends.

Another idea is to incorporate the wedding postage stamp with the rest of your wedding invitation. So if you haven't decided all the details of your invitation yet I'd hold off on creating your customized postage stamp just yet. Even if you decide to go with one of the above options you could still do it such that the border color and font of the text on the stamp matched the theme of your invitation and wedding.

Another option for the photo postage stamp would be a view of where the actual wedding is going to take place. Then the stamp ends up being like a small window into the future that your guests will be arriving into, and opening up the invitation will serve as their tickets and itinerary for the event. Whatever you do decide, I think you can see that the opportunity that the websites where you can create your own wedding postage stamps give you is hard to pass up. Adding this little personalized postage stamp to your invitations may not be missed if it's not there, but if it is it will bring with it that extra touch of joy to your special day.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/wedding-postage-stamp-ideas-442805.html

Personal Photo Stamps

Did you know that you can design your own personal photo stamps?

You don't have to settle with the limited selection of standard-issue postage stamps made available through the United States Postal Service (USPS). You are allowed to design your own stamps, as long as they are paid for and printed using one of the USPS' authorized retailers.

All you need in order to print your own personal photo stamps are the following:

- A computer with Internet access.

- A printer. (Color ink is optional. Black and white works just as well.)

- A metered weighing scale.

- Adhesive label printing paper using standard sizes in compliance with USPS standard guidelines.

You can design your own stamps using your own graphic design software. You can download images from the Internet. Or you can take photographs with your digital camera, or scan a picture onto your computer with a scanner.

Add a touch of pizazz to your mailings and create a great impression. Whether you are mailing out invitations for a wedding or birthday, you are mailing out holiday greeting cards, or you are a business that needs to send correspondence to clients, customers, or vendors, personal photo stamps can leave a lasting impression on your recipients.

You can have photographs of your family or your loved ones on your stamps. If you are a business, you can actually use your company logo as your stamps. The possibilities are limitless.

What's more, because you are printing your own stamps, you never have to go to the Post Office ever again! Weigh your own envelopes or packages, print your own stamps, and drop your packages in the mailbox. If your packages are too big, you can call up the USPS to have your local mail carrier come directly to your home or office to pick up your packages.

Can you really create your own photo stamps? Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hyder_Khan

Photo Postal Stamps

What do George Washington, Elvis Presley, the United States Flag, and a heart all have in common? They have all featured on United States postage stamps!

These are all well and good, but what if you don't like any of these stamps? What if you aren't satisfied with the limited selection of standard-issue postage stamps made available through the United States Postal Service?

Wouldn't it be great if you could customize your own photo postal stamps? Wouldn't it be great if you could put your own photographs, your own graphic images, or even your own company logo on your postage stamps?

Photo postal stamps are an excellent way to cast a good first impression on your recipient. They add a touch of pizzazz to your correspondence, making your mail stand out from among the rest, setting the tone and the mood in your reader's mind, and adding a touch of professionalism to your correspondence.

Photo postal stamps are an excellent novelty in many different situations: Wedding invitations, birthday invitations, graduation invitations, advertising mailers to potential customers or clients, correspondence with employees, vendors, and business partners, and much more!
The best part is that you can print your own photo postal stamps from the comfort of your own home or office, directly from your computer, right onto your own printer!

All you need in order to get started are:

- A computer with Internet access

- A metered weighing scale

- A printer (color is optional, black and white is okay)

- Adhesive printing labels

Are photo postal stamps right for you? Sign up for a 30-day risk-free trial and see for yourself!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hyder_Khan

Pictures on Stamps

Wouldn't it great if you could print your own pictures on stamps? The limited selection of standard-issue stamps made available through the United States Postal Services are adequate. They get the job done.

But if you want to add a touch of pizzazz to your mail, if you want to create a good first impression, or if you are trying to set a mood or a tone in your recipient's mind before opening your mail, then pictures on stamps is right for you.

There are many situations where customizing your correspondence by placing pictures on stamps would be a great idea:

- Wedding invitations

- Birthday party invitations

- Graduation ceremonies

- Holiday greeting cards

- Advertising mailers to potential customers / clients

- Business correspondence that has your company logo on it

You could use a photograph of yourself or your loved ones. You could use your company logo. You could create your own graphic design. You can use just about any image as the pictures on stamps.

