Who's new
The minimum amount materials you can purchase will make
quite a few stamps, which is quite expensive if you only need one stamp, but
very reasonable if you are making many stamps. Epoxy is the most expensive
material and generally the smallest quantity you can buy is enough for many
stamps. You can also make many other things with this method and materials,
such as ornaments, pendants, preserved insects and plants, jewelry, and
other cool resin items. You can also purchase pigments and micas for the
epoxy which look very nice. RTV silicone makes a good partner material if
you want to replicate your stamp or sculpt and engrave a master item (like
an ornament or jewelry) out of plaster or other materials, and then use the
silicone to make a mould of the item to caste with resin. Have fun, but
always remember to read the safety precautions on the materials you are
using and protect you skin, eyes, and lungs.
There is a great free program called GIMP which is easy to use to size and
manipulate/create designs for your soap stamps. The design needs to be
flipped mirror image (horizontal flip) so that it is transferred to the
plaster in the right orientation. I print my images in blue for easier
transfer onto the platter. Be sure to use an ink jet printer with water based
ink (most are water based, the ink will run when wet).
Mix your plaster to a think consistency as directed on the
package and be sure there are no lumps (mixing with a gloved hand gives you
a good feel of the smoothness) and pour into a flat plastic container with a
smooth flat bottom to a thickness that will not break when popped out (about
2-4cm, some testing may be required). Tap the container on a desk to be sure
the bubbles are brought to the surface. The stamp will be engraved on the
surface that is molded from the bottom of the plastic container, it is not
advisable to engrave on the top exposed surface as this side is soft, not
flat, has raised bubbles, and generally a poor surface for working on.
Once the plaster is hard, pop it out of the container and
sit on a towel for about 5 minutes to lightly dry the surface of the porous
material. You DO NOT want the plaster to be completely dry when working with
it, as it will be very hard and powdery, keep it moist while working with
it, but not too wet on the surface when transferring the image so the ink
does not bleed sideways.
Lay your image face (ink side) down onto the plaster and
wet a finger. Press the whetted finger into the paper with pressure so the
ink soaks directly down and into the plaster. Move around the image until
the whole image is transferred. You will know it is transferred when the
design shows through the back of the paper, but is not bleeding. If it is
bleeding sideways, reduce the amount of water used and slowly work moisture
into the paper with pressure and a lightly moistened finger.
Engrave your design with different tools you find around
your home. It is advised to first sketch out the design where there is ink
transferred before the ink fades, then go back in and slowly deepen and clean
up the image. There is a limited window of time for engraving once the ink
is transferred, as it will slowly begin to fade and blur. Be careful not to
push the design too deep or it may break the plaster! If you have an area
that is very detailed, wetting the surface with water pooling on the design
while working makes plaster removal very easy, which helps in detailed
areas. The plaster should always be moist while working on it so that there
is no plaster dust (only little moist balls) and to make engraving easier
and the plaster less brittle and prone to breaking. Needles can work well
for cleaning up around the border of design areas. Periodically rinse out
the design with running water and a paint brush so you can see the depth and
what needs cleaning up.
*What the design looks like engraved in the plaster will
be exactly how it will look stamped on the soap - so words/symbols should be
readable and in the correct direction on the plaster.
*One of the great advantages of using plaster is that you
can do very accurate reproductions of text and detail, even small detail (to
an extent).
Once your design is done, scratch a deep, but not too
wide, trench around your design where you would like the edges of your stamp
to be. Be careful not to get too close to the design, as you don't want to
risk breaking your design at this stage, and you want a good border around
the design (about 5mm) which serves to press down displaced soap when
stamping.
Give your design a final rinse and clean, then sit the plaster on a towel
bottom down for about 5 minutes to draw moisture from the engraved surface
of the plaster. Now you can set up the resin corral by cutting a 1 cm wide
strip of thin pvc plastic or by making a similar strip from tape or by using
clay. The pvc plastic is the best choice for ease of use and the look of the
resulting stamp will have even and smooth sides, but thick doubled over tape
can make similar results, clay is the most difficult to work with as it can
slide around on the plaster and be rather messy. If using thin pvc, you can
put some tape around the bottom edge to give it a snug fit in the trench and
reduce the amount of leakage.
Once your corral is set up, place the plaster into the
plastic tray and ensure that the design is level. Fill up your plastic
yogurt tub with hot water from the tap (NOT boiling hot!). Set up for
working with epoxy by applying your safety gear, getting containers ready,
and having some long needles and other tools at hand. Pour the prescribed
amount of resin and hardener into your measuring cup, and hold the bottom of
the container with your epoxy in it into the hot water, and stir the epoxy
until the heat has thinned it's consistency, and the hardener is mixed in
completely. Try not to whip too many bubbles into the epoxy. Mixing the
epoxy in the warm water helps to thin the epoxy to a more fluid consistency
so it flows into the engraving with less bubble trapping, it also
accelerates curing as the chemical reaction that occurs between the resin
and hardener is endothermic. Some fast hardeners can accelerate the reaction
very quickly and can seize in the mixing container and become very hot (more
so if in a tall container, rather then a flat spread out container), so it
is best to work swiftly.
