The Nail Stamping Thread

[Beadshopgirl]

I thought it would be fun to have a thread dedicated to nail stamping. Are you a veteran stamper, or just wanting to get started? Let's share our love of stamped manicures! Post your stamping plate collections, your stamping successes and failures, and favourite polishes to stamp with. 

[RGbrown]

@Anonymous wow, not at all! Mine is smooth as can be. That definitely needs to be filed/sanded down, but with it being that bad, keeping it perfectly straight on the edge will be difficult. You probably need to find a different scraper 😕

[Anonymous]

@RGbrown

That's what I needed to know! I've never seen one before so I figured this was the way it was supposed to be. Until I looked really closely at the plate after I scraped it, and I saw that the polish was scraped right out of the image. Then I began to wonder. "Smooth as can be" - how long do you think it will take me to file this thing? Maybe I can get my Dremel to work!

(BTW, sent you a PM)

[RGbrown]

A Dremel would absolutely work! Shouldn't take long. Just keep it as straight as possible...I would imagine any waves or dips in the finished edge would mean it's not touching the plate all the way across the design like it needs to.

[Anonymous]

@RGbrown

I did it! I only fixed one side of the scraper. I used the metal grinding tip on the Dremel on it, then the coarse side of an emery, than the fine side. I don't know if these photos will work, they look terrible. Well actually, they probably look the way a first attempt should look but you've set the bar too high for anybody else!

My skin is damaged by acetone, I've got smears of polish here and there, and polish has gone missing in other places. Believe it or not, I started out with a fairly decent manicure! And these images are supposed to be layered, I tried that on one but I think I used the wrong one on top.

[RGbrown]

@Anonymous

Omg yay!!!!!!

They look awesome!! I am so glad you were able to get it going!!! 😍

[Anonymous]

@RGbrown

I can't believe it either! The turning point was when I showed you the edge of my scraper!! Thank you for that!

Now what brand was the plate you used? I really like those patterns you did!

[RGbrown]

@Anonymous

This is the set I bought; I got it at Ulta. It has one plate, a clear stamper, and a scraper. Pretty basic, but it was about all I was willing to spend to figure out if I liked this new hobby or not lol. And luckily it seems like a pretty decent starter set... it seems to work well so far!

[Anonymous]

@RGbrown  that is VERY interesting. The Young Nails line is for professionals only, if you look here:

http://youngnails.com/Shop/CaptionNailPolish/CaptionArtScreens

Your plate is in the Off the Grid kit.

BUT if you go here:

https://www.captionpolish.com/art-screens/

it looks like you can buy whatever you want. The two plates sold at Ulta are both from the Off the Grid kit.

And some of them are on Amazon.

I really love what you did, so I think I'll get one of the Young Nails kits. At least I'll get a stamper, in case I destroy the Jelly! I think you got really lucky!!

[RGbrown]

@Anonymous

Do you only have one nail file? If so, get you a couple extras, stat! 😋 I have a file stashed somewhere roughly every 10 feet in my apartment, and even one out in the basement, plus half a dozen spares in my desk drawer lol. 

Any scrap of sandpaper would would work fine too (the finer the grit, the better). 

No clue what the file size limit is...I usually post pics from my phone and haven't much issue. On the rare occasion that it won't upload, I just crop a bit off and it seems to work fine. 

[Anonymous]

@RGbrown  I've got one file I love. Then I have tons of emory boards, I don't think they'd work on this, it's like plexiglass, almost. I have old nail files but I don't know where. I probably have one in my handbag, that's a thought... I'm going to try an emory board first.

[RGbrown]

Gahhhhh! How exciting! They aren't perfect, but for my first real attempt, I think they came out pretty darn well!

Horrible fluorescent lighting, but I couldn't wait for daylight tomorrow 😍

 @Beadshopgirl

I've decided officially on kisses instead of curses for you 😘

[BrwnSugaG]

what?!? that was quick! i can't believe you caved already lol. awesome job!

[Beadshopgirl]

This is really pretty @RGbrown. I think you've totally got the hang of this!

And I'm glad you've decided not to curse me after all. 🤣

[RGbrown]

Sigh.

I wasn't gonna do it. I wasn't gonna pick up a new hobby. And then I realized the stamping plates (all two of them lol) that Ulta carries come with a clear stamper. 

So I caved.

My set came yesterday. It's about time to redo my nails anyways, so I figured this was my best time to play since I'm about to take it off...no worries about screwing up perfect nails and having to redo it.

These look *awful*, but I figured I'd post my first attempt for posterity. It's hard to tell here, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. 😅

[Anonymous]

@RGbrown

They look fantastic! You're a natural at this!!

Here I am, I've been trying nearly forever and I have a crappy, partial leaf on one nail. I'm going to go have a good cry!

[Beadshopgirl]

@RGbrown This is your very first stamping attempt??? It's awesome!!! The first time I tried stamping, I couldn't even transfer an image from my plate to my stamper. I think you did a fantastic job!

[Beadshopgirl]

Tonight's stampicure:Used Pueen plate 104 and Konad White

[Anonymous]

@Beadshopgirl

They are gorgeous! I want to do that...

And I love the way you copyrighted your photo! Very clever.

[Beadshopgirl]

@Anonymous All-over pattern nails are probably the quickest to stamp, although they require more cleanup from the extra image that gets stamped outside the nail. I use the app PicArt for adding text to photos. 

[Anonymous]

@Beadshopgirl

It's very wise to put your name or logo on your work. People will still steal it but at least some people who see it will realize that it isn't theirs. I am a very strong believer in people getting credit for their work/art/whatever, and if you don't "sign" it somehow, somebody will take it and put their name on it, too!

[RGbrown]

@Beadshopgirl

So lovely!