I know I’m not alone in wishing that I.O.D. would release another typography transfer similar to their retired Label Ephemera. But so far we are left wanting.
Rather than complain about it though, I’m on a quest to come up with other options and that brings me to the new I.O.D. stamp set called Ephemeral Type.
There is some fantastic typography included with this decor stamp. I’m especially drawn to that Flore Française section at the bottom left.
Unfortunately, my stamping skills are somewhat lacking. But as they say, practice makes perfect. So maybe I just need to get practicing.
I ordered the stamps and then looked around for some guinea pigs.
I painted up these books back in February 2018 …
Good gracious, that was over six years ago. Time flies.
I’d been using them as decor in my own house, and they were ready for a refresh.
I started by painting over them with a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth. Then I pulled out the Ephemeral Type stamps and some Versafine Clair ink. One of my readers recommended this ink to me the last time I tried to work with stamps.
Now, I’ve watched quite a few YouTube videos where creators just pull the stamp off the backing sheet, add ink, and then carefully pop it onto their surface, gently press all over it and voila. The perfect image.
Yeah, it didn’t quite work out that way for me. Here is my first attempt.
It’s a bit of a mess. Luckily, I can just paint back over this book cover and try again.
Maybe with enough practice over time I could get better at that technique. But for now, I think I need to stick with using an acrylic block to apply my stamps.
You can buy these blocks in different sizes at any craft store. The I.O.D. stamps cling to them quite nicely, and then peel right back off when you’re done using it.
Using the block makes it easier to keep the stamp from wiggling around.
Here is my 2nd attempt at stamping on a book cover, this time using the block.
So much better! I just applied a tiny bit too much pressure on the far right.
I went back and tried the larger stamp using the block as well.
So much better.
There is a downside to using a block, you have to be stamping onto a fairly flat surface. It’s a bit tricky to try and maneuver a block around a corner or over a curve.
I was able to make it work on the spines of the books using a smaller stamp.
I carefully rolled the stamp just a bit as I lightly pressed it onto the spine, giving me a pretty good result.
Maybe over time, with a bit more practice, I can get good at stamping without a block. Or, maybe I’ll just stick with using one because the results are a little more predictable.
Either way, I’m hoping to get some good use out of this stamp set.
As for the books, I finished them off with some of the Rose Botanical transfers from I.O.D.
I’m definitely going to need to order some more of them, I absolutely love them.
The wording on the spines of the books is also from the Rose Botanical transfer set.
Oh, one last thing. About that Versafine Clair ink. I did have some issues with it smearing. You can see that on the left side of the round medallion stamp at the bottom of the book with the pink roses. I found that I had to let the ink dry for several hours before applying the transfers over it. I do have some of the I.O.D. ink around here somewhere (I think). I’m going to have to dig that out and see if it works better.
In the meantime, I’ll touch up that little smear with some paint. Just to be on the safe side, I’m also planning to seal these with the RustOleum matte spray sealer to avoid any further smearing.
All in all, I’m fairly happy with how the books turned out. I do need to get in some more practice with stamps though, so stay tuned to see what else I can come up with.
In the meantime, are any of you expert stampers? Feel free to give me some tips in the comments!
q is for quandie 
Hey Quandie,
I know it’s not a transfer, but the ephemera stamp might win you over because it is reusable! Practice using a large piece of paper (bag or packing paper) and just keeping stamping. Your images WILL get better! With both the IOD ink and Versa, I would allow them to dry for 24 hours before adding anything over the top. Another little trick I learned for curved surfaces is to stamp on very thin tissue paper (or a single ply napkin), gently tear out the image and then decoupage that onto your surface. Take care and keep creating!
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I do like that it’s reusable! Thanks for all of the tips Jody. I will have to get practicing!
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I think they’re just beautiful Linda. When I use stamps, I try to hold with one hand to stabilize, and then rub my hand over the entire surface to try To make contact with the entire piece. It does take some practice, but I think your first attempts are lovely.
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LOL, yeah, that’s what I tried. I’ve seen you do it that way on YouTube! It’s definitely going to take a bit more practice before I get results that I like with that method 😉
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I worked in a paper store for years. Versa Claire is my favorite ink for stamping fine stamps on paper. It’s my go to ink for lettering. For stamping on anything besides paper Stazon may be a better choice. It’s designed for other media. It also dries in 5 minutes. The drawback is that it’s an alcohol based ink. You would need to clean it off your stamps with rubbing alcohol not water. Even then it may stain your stamps. I’m also not sure what material IOS stamps are made of and if cleaning them with rubbing alcohol would damage them.
My suggestion would be to call IOS customer service to find out if their stamps are compatible with alcohol ink and if they can be cleaned with rubbing alcohol. If they are it might be worth giving Stazon a try.
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Thanks for the tips! I will have to give the Stazon a try.
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looks beautiful!
I don’t think you’ll be able to do the stamp/ink on your metal toolboxes because of the smearing (especially if you want to wax over top). (Unless you use paint instead of ink, but that causes other problems!).
Always LOVE your creations & posts.
Kerry
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Yep, I’ve never gotten good results using a stamp with paint unless it’s over fabric. But I might be able to strategically use the stamps on a toolbox. I’d have to let it dry thoroughly, then possibly add a spray topcoat before adding transfers over it. I’ll experiment with it down the road, who knows, I maybe be able to make it work.
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Great tips! I love the way that they turned out. They are beautiful and would look lovely on my book shelf ❤️
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Thanks Monica!
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I like hearing about the trails and errors from someone as skilled and talented as you. Watching videos can be so deceiving. They do always the errors or how many times that had to get it perfect. Also, you get deceived as to the drying times it takes in order to complete a project. I really appreciate you sharing with us. Also, I agree with you that IOD should unretire a lot of there more popular stamps and transfers. The Rose Botanical is my favorite so far from the new release.
PS, I can’t believe you have been at this for over 6 years.
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LOL, well, actually this year will be my 11th anniversary of starting the blog! Nobody would have guessed I’d stick with it this long, especially me!
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Wow you have been inspiring for 11 years….. th
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Beautiful as always! I too am hoping that the Label Ephemera would make a comeback…I love love love typography and its not always easy to come by. On a side note, I don’t understand why transfers retire in the first place! It’s definitely not cost-effective to have to buy a transfer in bulk knowing that one day it will retire. Ugh! Anyway, love to see your creations You inspire me to try new things!🙂
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There must be some sort of marketing strategy behind the retirement thing. Or perhaps it’s not cost effective to continue to produce them … maybe it’s cheapest to have one big run and call it good. Who knows!
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I like the variation you can do with some text over the art, and some under it. You handle it very creatively.
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Thanks hon!
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How lovely! The combination of text and floral is inspired! Thank you for sharing!
I like how the text stamps can be used over and over; that would definitely be the more economical choice for me.
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Yes, that is one of the definite pros to using stamps for sure!
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They look pretty good to me!
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Thanks Valerie!
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I get great results stamping with all the IOD inks or Stayson permanent ink. But yes, it does take practice.
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I’ll keep practicing!
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Beautiful Update!
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Thanks Melissa!
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Hi Linda, I ordered the same stamp but haven’t used it yet. I have been watching videos and practicing with the IOD French label stamps and it seems like the IOD ink works the best. I also have been watching other content creators used those new gold foil transfers and though I don’t like the fact that they are so shiny I have come to realize that the trick to making them transfer without pulling up the base paint is to make sure the paint is really dry and sealed. If you still have them and want to see a good video for technique take a look at Julies Design and Sign on YouTube.
I love the way your books came out and you are very creative to think of using the stamp as a substitute for label ephemera.
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