Iron Orchid Designs Merry and Bright Stamp

The IOD  Merry & Bright Stamp has one 12 x 12-inch sheet.

If you just LOVE the Crockery Stamp, you won’t want to miss Merry & Bright. Perfect for ornaments, gift tags, card making, and more! This 12″ x 12″ clear stamp set comes in a single sheet and has winged cherubs, deer, typography, and all the flourishes of a Victorian Christmas.

While similar in function to stamps you used as a child - IOD stamps are magical (no kidding!). They have the power to transform a piece of junk found on the side of the road to a show-stopping piece of home decor that you’ll have to convince your husband you didn’t spend your entire monthly budget on. For reals, they are that good.

And DIY home decor is just the tip of the creative iceberg. IOD stamps can be used in food art and DIY lifestyle projects, like taking a boring pair of jeans and stamping a beautiful bohemian design down the pant leg.

PREPARATION IS KEY

• Before removing from the backing, condition your stamps with very fine sandpaper, scuff the surface in two directions. This helps the mediums stay put, and not bead (which some types, like ceramics glazes, tend to do).
• Remove stamps from backing when ready to use. This takes some force, but don’t worry, the stamps are strong.

DIFFERENT MOUNTS FOR DIFFERENT SURFACES.

• Large mounting block. This is recommended for surfaces that are perfectly flat, for example, if you are doing fabric on a perfectly flat work surface. 
• Freestyle stamping. This is what we call it when you use a flexible piece of plastic, such as the clear sheet that came with the stamps, as a mounting device. Simply position the stamp on the sheet and proceed. This is great for irregular surfaces such as walls or furniture (surprisingly, many furniture surfaces that appear flat have dips- this method will conform nicely).
• No mount. This is when you would use the stamp without mounting to anything because you want it to really conform to a curved surface, or even stretch. For example, a stamped front of cowboy boots the stamp was able to be stretched to conform it cleanly to the surface even though the boot is very curved. When using the bare stamp make sure that your fingers don’t stick to it, this could cause the stamp to lift from the surface and create a smudge. Nobody likes an unintentional smudge.
• Whichever mounting method you use, the stamp backs must be perfectly clean, as well as the mount, in order for the stamp to cling firmly to the mount.