When your epoxy is warm, mixed and ready, pick up both your warm water in
one hand and your epoxy in the other. Pour the water into the tray and the
epoxy into the corral over the design at the same time. You don't want the
surface of the plaster to have water on it when you pour the epoxy or it
will mix with the epoxy, but you don't want your epoxy to soak into the
plaster, so it is important that the water rising up through the plaster
meets the epoxy at the same time. If the plaster turns a dark color after
pouring the epoxy, this means the epoxy is soaking into the plaster, which
may not mean that the stamp will be lost, but is not optimal and could
present some problems later. If the epoxy turns white on the bottom this
means that there was water on the surface of the plaster that has mixed into
the epoxy. This may make the surface soft for a while, white in appearance
and extend the hardening time. Just pouring epoxy onto the plaster without
water will result in epoxy soaking into the plaster and hardening in the
plaster, which destroys the stamp. The water prevents the epoxy from soaking
into the plaster and creates a barrier between the epoxy and plaster so the
stamp can be easily separated from the plaster. This step is the most
critical in making your stamp work.
Once the epoxy has been poured (about 5-8mm is a good
depth) there may be some slow epoxy leakage from around the corral, which is
fine as long as it's not flowing out at a rate that will deplete the stamp.
Ensure the water is poured to about a cm depth, but do not pour the water so
that it flows over the edge of the plaster and around the stamp, this may
inundate the stamp with water and damage it. Just enough water to keep the
plaster moist, it is a very porous material and will wick water up quickly
from the bottom to the top. If you are in a room that is cold, shining a
warm lamp on it will help to speed up the cure. If the stamp is too hot
though the epoxy may form tiny bubbles, so some testing may be required to
find the right conditions in your house.
Before you finish, check for bubbles trapped in the design and lift out with
a long needle. Be careful not to touch the plaster with the needle or
plaster and water may mix into the epoxy.
Make a resin handle: If you don't want to work with wood,
you can make a handle out of resin. The resin handle will be easier to clean
and won't be affected by water like wood, but it is not as resilient to
hammering if you hammer your stamp into hard soap. To make the resin handle,
simply make the corral around your stamp about 4-6cm tall (or however tall
you want your handle) and pour resin up to the top. This large volume of
resin will heat up much more than just the stamp faces, so I would not
recommend using a fast hardener as these can get really hot and melt plastic
corrals. I would also not recommend adding any additional heat to speed up
the cure, as it will cure faster and hotter than a thinner layer of epoxy
anyway. (example in last picture)
*** If you have left over epoxy and are using a slow or
regular hardener, you can store the excess in the freezer right away which
will slow the curing for a few days and can be taken out and warmed in a
water bath later for use when mounting the stamps on wood handles.
When the epoxy is hard (depends on your epoxy brand and
type of hardener, I usually leave the stamp over night), pry the stamp up
slowly going around the edges with a knife. The design of the stamp may
still be a bit soft as it has been in a slightly cooler environment in the
plaster. You can now remove the corral from around the stamp. Trim the rim
off the edge of the stamp with a scissor to reduce the amount of sanding
later, and then set flat to fully harden (usually another 4 hours).
When hard, use a medium grit sand paper (240 grit) to even
out the design depth and smooth out the edges of the stamp. Then follow with
a fine grit paper (400 grit) to smooth, and scrub the stamp with a tooth
brush to clean it up and make sure there is no residue on the surface. Sand
the bottom of the stamp to rough up the epoxy on the bottom so it will bond
well to the handle. Apply epoxy to the wood handle and back of the stamp
face, and allow to cure for 24 hours. You're done!!! Now you can make all
the stamps your heart desires! :)
Example of wooden handle and resin handle.
Plaster is
too dry and epoxy soaks in - make sure plaster is moist but not pooling
water on the surface, pour water at the same time as epoxy.
Water has mixed into
the epoxy make sure the plaster does not have water pooling on it when
pouring epoxy and pour epoxy a moment before pouring water bath. Water and
plaster may have been mixed into the stamp when removing bubbles.
Too much resin (check
measurements), too cool (use warmer water bath, put under warm lamp, use a
faster hardener).
Too much hardener (check
measures), too hot while curing (use cooler water bath, remove lamps or if
ambient is too hot move to cooler room or cupboard).
There are little pockets of resin that have no hardener mixed in, mix better
next time, unfortunately the stamp may not be saved (although you can try to
harden it by putting a little hardener on it and leaving it in a warm area
for a while - just be sure to clean it very well and do not breath or touch
the hardener).
too hot while curing (use cooler water bath, remove lamps or
if ambient is too hot move to cooler room or cupboard).
Be sure that the materials you use with and around your epoxy are not reused
for other purposes, always remember "Safety First". These instructions are a
guide only, it is up to the individual to take precautions and research the
materials and procedures they are using, we are not responsible for any
costs or losses incurred while using these instructions, they are simply to
provide ideas and demonstrate methods and techniques that may be used to
create stamps.
Author: Kaseen Cook Owner of Tortuga Soaps, Please check out
her website and show her your support!
Recent comments