We have been asked by some of our readers who are beginners to explain some of the techniques and materials commonly referred to in our articles. In the Glossary you will find brief definitions of some of the more widely used stamping terms.

Acrylic Block
A transparent piece of plastic to which cling-mounted rubber stamps or clear stamps will temporarily stick. The block provides a stable surface to which pressure can be applied in order to transfer the stamped image cleanly. Most blocks are flat and transparent, some have grooves in the side for easy handling, and they are available in many sizes. Using a block which is of an appropriate size for your stamp is advised for easier handling and better results. Also available are Rock-a-Blocks, which do the same job but are rolled instead of stamped flat.
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ATC
Small examples of art which are exchanged between enthusiasts. ATCs are always 3 ½ by 2 ½ inches in size.
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Big and Juicy Inkpads
A range of dye-based rainbow inkpads. These large-size pads have multiple colours in a single pad and are ideal for use with roller stamps or with a brayer.
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Blending
The process of applying inks to paper or card and blending them into the surface. Best achieved with a dense sponge called Cut n’ Dry foam. Place your paper or card onto a heat resistant craft mat. Dab the Cut n’ Dry foam onto your inkpad. Start on your craft mat moving the foam in a circular motion, not pressing too hard. Move the foam onto the edge of the paper or card and continue to use the circular motion to blend the ink into the card. Continue building up layers until you are satisfied with the effect. You can purchase a Ranger Ink Blending Tool to which foam can be directly applied to make this process easier and less messy.
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Bone Folder
A flat plastic tool, used for scoring paper or card and creating neat, crisp folds.
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Brayering
Applying ink with a tool called a brayer. A brayer is a cylinder of rubber attached to a handle (which looks a little bit like a paint roller). Using a brayer, ink can be rolled onto a surface such as card allowing an even application.
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Clear Stamps
Stamps which are transparent and used with an acrylic block. Clear stamps are made of acrylic or polymer. One advantage of clear stamps is that it is possible to position them very accurately due to their transparency.
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Copic Markers
Artist-standard alcohol-based marker pens. The pens are blendable and go onto card smoothly without leaving lines like ordinary felt tip pens. Pro-Markers are a similar product.
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Core’Dinations
Card which has a different colour at its core. The surface can be sanded away to reveal the co-ordinating colour underneath, creating a two-tone or distressed effect.
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Crop-A-Dile
A hole punch and eyelet setting tool manufactured by We R Memory Keepers. This tool will punch holes through thick material such as leather and chipboard which many conventional hole punches cannot handle.
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Cut n’ Dry Foam
A dense foam product manufactured by Ranger, designed specifically for blending and applying inks. The product has two sides – the white is for applying ink and the grey side can be heated and pressed into objects to create home-made stamps. The white side can also be used to make a temporary inkpad from bottled ink such as re-inkers.
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Cuttlebug Embossing
Dry embossing using plastic folders which have designs cut into them. The folders are passed through a Cuttlebug (or other die cutting machine) with a piece of card or paper inside. A raised impression is left on the card. This technique is particularly good with Core’Dinations cardstock as the raised areas can be sanded to reveal the core colour.
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Dabber
Good quality acrylic paint manufactured by Ranger, which is supplied with a sponge applicator in the lid for ease of use. Metallic colours also available.
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Decoupage
In stamping, the process of stamping multiple images and then cutting them out and layering them with 3D foam or silicone glue for a three dimensional effect.
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Diamond Glaze
A transparent glaze which can also be used as a strong liquid adhesive. Glossy Accents is a similar product.
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Direct to Paper
Applying an inkpad directly to the surface of paper or card, and using a wiping or dabbing motion to apply the ink straight from the pad.
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Distress Ink
A popular range of inkpads manufactured by Ranger. Distress Inks are colour stable, dye-based inks in vintage tones. They are suitable for a wide range of techniques and also for watercolouring.
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Distressing
A general term for giving an aged look to card or other materials. Commonly to ‘distress’ might mean to crumple, tear, sand or ink an item. It may also refer to the process of roughing up edges with a distressing tool or sandpaper.
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Dry Embossing
Creating a raised design on card by pressing a shape into it. This can be done with Cuttlebug embossing folders or using a light box, brass template and stylus tool. The card is placed onto the light box, followed by the brass stencil. Pressure is applied with the stylus tool inside the recesses in the stencil to create a raised (embossed) pattern.
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Embossing Powder
A powder which can be applied to stamped images and heated with a heat gun to create a raised effect in a process known as heat embossing.
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EZ Mount
A foam product which is applied to unmounted rubber stamps in order to make them self-cling to an acrylic block for easy stamping. The foam is sticky on one side, which is applied to the stamp. The other side feels slightly tacky and that side sticks onto the acrylic block. Kling-On and U-Mount are similar products.
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Gel Medium
An artist’s medium developed as an extender for acrylic paint, but in stamping used as a strong glue for collage work and as a sealant for paper. It can also be used for image transfer techniques. Appears milky but will dry to a translucent finish. Available in matte or gloss.
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Gesso
A fast drying artist’s medium used to prepare a surface such as canvas. Useful for preparing surfaces such as chipboard or wood to take ink or paint. Can also be used as a resist.
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 Glimmer Mist
A brand of spray ink which contains mica powder, making it shimmer when dry. Many colours are available. Ideal for spraying through stencils or around masks, for creating inked backgrounds or simply adding a touch of shimmer.  Cosmic Shimmer Mist and Crafty Notions Colour Sprays are similar products. 
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 Glossy Accents
A transparent glaze which can also be used as a strong liquid adhesive. Diamond Glaze is a similar product.
