Stamps & Texture Sheets

Stamps, texture sheets, and other texturizing tools abound-in craft stores, in Internet-based shops, and in our own homes. You can even have your own designs (drawings or copyright-free images) made into rubber stamps! Refer to our page on texturizers and stamps to learn more about where to start your search.

Using Stamps with Polymer Clay

No matter where you find your texture-- whether it's a store-bought stamp or an old-fashioned skeleton key you found in a junk drawer-- the following guidelines that will help you make a clean impression:

Choose your stamp wisely. While it can never hurt to try a stamp (or other texturizer), the best results usually come from stamps with less dainty details and those with deeply carved designs. Even though smaller lines and dots show up when you use your stamp with ink and paper, they may be lost when you're working with clay.
Use a release agent. This may not always be absolutely necessary, but it's usually a good idea to use a release agent. Everyone has his or her favorite product. Sometimes the brand of clay you use will work better with one than another, so keep trying until you find one that you like. The two most popular release agents are powders (such as baby powder, mica powders, and cornstarch) and plain water.
Use a firm, even pressure. You may need to use a little muscle to make a good, deep impression in the firmer brands of polymer clay. Try not to rock the stamp, as this can cause a double impression. (As for texture sheets, many can be fed through the pasta machine with clay, but you can also use a brayer or acrylic rod to help apply the texture to the clay.)
Clean the stamp immediately after use. As soon as you're done with it, clean your stamp, texture sheet, or other tool to remove any traces of plasticizer the clay may have left behind. Failing to clean stamps can shorten their useful life. You can use products marketed specifically for cleaning stamps, water, or alcohol-free baby wipes. For cleaning found textures, use your common sense (or look on-line for general cleaning information relating to that object). Some things can be safely cleaned with alcohol. Others may need soap and water. Remember that once a tool or surface touches clay, it shouldn't ever go into your mouth or come into contact with food.

Once you've mastered the technique of making nice, clean impressions with stamps, there are a variety of things you can do with stamps and polymer clay. For example, try any of the following ideas:

Antiquing: Apply acrylic paint onto textured and cured clay. After allowing the paint to set, wipe, scrub, or sand away most of it. What remains in the crevices gives the piece an aged appearance. Dark paints (black, burnt umber) and white are common choices for this technique, but other colors can yield interesting results, as well. (To protect the paint, it is advisable-- though not absolutely necessary-- to seal any painted piece. Base your decision on how the piece will be used and how heavily it will be handled.)
Mica Powders: As has been mentioned, one can use mica powders (such as Pearl-Ex) as a release agent to prevent clay from sticking to stamps. Used in this way, mica powders serve a dual purpose. Not only do they act as a release agent, but they also add a decorative element to the clay. Stamps can be lightly dusted with powders and re-applied to raw clay as many times as desired. Most mica powders do need to be sealed, however, if the clay piece is to be handled or worn.
Dry-brushing: Load a paintbrush with the acrylic paint of your choice. Brush off most of the paint onto a paper towel or other scrap. Lightly brush the remaining paint over textured and cured clay, picking up the raised areas of the design and leaving the impressions unpainted. Sealing with a protective finish is recommended. This technique is particularly lovely when done with metallic or pearlescent paints over black clay.
Metallic Waxes: Another way to highlight the raised portions of a design is to lightly rub them with metallic wax. These waxes can also be brushed into the crevices of a pattern, but usually, they are most effective when used to highlight a design. Metallic wax rub-ons give a realistic look of metal, but they must be sealed if they will be handled or worn.
Mica Shift: This technique uses special properties of mica-laden metallic clays to create a ghost image-- that is, an image that looks dimensional but cannot be felt. With this technique, you can create ghost images of your favorite stamp.
Mokume Gane: There are a variety of techniques known as "mokume gane". Some of them involve the use of stamps. Basically, you laminate very thin sheets of a few different colors of clay together. Once they're well adhered, press your stamp into the stack. Carefully slice away the raised pieces of clay to reveal a flat sheet of clay with an interesting pattern of colors.
Backfilling: Stamp and cure a piece of clay. Go back and refill the impressions left by the stamp. Use a contrasting color of clay. To make the backfilling easier, use very soft clay, tinted liquid clay, or clay that has been softened with diluent, translucent liquid clay, or mineral oil. Try to fill the impressions evenly to the level of the pre-cured clay, to mimic the look of an inlay. Re-cure and sand as needed.

Though it is more common to use stamps to texturize raw clay, stamps can also be used to leave an ink or acrylic paint image on cured clay. (For more information on this technique, visit these pages: Glass Attic: Stamping: Ink -- http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/stamping.htm and Glass Attic: Lettering & Inks -- http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/letters_inks.htm .)

Making Your Own Stamp / Texture Sheet

You can make your own stamps and texture sheets in a number of ways. Carved erasers work as stamps, as will other carved or textured surfaces-- including polymer clay! Use the following tips as inspiration for making your own stamps from polymer clay:

Use a stamp (or even a variety of stamps and other texturing tools) to leave impressions in a sheet of raw clay. Cure the clay and use it as a stamp or texture sheet. This is a good way to get the opposite effect from a well-loved stamp. (Instead of pressing the pattern into the clay, your homemade tool will bring out a raised pattern.)
Carve or etch a design into a sheet (or other shape) of cured (or partially-cured) clay. Linoleum cutters make this job easier, but even a craft knife will work. Be sure to carve deeply enough to leave a good impression on raw clay, and if you're working with partially-cured clay, don't forget to pop it back into the oven when you're finished carving.
To make a flexible texture sheet (of the sort that can even be run through the pasta machine to texture raw clay, if it's made thinly enough), try Sculpey Super Flex Bake & Bend clay. This special clay remains more flexible after curing than other polymer clays do. Unfortunately, due to packaging problems, this brand of clay is no longer available in separate 2-oz. blocks. It can, however, be purchased in multi-color sets. It can be used straight from the package or mixed in as much as a 1:1 ratio with Kato Polyclay.