Santa Paws
SKILL LEVEL : Advanced
Holiday magic never ends and its greatest gifts are spending time with family and friends! 2020 has given us the opportunity to spend extra time at home with our families, but more importantly, be home with our pets! Our furry and not-so-furry friends love celebrating the holidays with their humans, so be sure to include them in your holiday festivities and hand stamp a personalized ornament just for them!
Place ornament on stamping block. Take a 1 1/4” circle stamp guide and fold it in half with the non-adhesive side in the inside. Create a symmetrical ‘heart’ guide by cutting half of a heart on the folded side of the guide. Adhere ‘heart guide’ on ornament blank. Create your own guidelines to evenly space out letters and align stamp impressions.
TIP: Use stamp tape to secure the ornament blank to the stamping block so it doesn’t move while stamping.
TIP: Write desired message directly onto the stamp guide and utilize the guideline marks for spacing.
Place stamp on blank, above the corresponding mark on the stamp guide. Lightly drag stamp towards the guide until the stamp catches the edge of the guide. Hold stamp flat and firmly in place by anchoring the side of your hand on workspace. Then strike the stamp once with medium force using Metal Stamping Hammer. Repeat to complete desired word, turning the stamping block while working to ensure that the stamp is facing the correct direction. Remove stamp guide.
TIP: If the stamp has an ImpressArt logo, make sure it is facing you so that the impression is stamped in the correct direction.
TIP: Slightly tilt the stamp away from you while dragging the stamp towards the guide. Make sure you hold the stamp flat and firmly in place before striking the stamp.
Stamp desired message around the outside perimeter of the ornament by placing your stamp on the ornament and lightly drag it towards the outside perimeter, until the outside edge of the stamp is even with the outer edge of the washer. Hold stamp flat and firmly in place. Then strike stamp once with medium force using Metal Stamping Hammer. Repeat to complete desired word. As you work, turn the stamping block. This will ensure that the stamp is facing the correct direction.
Highlight impressions with Stamp Enamel. Wait 3-5 minutes and then dab the excess enamel into the impressions with a paper towel before lightly wiping it away from the surface of the ornament.
Buff stamped blank to a brilliant, high-shine finish using High Polish Finish Blocks. Use fine grit to quickly clean and polish blanks. Hold buffing block in the palm of the hand and move the block in even, back and forth strokes to remove dirt and dried enamel left on the raised surfaces. Use extra fine grit for buffing to a high shine. Hold buffing block in the palm of hand and buff in tiny, back and forth strokes with light pressure to get a mirror-like shine.
Attach a ribbon to the top of the ornament using a Lark’s Head Knot. Fold the length of the ribbon in half at the center. Take the fold and slide it through the hole in the ornament. Take the two ends of the ribbon and pass them through the loop made by the fold of the ribbon. Pull tight to secure the ribbon to the ornament.
