Crafts Too Stampeazee

[Craftysusan]

Hi everyone. Has anybody bought the Crafts Too Stampeazee please and if so is it worth the money? I have just seen it advertised and as a rubbish stamper I wondered if it was worth buying. Many thanks.

[wonky doodle]

Sry crafty Susan, don't know about this, sure someone will come along shortly who has it.x

[Wellington]

Having vaguely seen this about on various sites, it looks very similar Fiskars one I got years ago as part of a subscription offer. It's essentially a large acrylic stamp block with pieces of foam about an inch thick on each corner. I used it for large stamps & also to line up letters on the grid lines - & it wasn't too bad actually, particularly when letter occured more than once in a word/name (like Happy for eg) & needing to leave an acurate space into which the letter could then be lined up. But then the foam feet fell off & wouldn't stick back on so it was consigned to the back of the stash under the stairs, never to be used again!

I've never used rock a blocks, but they're supposedly very easy to use if Sheena et al are to be believed. But I then I've never been convinced by Sheena's bolt of lightening revelation to move from perfectly capable stamping with 'normal' acrylic blocks to using pink rock a blocks marketed & labelled up by Crafters Companion...

[Craftysusan]

Thanks Wellington. I have tried rock a blocks but didn't get on with them and I have a lot of stamps which are Umounted and I don't think they are suitable for those. I do have a stamping pad (bit like a large, deep foam pad) which has improved my stamping but I am always looking for a miracle product that will make it full proof. Might wait until someone demonstrates one on C&C before buying.

[playingwithpaper]

I loathe rockablocks (tbh I don't get on with a lot of their products) and they only work the way they're designed to if the um is exactly the same depth as the ones from crafters companion. If they're thinner the guide rails will stop the stamp from touching the page properly, if they're thicker (specially on cling) then you lose the "advantage" of having the rails. I've seen Sheena have far more dodgy stamping with them than I ever did proper blocks.

Going back to the crafts too gizmo, I'm off to Farnborough today so will have a good look at it. Assuming it is the same idea as the fiskars stamp press then yes it is a good tool for those who have hand/wrist issues or struggle with the downward motion of stamping. I initially thought it was only really much use for those with issues but it's actually pretty good all round but specially for when you're stamping on glossy card or acetate and are likely to skid when you press down. I find I use mine more than expected, best block there is imho for the 6" square coverapage stamps which are a nightmare even on their twentyquidwasted curved block, but it hasnt replaced my acrylic blocks probably because I have the large one & the desk is in such a mess I craft in a 4" space ;) If you want to see if it makes a difference... get a kitchen sponge, cut it into 4, use a bit of dst & tape them into the 4 corners of a flat piece of perspex/glass (cutting plates are great for this) and voila one home made stamp press. It's not going to give you the precision but it will let you see if it's your stamping that's the problem. I will report back from the show if the gizmo is anything much different to the fiskars.

I will say though in 20 years of stamping generally when someone says they're a rubbish stamper more often than not it's down to the inks, paper or lately the stamps, rather than the actual action of pressing the stamp down. I did a side by side test of black inks a little while ago and it was quite disturbing to see how badly some of the acrylics stamped even with a relatively new archival both on & off of stamping mats.

[playingwithpaper]

No significant difference except size and the crafts too one has a cm ruler around the edge. This one would be too small for me, think it might be a smidge larger than the small fiskars one but it's maybe half of the large one and not large enough for my prima dolls.

[Craftysusan]

Thanks so much for looking Playingwithpaper and for the advice about the ink pads. I usually use memento and for embossing the Versamark inkpads. I have some adirondacks as Barbara Gray swears by them but I don't find them great (maybe it's me). I recently bought a couple of archival which Sue Wilson seems to favour and they are better. I will check out the fiskars stamping block before I make a decision. There is probably a YouTube video on them somewhere. Thanks again.

[playingwithpaper]

You're welcome Susan, memento & adirondacks are dye inks and like all dye inks they can be funny about what stamps they do & don't like. I'm not the huge memento fan that copic/promarker users usually are, if I can use another ink I will do but if I'm using copics & havent any elegance paper I'm left with not a lot of choice. Dye inks are usually great with Barb Grays & Lavinia stamps but they've pretty much designed their stamps to use with then so they can brayer so it's not really surprising, if you watch closely though both tend to use the adirondacks mainly for the blended/brayered background but stamp the image with archival or versafine. Use dye inks with some clear stamps though & you're on a hiding to nothing as the ink beads across the surface of the stamp in a similar way to rain drops on a window. There's no real way of knowing how the ink is going to react with some brands until you get the stamp home & try it. I have a few sets of inkadinkadoos that are useless with anything other than archival & versafine and some others that stamp beautifully with all inks, I've cheapie stamps that are fab with all inks yet a nitwit set I paid a fortune for hates everything even versafine. If you're finding a stamp a bit patchy/blotchy you can try conditioning them, with rubber it's by a very fine dusting with fine grade sandpaper. With clear stamps try first by rubbing them with a pencil eraser, if that doesnt work stamp them with archival and leave the ink to dry & stain the acrylic. In the main either or both will do the trick but there are times it doesnt, only thing to do then is a dusting with the sandpaper. Can be risky using sandpaper with clear stamps, go too far & it wont even work with versafine but my thinking when I have done it (and ruined a couple) was that the stamp was unusable anyway so I didn't lose much.

[Julie]

I'm off to Farnborough today so will have a good look at it.

I had no idea the Farnborough show was even on today. I seem to be out of the show loop these days !!!!!

[Craftysusan]

Hi Playingwithpaper. Thank you so much for this information, I didn't realise about the stamp suiting the ink, I assumed they were all the same. I don't feel so bad about my stamping now and will try all my stamps with the different inks I have to find the best fit. I am sure your advice is going to help a lot of stammers like me, thank you again.