Cleaning Your Stamps

Okay, I’m the first to admit I can be lazy about cleaning my stamps. Yet all too often I’ve accidentally contaminated my Opaque White ink pad with black ink after forgetting to clean my stamps properly. Yes, it’s important to clean off stamps after using them—especially between colors!

The quickest and easiest way to clean your stamps is with alcohol-free baby wipes. I keep a big box of these on my desk and simply wipe off my stamp, then blot it on an old towel before changing colors or before putting the stamp away. For really stubborn ink, you can also take a soft, old toothbrush and gently scrub the crevices in the image.

When cleaning your stamps, don’t forget to give your acrylic blocks a swipe with the baby wipe, too. This prevents any stray ink marks from ending up on your paper!

Some ink pads can stain your stamps. StazOn, for example, really does stay on. That’s no big deal—just clean off what you can and let the stamp dry. It won’t ruin your stamp, and it won’t come off on your Opaque White ink pad later either.

You can also clean your acrylic stamps with soap and water. Do not use this with wood-mounted rubber stamps, as it will loosen the adhesive! Please don’t use acetone, bleach or any oil-based cleaner for either acrylic or wood-mounted stamps.