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Grungeboard / Grungepaper
A soft, pliable but very strong crafting material. Grungeboard is thick like chipboard but very bendy; Grungepaper has similar properties but is thinner. This material is flexible and will wrap around objects. It is also possible to make it quite wet with inks or paints without peeling or damage occurring. It is possible to shape Grungeboard/paper which has been dampened by heating it with a heat gun. Grungepaper can be die cut and punched into shapes because it is thinner.
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Heat Embossing
The process of creating a raised stamped image by the application of powder and heat. An image is stamped with an ink suitable for embossing such as Versamark, Perfect Medium or pigment ink and then sprinkled with embossing powder. Heat is applied to the powder using a heat gun until it melts, leaving a raised shiny embossed image.
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Heat Tool
A tool created for crafters which is used to apply heat to embossing powder. Also used to dry inks or paints, and to heat set inks (which means to make an ink permanent by applying heat to it).
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Heat Resistant Craft Mat
A mat, usually brown in colour, which is impregnated with glass to make it heat resistant. Ideal for protecting your work surface when heat embossing or using ultra thick enamel. Also useful for blending inks or creating inked effects.
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Huffing
Breathing onto an inked stamp to refresh the ink with your breath. Imagine the way in which you breathe on eyeglasses to clean them and breathe on your stamp in the same way. Huffing is most often associated with using multiple colours on a stamp (e.g. applying brush markers) as it takes longer to ink the image and therefore refreshing of the ink may be required.
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Kaleidacolor Inkpad
A range of dye-based rainbow inkpads. Each pad has five coloured mini inkpads which can be used together or separately. Good for use with roller stamps or with a brayer.
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Kling-On
See EZ-Mount.
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Krylon
A high quality metal leafing pen, available in various metallic colours and permanent on many types of surfaces.
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Matting
Layering up a stamped image onto larger pieces (mats) of card in order to give depth and provide a frame for the image.
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Masking
This process allows you to create a layered stamped scene, where images appear to be behind one another. Stamp an image onto card and then stamp the same image onto Post-it-Notes. Cut out the image(s) on the Post-it-Notes and place over the first stamped image to mask it. A background can then be stamped over your main image, but the ink will be transferred to the mask rather than over the image. When the mask is removed, the background will appear to be behind the main stamped image. Instead of using Post-It-Notes, a masking tape can be purchased specifically for this purpose (note: this is not the same as DIY masking tape).
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Melt Pot
A device used to melt Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE), beeswax and other media. The pan in the device enables the UTEE or wax to be poured out (for example into a mould) or for a pool of liquid to be formed into which items can be dipped.
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Mixed Media
The use of several different media in combination (for example paints, rubber stamps, metal, fabric etc) to create a piece of art.
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Paper Piecing
The process of cutting out shaped paper pieces and layering them to create a picture.
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Prismacolor Pencils
A brand of colouring pencils which can be blended together using Sansodor and a paper stump. Derwent Coloursoft pencils behave in a similar fashion and are more easily available in the UK.
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Pro Markers
See Copic Markers.
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Re-inker
Liquid ink sold in a bottle, for the purpose of re-inking inkpads which have dried out. Can also be used mixed with water (especially Distress Ink re-inkers) to create spray inks.
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Repeat Stamping
Stamping the same motif repeatedly, for example when creating a background.
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Resist Techniques
Various techniques where one medium is used to resist another which is applied over the top. For example embossing powder, wax or Versamark ink can be applied to card and will resist the application of ink over the top. The medium used to create the resist will remain its original colour (by resisting the ink) and therefore stand out from the surrounding inked area.
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Reverse Stamping
The process of reversing a stamped image. Stamp an image on a sheet of plain rubber or onto a shadow stamp. Then stamp from the shadow stamp onto card; the image will be reversed. Note: The reversed impression will generally be lighter and less well defined than the original stamped image. The same effect can be achieved using a brayer and rolling the brayer over the inked stamp, and then onto card to transfer the reverse image.
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Second Impression
Stamping an inked up stamp onto scrap paper first, and then using the remaining ink to create a second impression onto your work without re-applying ink. This can create a slightly distressed look or paler inked impression.
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Shrink Plastic
Plastic sheet which can be stamped onto, which shrinks to a much smaller size when heated with a heat gun. Shrink plastic is often used to create embellishments and sometimes jewellery pieces.
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StazOn
A solvent-based ink which is permanent on glass, acetate and other non-porous surfaces. Also suitable for fabric stamping.
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Stickles
A range of glitter glues with a fine nozzle for precision application, manufactured by Ranger. Distress Stickles are also available, which have the appearance of mica rather than glitter and give a more subtle antiqued look.
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Stippling
Applying ink or paint in a tapping motion with a flat topped brush. Creates a speckled effect.
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Triple Embossing
Applying three layers of ultra thick embossing powder to create a tile effect (see also ultra thick embossing enamel).
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Ultra Thick Embossing Powder or UTEE
Similar to embossing powder but with larger crystals. Ultra thick embossing powders can be applied in layers, usually three (referred to as triple embossing) to create a tile like effect on embellishments such as chipboard pieces. The enamel can also be poured into moulds (see also Melt Pot).
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U-Mount
See EZ-Mount.
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Unmounted Stamp
A stamp made of rubber which is not supplied to the buyer mounted onto a surface such as a wood block.
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Versamark
A brand of clear inkpad used for watermark techniques and heat embossing. See watermark ink.
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Waterbrush
A paintbrush with a water reservoir in the handle. The water flows out slowly and dampens the brush as you paint.
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Watermark Ink
A clear ink which creates a watermark-like effect on cardstock – i.e. the watermark stamped image appears just slightly darker than the card onto which it has been stamped. Versamark ink is a commonly used example.
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Wood-Mounted Stamp
A rubber stamp which is attached to a block of wood with a cushion between the rubber and wood.
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