Top 5 Ways to Make Your Own Rubber Stamps

Ready Stamps is the vocational training program of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of San Diego. And they make great stamps.

You'll notice their site doesn't really show you the unmounted art stamp option. Luckily, you can find complete instructions for that at thePolyClaysite.

The price is reasonable, and it's for a good cause. What's not to like?

The easiest method for making photopolymer plates, with the simplest start up and shortest learning curve is the JustRite Home Stamping Kit. You can check it out at my site, Creative Texture Tools.

Previous methods for using liquid photopolymer were quite messy. The clever folks who invented this kit put the liquid photopolymer into pre-measured packets, and also came up with a way for the photopolymer to cure at with a regular 60 watt bulb.

You can see the whole FAQ, with links to pictures of the process, at our site.

Here's my original blog post when I announced the product:



I am truly, truly excited to bring you this new product. You may have already seen it, available only in England. It's now in America and I'm thrilled to offer it.

Other methods of making Photopolymer Texture Plates are, let's be honest, messy, iffy as to results and you need the special UV light. Sure, it can be done, but there's a learning curve and some of us just want to make jewelry!

This kit, the Just Rite Home Stamping Kit, solves all those problems. It uses liquid photopolymer, but no mixing, no measuring! It's all in a little plastic pouch, all ready to go. And you just use a regular 60 watt bulb!

Everything you need is in this kit (okay, plus you'll need a computer and a lamp!) It truly, truly is easy, easy, easy and everything is in there. If you've wanted to do your own designs, make your own texture plates, now you can, easily, with no mess.

Over 700 images are included in the kit, on high quality negatives, and you can print your own. And you can even make texture plates/stamps from photos! Yes, normally you can't make a photopolymer plate straight from a photograph, but the CD that comes with the kit will do what's needed to transform your photograph so you can make a texture plate/rubber stamp from a photograph!

Check it out at CreativeTextureTools.

Here's what Cindy in Florida has to say about her JustRite Home Stamping Kit:

"It took us a little while to get it quite right but I will be re-ordering
supplies for my kit. I just wanted to tell everyone what a great kit it is
when you actually get to using it. My nephew has made a family crest ring
with it and his name and smallest of details are amazing! The kit is really
easy to use if you actually READ the directions, and it only took us this
long because we were not stampers and didn't really understand the way it
would work. A six year old could make a great stamp with this kit. The
family crest ring is no more than ½ in in length and the castle, the
crescents, the stars and the name Reneau are perfect. What a great product.
Thanks for carrying the kit." Cindy Henry in Florida

Wow! Thanks Cindy!

Check out the JustRite Home Stamping Kit for yourself here.

Read Maggie Bergman's Tutorial here. If you need help preparing your art work, she's got you covered there too. Read her Photoshop Tutorial here.

My overview of what you need to make these can be found on my blog, All Things Metal Clay. I'll include that post below.

Have you heard about Photopolymer Plates? If you're a part of Metal Clay Gallery (see links) you already know about them. They are an alternative to having rubber stamps made. Sure, you can mold lots of cool textures with products like Quick Sil (Silicone RTV Mold Making Compound), or you can carve your own polymer clay texture plates.

But what if you want a texture plate from your own line drawing? Lots of folks are making their own with Photopolyer Plates. Here's how to get started. First, I'd suggest reading the very clear instructions by Maggie Bergman, who presented on the topic at the 2006 PMC Conference.

Okay, so you've read, and you're ready to buy the stuff. What do you need?

- some photopolymer
- a washout brush
- a transparency
- something to hold your transparency close to your photopolymer (such as glass and clamps)
- a UV lightsource (purchased or homemade)

You can buy "blank" photopolymer from Art Clay World and PMC123.

PMC 123 also sells a kit with the glass, bulldog clips and a washout brush. Sure, you could assemble all those things yourself, but sometimes it's nice to get everything in one place.

Now you need a light source. You can build your own, quite easily, using black lights and a lighting unit from your local home center. However, if you have no building or wiring skills, the folks on Metal Clay Gallery recommend a unit used for manicures.

You can find them on ebay, prices mentioned on MCG range from $12.00 to $60.00. Here's a link to a new one at $81.00. I want to show you this one because the unit is mostly enclosed, to better protect your eyes.

You really don't want to expose your eyes to unnecesarry UV lights, so please take precautions, wear UV protective eye wear, cover the unit with a box while it's on.

The last key to know about photopolymer plates is that the transparency you make of your drawing is really key. It's got to be dark. Make it as dark as possible, and if you can, double up, using two of the same one, layered.

If you want to see a completed Photopolymer Texture Plate, you can see the ones I make on my professional equipment CreativeTextureTools.com.

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(c) Copyright 2007 - 2008 Elaine D. Luther All Rights Reserved.