Perfect Reverse Images
(Originally published in 2006.)
I was working on my parent’s anniversary card and I was stamping
the doodles from the Bauernmalerei set when I wished I had the
reverse image of the curling tulips. Complaining at my self for only
releasing this set with them going in one direction I was suddenly
struck by an epiphany!
My sister and I had been talking about transparencies and she told me if you make a mistake with one you
can remove it by using rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. (This is a great tip, as I have thrown out a TON of transparencies that I sure
could have saved!! LOL)
OK, onward…this got me to thinking about how transparencies have a right side and a wrong side. The right
side usually has a texture to it and you can print on them in your printer and they dry very well. BUT if you print on the wrong
(smooth) side they NEVER dry and they smear all over the place…(OK, lesson on transparencies completed-give yourself an
A+ if you are still reading this! LOL)
SOOO, I started wondering…could I stamp my image on the ‘wrong’
side of a transparency and then flip it over onto my stamping
surface and get something? Please remember…this would be a
second generation image, so to keep the darkness the same,
you’d want to stamp off your regular facing image before you put it
on your stamp surface….confused??
Let me break it down into steps, and of course, I have PICTURES
too!
1. Choose your stamp image, ink it with a nice and juicy ink. (I like
Versafine)
2. Stamp the image on a scrap piece of paper one time (called stamping off), then
stamp it on your card, page etc.
3. Now ink up the stamp again, and this time stamp it directly on
your transparency. (the smooth side)
(Here you see my image stamped once on the envelope and again on the transparency. Notice they
are both facing the same direction? That’s because I haven’t flipped it over yet!)
4. Now flip the transparency over, line it up with your already
stamped image (You can line it up EXACTLY where you want it,
because well you know…you can see thru the transparency!!
5. Being very careful not to MOVE it once you lay it down, use a
Popsicle stick and rub all over the image.
6. Lift straight up and you are done!!! It’s like magic!!! a perfectly
stamped reverse image!
This opens up so many possibilities!!! Now go give it a try!! Just use your scrap transparencies and wipe the ink off with a paper towel when you are done!
Take a look at what I did with these stamps!! All of these images below were also done with the Bauernmalerei set. I stamped the images 4 times to get the this kool frame for the second image.
Reader Tips:
1. What an easy way to make your own rub-ons. Just print your words “mirror image” and ta-da! Choose your favorite font!! Thanks for
sharing, Lou
