When I first ventured into the crafting world over a decade ago, I began with scrapbooking.  Just a couple years later, I was invited to a home stamping party, and I had no interest in going – I thought, “What could stamping possibly have to do with scrapbooking?”  And even more, I had seen the stamping others had done – you know, the detailed country-looking images, colored in with colored pencils, and I just had no interest in that whatsoever.  But it was my friend who was having the party, and so I went, to appease her…and to my complete surprise, I was hooked!  This was definitely NOT what I had expected – the stamps were cool, the techniques were unique and fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with the stamps!  Less than a year later, I found myself signing up to be a home demonstrator and seller of those same stamps…and did so for many years!

Alas, after several years, I found interest in other crafts, and for a time, I let my stamps sit, untouched, on my shelves…until last year, when I again found the stamping love with artists like Tim Holtz, Donna Downey, and Wendy Vecchi.  So when I was at CHA and discovered these brand new (to the U.S.) stamps – LaBlanche – I was super excited to give them a try!  I was even more excited when I started reading about their uniqueness!!

This is what the package states about these unique stamps:

• Easy stamping with minimal pressure
• Ensures amazingly exact results
• Allows for fantastically detailed designs
• Extremely heat resistant

The unique design of these stamps is this: the top of the stamp, the part you hold, is extremely lightweight foam.  But the stamp itself is heat-resistant silicone!!  You can take a look at the website and see for yourself that the vast majority of the stamp images are, indeed, very detailed.  The one caveat I noted on the packaging is this: “Best results guaranteed by using the LaBlanche Specialty Stamping Paper.”

The stamp I received to experiment with is the flourish shown above.

First, I tried stamping with it on a piece of the LaBlanche Specialty Stamping Paper that was included with the stamp I received.  The paper is very smooth and slick.  I stamped on one side using Staz-on black ink, and this was my result.

Staz-On Black on Specialty Stamping Paper

You can see that the image is very crisp and clear.  The ink dried very quickly on the paper, as well.

Next, I stamped on the other side of the specialty paper using Black Soot Distress Ink.

Black Soot Distress Ink on Specialty Stamping Paper

Once again, the image was crisp and clear, though it took a significantly longer time to dry.  In fact, after 5 minutes, the ink was still not dry, and I had to use a heat gun to complete the drying of the ink.  So while they may say you get the best image on the special paper, I’m not sure I’d go for the special paper if I were using distress inks all the time!

Next, I used a piece of smooth vanilla-colored cardstock and stamped using chalk ink.

Chalk Ink on Smooth Vanilla Cardstock

This time, the image wasn’t quite as bold as with the other inks, and there were a couple places where the ink did not transfer well; however, overall, the image was still very nice.

Finally, I wanted to try using the stamp with UTEE (ultra-thick embossing enamel), since that is one of it’s unique features – the silicone stamp part is very heat resistant.  You CAN actually pour melted UTEE right onto the stamp, according to the owner I spoke to at CHA, but without a melting pot, I wasn’t able to try that.  However, I did melt multiple layers of UTEE onto a tag, and then stamped into it, and this was my result.

Tag created by stamping into melted UTEE

Check out the texture you can create using this technique:

Stamping into UTEE

Stamping into UTEE

So what’s my final word on these very different stamps?  Well, I definitely love their detailed images, and I love the way they play with heat.  And you know what else I love?  Their PRICE!  How much would you normally pay for a wooden collage stamp that’s say, 4.5″x3.5″ like this one?  At least $12, right?  Probably a lot more, closer to $15, right?  But LaBlanche?  The MSRP on that particular one is $7.99, but at Scrapbooking Warehouse, you can get it for just $5.88!!  What a steal!

I give these stamps two thumbs up, and I’ll definitely be adding more to my collection of stamps!

If you’d like to find out more details about my tag and how I created it, check out my post on my own blog at My Craft Friend Jen!

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