The best part is that this is very easy to do by yourself.

All you need are:

- A computer with Internet access

- A printer (color is optional, black and white is okay)

- Adhesive mailing labels

- A weighing scale

You can print your own postage stamps right from the comfort of your own home or your own office, from your computer directly to your own printer. No more trips to the post office just to by stamps!

You'll be printing them out yourself!

See how easy it is to print pictures on stamps with a 30-day risk-free trial.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hyder_Khan

Create Postage Stamps

Did you know that you can create postage stamps on your own? You can design them on your own computer and then print them out onto your own printer! You can pay for your postage online and then print your own personalized postage stamp creations and use them on envelopes or packages that you can mail out!

Break free of the mundane! You no longer have to confine yourself to the limited selection of standard-issue postage stamps made available through the United States Postal Service. Sure, George Washington, the bald eagle, the US flag, Elvis Presley, a heart with the word "LOVE" superimposed on it, and Santa Claus all have made for great stamps for time immemorial.

But what if you want to add a touch of your own creativity, and you want to jazz up your postage stamps with a touch of pizzazz?

Wouldn't it be nice if you could use your own photographs or images on your wedding invitation, birthday party invitation, graduation, or holiday greeting cards?

Wouldn't it be nice if you could use your own business logo, your monogrammed initials, or your own corporate slogan as the theme of your stamps?

Cast a great first impression! Captivate your recipient's attention! Set the mood or the tone to be consistent with the theme of your mailer.

You can create postage stamps from the comfort of your own home or the comfort of your own office!

You will never have to make another run to the post office just to by stamps, ever again!

See how easy it is to unleash your creativity to create postage stamps, and connect with your recipients in a whole new way!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hyder_Khan

Custom Photo Stamps

George Washington. The United States Flag. A heart. The word love. A flower. A deceased celebrity.

These are some of the images that you think of when you think of traditional US postage stamps.

But wouldn't it be nice if we could create our own custom photo stamps? Wouldn't it be nice if you could place your own photograph, logo, or any other graphic design or text on your stamps?

It sure would grab your recipient's attention, wouldn't it? It would definitely create a good first impression. Your envelope or package would stand out from among the rest.

Whether it is for business or for pleasure, custom photo stamps can make a significant impact.

Get creative! Express yourself! Set the tone of your mailer.

After all, they say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Your stamp itself can convey a message before the recipient even opens the letter.

One thing that is for sure: Your recipient will take your mail more seriously if they are able to connect with you and relate to the image that is depicted on your stamp.

Custom photo stamps are perfect for holiday greeting cards, wedding invitations, birthday invitations, thank you cards, graduations, and most any other occasion.

They can add a certain spice, a certain flavor, a certain pizazz to your mailers to set the mood in your recipient's mind before they ever open up your mail.

Custom photo stamps are also perfect if you are a business that is sending out advertisements to potential customers on your mailing list. They can also be used if you are sending general correspondence to your vendors, customers, leads, employees, or business partners. Put your company logo or slogan on your stamps to give your correspondence a degree of professionalism.

Sign up for a 4-week risk-free trial and you can start to print your own postage online today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Howard_Klein

How To Emboss With Rubber Stamps

If you like to use rubber stamps to personalize cards and letters then you will love to emboss using rubber stamps. This technique adds extra elegance to your cards, letters, and artwork.

It’s not difficult to learn how to emboss with rubber stamps. The materials that you need to start are simple and inexpensive to obtain. But the results are astounding. You obviously need rubber stamps, but also an embossing ink stamp pad, embossing powder, an embossing heat gun, and of course something to stamp on.

The first thing you do is stamp your design onto the material you are using with a slow drying pigment ink pad. Make sure that the entire stamp is covered with ink. Don’t rock the stamp when you place it onto your paper since this may blur the lines. You need to press down all over the stamp to ensure that the design is completely transferred and you get the perfect image.

Once the image has been transferred sprinkle embossing powder onto the image and then gently tap off the excess and remove any stray flecks from the paper with a dry paintbrush. This embossing powder comes from ultra fine to tinsel as well as in a variety of colors as does the pigment ink. The powder also comes in different compositions such as metallic powder in gold, silver, or bronze, and glitter powder. This adds a rich color to your artwork and looks really effective. For these metallic powders to really stand out, you can use them with clear ink, or if you use colored ink you can produce effects such as tinted copper.

