AIS Sunday Challenge ~ Butterflies.

Guide to Stampers and Scrapers

When it comes to Nail Stamping, the tools you use are really important.

You can purchase a number of branded and generic stampers, so its good to know a little about the differences.

BRANDED STAMPERS  -  Konad,  Salon Express, Mash, Claire's, Flirt.

Branded stampers are great for the beginner.

The silicon is quite firm and transfers a clean image.   

They are often coloured (mainly pink), so stamping in white or very light colours is much easier.    A common drawback to these branded stampers is the size. They have a relatively small surface area, and for those who like full nail designs, or have long or wide nails, they may not suit the task.

The image is transferred by gently pressing the stamper onto the image plate after scraping, and then rolling across the nail.  It is not necessary to press down hard on the nail, but working fast and smoothly is essential. Make sure to clean the stamper of any excess polish in between using masking tape.

GENERIC STAMPERS -

There are many generic stampers available online on Ebay and Amazon, as well as from reputable nail art and stamping stores.  The XL versions are very popular, and have a soft, squishy feel to the silicon.
To pick up polish from an image with the XL stampers, simply press lightly directly on top of the image.

To transfer the image onto the nail, you can squish the stamper right into the nail bed, as they are quite soft. Alternatively, you can press the nail into the stamper while holding the stamper up to see the image.

SCRAPERS - 

There are two basic types of scraper, plastic, or metal edged (konad). Others prefer to create home made scrapers from various common items, plastic cards (ie gift or shopping cards), pot scrapers, painting or sculting tools.

Experimenting with different angles and techniques will be necessary for any beginner, no matter which scraper you decide to begin with. Some images need a firm clean scrape, and others need a lighter touch to leave more polish behind.

******************************************
HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR STAMPER - 

When your stamper first arrives in the mail, give it a wash with some soap and warm water to clean off any oils or residues left from the manufacturing process. Let it dry completely and then use some sticky masking tape to clean off any remaining lint or dust.
Give it a try!  Make sure you use a simple design to begin with, and have a few practice tries on paper. If your stamper is picking up the image right away from the nail plate and transferring cleanly to the paper, it will work fine on your nails.
In between stamps, clean off excess polish with the sticky tape, or in extreme cases of mess, a little acetone on a cotton bud or ball.  Using acetone to clean your stampers will eventually break down the silicon and will lead to needing a replacement.


TROUBLESHOOTING -  

1. My stamper won't pick up an image. What am I doing wrong?

Many image plates come with a protective plastic film over the top of the plate. Be sure to remove this before attempting to stamp.  If your image plate is engraved correctly then it should hold just the right amount of polish after scraping to transfer onto the stamper.

2. I have removed the plastic, and still cannot pick up an image.

It could be that your stamper is not completely clean, and has small particles of dust or lint stuck to it.  Try cleaning the stamper with warm soap and water, then sticky tape to remove residues.

3. My stamper feels smooth and rubbery instead of soft and sticky.  Will it still work?

Some stampers have a smooth shiny finish, others feel almost like peach skin and have a sticky texture. This should not affect the stamper or its performance. If the smoothness is preventing the polish from gripping onto the stamper, lightly running a nail file over the stamper head to rough up the surface may help.  This commonly referred to as 'Priming' your stamper, but is not always necessary.

4. I have tried washing the stamper, using tape and ended up filing my stamper (priming) and its still not working. 

Some techniques can lead to an image not transferring:
* Working too slowly, and the polish dries in the image before you can pick it up. Weather and humidity has a huge effect on this, so its not always your speed!
*Using polish which is too thin, dries very quickly or is of insufficient quantity can affect how a stamper picks up the image.
*Pressing too hard or soft, or not having a steady hand can also lead to partial images or smudged parts.  

*Some stampers may be faulty and not pick up an image despite your best efforts.  It may be that the stamper needs replacing.  Please do contact your seller if you come across a stamper like this and you may be able to arrange a replacement.  

