Stamping Backgrounds with the Tim Holtz Tonic Stamp Platform

I'm so excited to have the opportunity to test drive the new Tonic Stamp Platform by Tim Holtz!  I came across their booth just as Creativation was coming to a close and I was immediately impressed by it's weight and heavy duty nature.  While I love my other stamping tools, I've experienced some form of cracking on all my acrylic lids, however at 5/16" thick this looks like it will stand up to a beating.  ;)

I was brainstorming what type of project I would like to do with it for my post today and I realized the large size makes it ideal for working with so many of my 6x6 background stamps that I've neglected.  I don't know about you, but I have issues with getting good clean impressions with large background stamps, even when using them on their own without a block. I frequently have issues with getting complete coverage or dropping my stamp in the middle of my cardstock accidentally due to their bulky size.  

The other issue with this type of stamp is you generally have one shot to get it right.  Forget trying to stamp it repeatedly in different colors.  

Well, with the new Tonic Stamp Platform, I was able to stamp it repeatedly with a rainbow of colors.  Normally I would have to muddy my ink colors on their stamp pads by blending the inks on the rubber stamp itself, but by using the platform, I was able to ink a portion, stamp it and clean it off before applying my next color.  I love that I was able to repeat these steps as many times as needed until I had the coverage and blending I was after.

When I was done with my stamping, I thought it would be cool to use those same ink colors with my favorite jumbo daubers to sponge on a soft rainbow background over the stamped polka-dots.

I generally have one jumbo dauber dedicated to each color family.  I use my daubers A LOT so they take a ton of abuse from me (as you can see), but I truly love the smooth blended results I get from them.

Another feature I love about the Tonic stamp platform is how easy it is to switch between clear and cling stamps.  As you can see by this picture the lid easily lifts out of it's track and can flipped over.  They've printed on the lid in red in the top left corner to help you know which side to use for which.  ;)   

Here's a full look at my finished card.  I paired my background with some fun new layering stamps I'm sharing over on the Sunny Studio blog today which are available for purchase on Friday morning.  I hope you will stop by to join in the festivities over there.  I'm giving away a new $25 gift card to Sunny Studio store every day this week for a total of five chance to win.  :)

Just to recap here's my favorite features of the new Tonic Stamp Platform:

• Heavy duty design with thick 5/16" acrylic lid
• 1/4" etched grid on lid that won't wear off
• Lid easily flips for use with both clear and red rubber cling stamps
• Large 8.5" x 8.5" Stamp base is fully magnetic
• Comes with full foam anti-slip base and two strong magnets
• The open edge design allows for use on larger projects like stamping on 12x12 scrapbook pages
• A competitive retail price

While I may not pull this out for small jobs like stamping a card sentiment straight (even though it's fully capable of doing the job) this is a welcome addition to my craft tool arsenal.  I'm looking forward to trying it out on my scrapbook pages next!

Look for the stamp platform to hit Scrapbook.com and other stores sometime later this month. ;)

Interested in the products I used to create my projects today?  To make supplies easier for you to find, I have listed them below (affiliate links included). 

The exact Impression Obession polka dot stamp I used seems to be discontinued so I have linked up several others that I think would be really fun with this technique.

Supplies Used (available at Scrapbook.com)

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•