The final step to produce thermal embossed art is to use your heat tool to direct hot air onto the embossing powder, which will melt and produce the thermal embossed effect in the shape of the image that you stamped. The best way to do this is to use a heat gun as this creates the most even, glossy effect. Around the home you can try to use a toaster or oven but you will have to be careful not to scorch the material you are using. It is therefore worth investing in a proper heat gun, especially if you plan to emboss a lot.

Since there are so many different colors and compositions of ink and embossing powder to use, you are able to personalize each piece of artwork. For example, if you wish to celebrate a friend’s wedding or the christening of a child you might want to use pearlescent powder, which produces a beautiful pastel effect. However, a card for a child’s birthday may need to be bright and colorful so you may wish to use metallic and glitter effect embossing powders to produce a dramatic but fun result.

The more you emboss using rubber stamps the more you will create a unique style with the colors of ink and type of embossing powder that you use. After all, the fun part of crafting is not being afraid to experiment so that you create your own unique artwork!

Published At: www.Isnare.com
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How To Emboss With Rubber Stamps

If you like to use rubber stamps to personalize cards and letters then you will love to emboss using rubber stamps. This technique adds extra elegance to your cards, letters, and artwork.

It’s not difficult to learn how to emboss with rubber stamps. The materials that you need to start are simple and inexpensive to obtain. But the results are astounding. You obviously need rubber stamps, but also an embossing ink stamp pad, embossing powder, an embossing heat gun, and of course something to stamp on.

The first thing you do is stamp your design onto the material you are using with a slow drying pigment ink pad. Make sure that the entire stamp is covered with ink. Don’t rock the stamp when you place it onto your paper since this may blur the lines. You need to press down all over the stamp to ensure that the design is completely transferred and you get the perfect image.

Once the image has been transferred sprinkle embossing powder onto the image and then gently tap off the excess and remove any stray flecks from the paper with a dry paintbrush. This embossing powder comes from ultra fine to tinsel as well as in a variety of colors as does the pigment ink. The powder also comes in different compositions such as metallic powder in gold, silver, or bronze, and glitter powder. This adds a rich color to your artwork and looks really effective. For these metallic powders to really stand out, you can use them with clear ink, or if you use colored ink you can produce effects such as tinted copper.

The final step to produce thermal embossed art is to use your heat tool to direct hot air onto the embossing powder, which will melt and produce the thermal embossed effect in the shape of the image that you stamped. The best way to do this is to use a heat gun as this creates the most even, glossy effect. Around the home you can try to use a toaster or oven but you will have to be careful not to scorch the material you are using. It is therefore worth investing in a proper heat gun, especially if you plan to emboss a lot.

Since there are so many different colors and compositions of ink and embossing powder to use, you are able to personalize each piece of artwork. For example, if you wish to celebrate a friend’s wedding or the christening of a child you might want to use pearlescent powder, which produces a beautiful pastel effect. However, a card for a child’s birthday may need to be bright and colorful so you may wish to use metallic and glitter effect embossing powders to produce a dramatic but fun result.

The more you emboss using rubber stamps the more you will create a unique style with the colors of ink and type of embossing powder that you use. After all, the fun part of crafting is not being afraid to experiment so that you create your own unique artwork!

Published At: www.Isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=46411&ca=Arts+and+Crafts

The Best Ideas For A Customized Rubber Stamp

A customized rubber stamp can be a great way to personalize your outgoing mail, cards, or other items. Many people indulge in buying a customized rubber stamp without realizing just how much can really be done with a customized rubber stamp. Here are some of the best ideas for a customized rubber stamp that you may not have thought of.

Return Address Customized Rubber Stamp

This type of rubber stamp can be used on outgoing mail and cards. But it can also be used to mark back packs, coats, mittens, books, skates, and other items often misplaced. This is especially helpful for events such as Boy Scout camp and school field trips.

Name Customized Rubber Stamp

This type of rubber stamp is often used to personalize cards and letters. However, there are many other ways that you can use a name customized rubber stamp. You can use it to easily mark your child’s school items. You could also use it to mark place mats or cubby holes if you have more than one child.

One of the best ways to use a rubber stamp with your name is on wedding accessories. If you get the bride and groom names on the rubber stamp you can use it to personalize all of your napkins, mementos, streamers, table cloths, and other accessories that may be cherished by both the couple and the guests.

