Art stamps haven't been around forever...In fact, it wasn't that long ago that just a few small companies were the only "brave ones" producing rubber art stamps for purposes other than business. The art designs varied from company to company, some choosing to produce vintage only rubberstamps while others opted to create more whimsical designs for stamp collections. Stampers started to pop up all over the world as the hobby began to take shape. Today, you can buy almost any rubber stamp with any style of design which can be used in scrapbooking, papercrafts, cardmaking, wall decor, gift bags, and even three-dimensional artwork.

Art stamps are most commonly referred to as simply rubber stamps, yet the clarification exists to differentiate between business style rubber stamps for marking packages and invoices, and the style and designs that are used in craft and hobby projects. Art rubber stamps have been used on almost every material, from card stock to stone. Most stampers generally think of simply card making and scrapbooks when thinking about the possible use of a rubber stamp. It's unfortunate that they limit themselves to those two tasks. Why not create your own bathroom design tiles using rubberstamps and materials purchased at your local hardware store? How about creating adorable stamped mailboxes? How about creating adorable baby bibs using your baby stamps? Truth is, rubber stamping is a great way to create unique art and designs on almost any material and for any "painting" project. To have total variety of stamping projects, you'll want to make sure that you select deep etch rubber stamps that can handle everything from thick acrylic paint to thin tea dyes.

You can find many stamping galleries online showcasing traditional stamped projects. What you usually will not find in the gallery display is the many unique ways that art stamps are used. Because you can find a stamp in almost any style and design, you would be amazed at the many wonderful ways that stampers are using their stamps in many different arts and crafts projects and even as a fabric stamp. Some folks go as far as framing their stamp creation just like fine paintings and displaying them on their walls. This certainly isn't the rubber stamp hobby that your grandmother was involved in!

One small reason for the rise in popularity of the stamping hobby is its simplicity, ease of use, and inexpensive nature. You can get started as a stamping artist for under $20 and can be turning ordinary sheets of paper and cardstock into beautiful works of art. Most art stamps come mounted on either maple or pine blocks. Pink rubber backed with cushioning stamp foam makes for an even impression. To clean your art stamps after applying ink or paint to them, you can simply wipe them clean with a damp cloth and soapy water. To get all of the ink removed, you will want to pick up any of the inexpensive commercial stamp cleaners available in your local craft and art store.
Should your art stamp start to peel away from the cushion foam, you can simply use rubber cement and the craft foam and trim around the edges. Use the thickest craft foam you can find for this purpose.

You'll want to store your stamps in a cool dry place. Storage of mounted rubber stamps has led to a recent rise in the popularity of unmounted rubber stamps since they take up so little space and can be stored in three-ring binders and notebooks. Unmounting a mounted art rubber stamp is a simple task. The pink rubber is very flexible and stretches, so simply pull the pink rubber away from the cushion foam. If some stickiness from the rubber adhesive remains on your unmounted stamps, a commercial fume free gum remover can be used to gently clean the back of the rubber art stamp. Many choose to use acrylic blocks with their unmounted rubber stamps, while others prefer to use magnet systems. You may find that you enjoy the hobby much more with your rubber stamps unmounted.

Artstamps were only being produced by a few select stamping companies at one time, so finding these stamps and purchasing them was quite difficult if you didn't have a stamping store near your residence. With so many new arts and craft stores and the internet, buying almost any rubber stamp suitable to any artists taste can be done with a few clicks of the mouse. Rubber Stamping Fun makes purchasing rubber art stamps easy with their free stamp shipping and fast checkout process. Why not buy some art stamps today and begin your next craft and hobby project. Who knows, maybe the stamper in you will discover a whole new way to use all of you art stamps!