Stamping With Acrylic Stamps AND Paint!

Above is a sample of a two page spread in an 8x8 album I am making for my 21 yr old nephew. I am still waiting on delivery of photos from his mother, and hope I will be given time to finish this project before Christmas eve.


If you have never stamped with acrylic paints I would like to encourage you to try it. Almost everyone has acrylic paints in their stash, and it can open up a whole new color pallette for your stamping projects. I prefer high viscosity artists paints for stamping, such as Liquitex or Grumbacher. However, you can purchase a stamping medium (DecoArt is one brand, shown) that can be added to acrylic paint and thicken it for the process. For typical craft paints such as American, Apple Barrel and FolkArt, you will will want to mix 50% paint with 50% stamping medium.


For a thicker paint, such as Memory Makers, less medium is required. Experiment until you achieve the desired stamped image. Stamping medium will not alter the color of your paint, so be certain to have the base color you desire pre-mixed before adding the stamping medium.



I utilze a paintbrush to mix the medium with the acrylic paint. However, I switch to a foam brush applicator when applying the paint to the acrylic stamp. The foam brush is lightly dabbed onto the lid containing my paint mixture, and applied to the stamp with a light, stippling type, stroke.

Below are examples showing stamped differences with variables indicated. I hope this will help you in trying this technique.










The best tips I can offer you are:
1. Use a thick paint or add stamping medium to it.
2. Apply paint lightly with a foam brush.
3. Stamp onto scrap paper first to double check your end result before applying to your project. If too much paint, apply less, and vice versa.
4. Stamp on a hard surface for the sharpest image result.


Utilizing several foam brushes it is relatively simple to stamp multi-colored images in one step. Gotta love that! Clean up with soap and water is easy, and a toothbrush will help remove paint from crevices. If you have stamped with acrylic paint and have tips to share, I would love to hear them. Or if you have never done this before and attempt the technique, please let me know of your results. As always, happy creating!