Rubber Stamping

History

From its humble beginnings as an office device used for marking documents, the rubber stamp has become an exciting addition to the creative tools used by the modern arts and crafts community. Used widely in conjunction with scrapbooking and card making, rubber stamps are also employed to decorate household items, clothing and accessories, jewelry, and artistic collages, with new uses appearing regularly.

The first rubber stamps were actually stone slabs. After the Chinese invented paper in 105 CE, they realized they could make copies of text by pressing a piece of paper against an inked stone. This method was followed by the woodcut (or woodblock printing), officially the oldest method of printmaking, which is the precursor to rubber stamping. The linocut, another printmaking technique, was widely adopted after the invention of linoleum in the mid-nineteenth century.

Around the same time, people began carving rubber and using it to make prints. Rubber had been discovered by Europeans in the mid-eighteenth century in South America, but its many potential uses remained unexplored.

In 1839, Charles Goodyear, an American entrepreneur who had been experimenting with rubber for many years, finally determined how to keep his rubber life preservers and aprons from melting. He developed the process of vulcanization, which permanently hardened the rubber and allowed for the development of many different products, including rubber stamps.

The first rubber stamp companies formed in the 1880s. While printmaking continued as an art form, rubber stamp entrepreneurs envisioned their product as more utilitarian. Rubber stamps were sold primarily as "marking devices," used to add text to documents. The development of quick-drying, non-smear ink pads in the early 1900s encouraged more companies, schools, libraries, and the United States Post Office to use rubber stamps.

In the early 1900s, Russian artists were the first to realize the aesthetic possibilities of rubber stamps. They carved their own unique designs into square, rectangular, and circular stamps. Later, artists aligned with the modern Dadaist movement used rubber stamps to form collages. Other artists continued to create rubber stamp art throughout the twentieth century.

In the 1970s, companies began to design and sell pre-made stamps directly to the craft market. Some of the first of these companies were All Night Media, Hero Arts, and Rubberstampede. Inkadinkado and others followed in their footsteps in the early 1980s, when the industry began to expand rapidly.

The wide availability of do-it-yourself embossing supplies allowed homemade cards to compete with the greeting card industry. Designers found exciting ways to stamp clothing, curtains, tote bags, scarves and other items with the development of fabric paint.

The recent interest in scrapbooking has helped to spawn many new rubber stamping products and techniques.

Basic stamping supplies

• Rubber stamps or roller stamps (designs, letters, sentiments)
• Ink pads and/or pads and bottles of ink, brayer, and containers for mixing and pouring
• Stamp cleaning supplies (paper towels or cloths, water, brush, cleaner)
• Paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Tape (double sided, foam mounting, masking)
• Ruler
• Pencil

Optional supplies

• Embossing supplies (powders, embossing ink pad, heat gun, embossing pen)
• Rubber stamp positioner
• Light box
• Brads

• Decorative scissors, punches, and crimpers
• Bleach stamping supplies (bleach, towel, paper towels, container for dipping)
• Paint and brushes (watercolors, watercolor pencils, acrylics)
• Chalk, blending chalks
• Cotton balls and swabs
• Colored pencils, pens, and markers
• Fabric paint and foam brushes

Surface preparation and finishing materials

• Sandpaper
• Cleanser
• Primer
• Gesso
• Polyurethane
• Brush

Stamp carving supplies

• Craft foam, rubber sheeting, wood, linoleum, vegetables, erasers, sponges, or cork
• Tracing paper
• Craft knives
• Carving tool (linoleum cutting tools)
• Wooden handles or old wooden spools, other scrap wood
• Epoxy glue
• Permanent marker

Techniques

Fabric stamping (how to stamp a T-shirt)

• Pre-wash a T-shirt and iron out wrinkles if necessary.
• Select a stamp with a simple design.
• Prepare a paper pattern or design guide (or practice on an old T-shirt).
• Place a piece of heavy cardboard or foam inside the T-shirt.
• To paint a colored background, measure and mark area to be painted with masking tape.
• Paint background with fabric paint and allow it to dry. A hair dryer will speed up the drying time.
• Brush fabric paint onto stamp and test on paper. Apply more paint if necessary. (Or use fabric stamp pad or fabric pens.)
• Stamp design, pressing firmly each time.
• Clean stamps thoroughly.
• Allow fabric to dry completely, then set in dryer or iron at the hottest possible setting suitable for fabric.
• Wash T-shirt following directions provided with fabric paint.

How to heat-emboss a stamped design

• Stamp image on clean paper or other surface using embossing ink (pigment ink may be used, although it dries rather quickly).
• Sprinkle embossing powder liberally over the wet ink.
• Remove excess powder and save for later use.
• Dry with heat gun, moving around the design as the powder melts, which should take about 30 seconds (other heat sources may be used in lieu of a heat gun).
• The embossed image should appear "raised" and somewhat shiny.
• Paint or color design further, if desired.

Trends

Rubber stamp enthusiasts regularly discover new techniques and new surfaces to decorate. Scrapbooks, handmade cards, and T-shirts continue to be the most popular items to stamp, but journals, handmade books, altered books, tea bag folding, and shrink-wrapped jewelry have also gained popularity.

Shadow stamps, formed with light ink and used for backgrounds, collages, layers, and other applications are trendy. Photorealistic stamps are favored by mixed-media and altered-book artists. Photopolymer (clear acrylic) stamps gained a following among beginning and less-experienced hobby stampers for their low cost and high degree of accuracy they afford in stamp placement. Many rubber stampers combine a multitude of techniques and media to achieve their final artwork.

Digital stamps are a related alternative to rubber stamps. These downloadable outlines can be altered or resized before being printed with an ordinary computer printer onto paper, which can then be cut and colored. While inexpensive, digital stamps are limited in terms of the media they can be used with as compared to traditional rubber stamps. Digital stamp printouts can be cut, colored, and even embossed using embossing ink pens.

Rubber Stamping for Fun vs. Profit

Stamped greeting cards, stationery, and other paper products can be quick and inexpensive to make and tend to be priced within many budgets, so they often sell well at craft fairs if the designs are original and pleasing. Handmade papers will increase the value and appeal of these items.

Stamped scarves, aprons, tote bags, decorative items, and other non-paper objects make wonderful gifts, and also tend to sell well. When using commercially-produced stamps, a crafter will need to get copyright permission before selling his or her work.

Other ways to generate income through rubber stamping include doing custom work with interior designers and local businesses, selling original own rubber stamp designs, teaching classes, and running a rubber stamp supply store. The internet has afforded more opportunities to sell rubber-stamp and digital-stamp designs, stamped items, or supplies.

Learning More

Organizations

Rubber Stamp Chat <https://www.rubberstampchat.net/>

Books

Aimone, Katherine Duncan. Stamping with Style: Sensational Ways to Decorate Paper, Fabric, Polymer Clay & More. New York: Lark, 2001.

Taormina, Grace. The Complete Guide to Rubber Stamping: Design and Decorate Gifts and Keepsakes Simply and Beautifully with Rubber Stamps. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1996.

Walton, Steward and Sally. Stamp Decorating. New York: Lorenz Books, 1996.

Magazines

RubberStampMadness