5. How can I line up images to line up straight on my nails?

Its often advised to make a permanent mark (in white-out or a piece of tape perhaps) on the barrel of your stamper. Then when you pick up the image, you can make sure it lines up with the mark on the stamper. This makes it easier to position onto your nail.
Alternatively, you can hold the stamper in the air, line up your finger to the image and press the nail onto the stamper, rather than vice versa.
There are also rectangular stampers available now, with white and coloured 'heads' to make it simple to line up images on the nail.

6. The end of my stamper keeps falling out of the holder.

If you turn the stamper over, you can see that the grooves on the barrel correspond to small indents on the side of the stamper head.  If you place the indents into the groove positions, it makes it less likely that the head will fall out as often.  Some people prefer to use the stamper head on its own without the holder, and others make their own holders from shampoo bottle caps and other household items.  You can also wind a small strip of Saran Wrap/Glad Wrap (plastic food wrap) around the side of the XL stamper head, and place it into the stamper barrel to hold it in place.  It is possible to use a non-acetone based glue to hold the stamper in. Acetone based adhesives will destroy the silicon on the stamper head.

7. How do I make a small image larger?

You can remove the stamper head from the barrel and gently squish the edges to stretch the stamper out after picking up polish from an image. This increases the surface area of the image. This is only possible with the XL variety of stampers.

8. The polish is transferring onto the stamper but the edges look blurry.

You may be pressing too firmly to pick up the polish.  It could also be that there is excess polish on the image to begin with, and it takes some practice to scrape the image just right to get the angle correct.  Try using a variety of scraping tools to see which works the best for you.  

9. The image is only partially transferring onto the stamper.

*You may have removed too much polish from the image when scraping.
*The polish may be unsuitable for stamping.

*The scraper or the plate may have a build up of dry polish, which affects even performance. Clean with acetone before the manicure, and often during use. Long handled tweezers come in handy here.

*The stamper may not be 100% clean, or have residue of acetone on it.

**********************************************************

Some fantastic video tutorials can be found on Youtube,and there is nothing quite like being able to watch someone's hands to learn a task.  Here are some to get you started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMu3tNT6hWI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2VfIYj1Ev8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gokoaekKc0g

On Scrapers - 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctE_6otIACs

Now you have learnt a little about stampers and scrapers, I hope you will have enough confidence to get motivated and practice your stamping. Its good to try out new polishes and plates on paper too, and the clean up is simple with the masking tape. 

Remember that every time you stamp, you are adding to your knowledge and technical skills. Even the most experienced stampers have regular issues with scrapers, stampers, mess, new techniques. There is no one perfect way to stamp, picking up and transferring an image sounds simple, but it is more complicated than it looks at first and new beginners find it daunting. Rest assured that if you keep at it, then the success rate increases.

Ask friends and family to be your models for nail art practice but be careful to read safety information and follow guidelines.*

One of the great attractions of nail art, is its variety of methods and styles. With nail stamping, you can create beautiful nails in a very short time and still have something which looks completely unique.  Happy Stamping!

LINKS TO RETAILERS

http://www.amazon.com/ & http://www.ebay.com/ are two cheap places to shop for nail art.  Remember to check the ratings of sellers on these sites.

These three companies sell their own branded stampers and scrapers:

http://www.konadnailart.com/

http://www.mashnails.com/

https://www.getsalonexpress.com/

Independent retailers:

USA -
Cheeky Beauty
Ninja Polish

ALI EXPRESS
Beautiful Scratchers

Born Pretty store

AUSTRALIA
messy mansion
DQN Shop

UNITED KINGDOM
MoYou Nails


(Sincere thank you to all brands listed for images reproduced to illustrate my guide)

*Nail polish, removers and thinners have safety warnings as they can contain toxic ingredients. Make sure you are aware of any specific guidelines for use and storage.