Another great way to use a rubber stamp with a name or names is on the backs of pictures. If you send out pictures to your friends and family every year this is a great time saver! Get a customized rubber stamp with the name of each family member, as well as one with the family name. Combined with a date rubber stamp, you can easily mark the people in the photo as well as the date taken before mailing without writing your hand off!

Account Number Customized Rubber Stamp

Many people get customized rubber stamps with their bank account number on it for easy deposit of checks. However, there are many other uses for this type of rubber stamp. There are many documents that may require your account number other than checks for deposit only.

A bank account number may be required for a direct deposit form or credit check. It may also be needed for you income tax return or other financial documents. Rather than trying to remember the number or look it up each time, the customized rubber stamp allows you to easily stamp the account number on any needed documentation.

Amy Wells writes about effective rubber stamping tips and techniques. Looking for stamping supplies? Find discounted, high quality rubber stamps and supplies at: http://www.BuyRubberStamp.com

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Rubber Stamps : 10 Great Tips For Making Multiple Cards

You know the feeling. The kids have tons of demands, vacation is just around the corner, that big project at work is eating all of your free time. How will you ever make those handmade cards for the big party, or mail the invitations for the guests at the big wedding? What started out as a great idea for some very special cards has turned into a stressful project. These ten simple steps will maximize your time and free up your creativity when making multiple cards for any size project.

1. Determine and plan your cardmaking schedule. Do you want to set aside a few hours or just 30 minutes at a time? Pick a design suitable for the available time. Make a simple "assembly line" schedule to maximize the time you have to spend on the project.

2. Work on individual elements, individually. It may sound silly, but working on one element of the cards will retain the "look" of the cards while creating a "unity" among them. Start by stamping all of the impressions, then work on cutting out all of the backgrounds, folding all of the paper, tearing all of the sheets simultaneously. You don't want to spend too much time on any one card.

3. Have a party! Kids and relatives love to involved. Make the work fun and don't be overly concerned about the smaller details of the project. You will ultimately put all of the individual components together, giving you plenty of time to add any special touches. Working together with other people will also add a new level of uniqueness to your cards.

4. Stop writing. One of the most frustrating tasks of mass producing cards is hand writing messages. Find "handwriting fonts" available online, at your nearest craft supply store, or your local computer store. Sign the finished card or pen in any details or RSVP information as you would with a store purchased card.

5. Use a paper trimmer. If you need a fast way to make background frames or trim down embellishments, scissors just won't cut it! Stacking paper in 5-10 sheet groups and trimming all at once will provide perfect multiple shapes. Often, your scraps can be stacked in such a way to trim them into useable pieces with a trimmer. Rotary trimmers will also allow you to add perfect "scalloped" edges to the base of the card(s).

6. Punch It. Remember your time is valuable. Whether it's a heart, circle, flower, even a fork and spoon, your local craft store will have a perfect punch for the card. Cutting out shapes by hand is tedious and rarely looks well. Circles can be particularly difficult.

7. Stamp, Stamp, Stamp. When placing stamped images on a card, use one stamp at a time and make as many impressions as needed. Don't clean stamps or switch colors until all of the cards have been stamped. This keeps your ink pads from becoming "mixed" and makes the impressions uniform.

8. Avoid difficult embellishments. I am sure that rows of bows, lines of brads, or glued dots would look wonderful on each card. Finding a simpler alternative will save you hours. Paper tears, taped bows, even stylish stickers can be just as attractive without the hours of difficult handy work.

9. Customize backgrounds. If you absolutely must have a "look" provided by a stamped background, make a "master" copy on white paper EXACTLY how it should look. Scan the paper design into a computer at 300 dpi. (If you're already confused, spend a minute with the scanner manual.) Print onto colored cardstock or paper. When done properly, no one will even notice!

10. Have fun…with a budget. These are the two biggest factors when mass producing cards. You don't want to get partway through the project only to realize you have far overspent your intended budget. That special patterned paper and those cute hologram stickers can max out the cost of the cards. Alternatively, when the project simply becomes a duty, it is unlikely you will ever finish. Remember to always plan lots of time. After all, this is by far the greatest hobby in the world!

Published At: www.Isnare.com
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