Stampin Up Simply Shammy For Cleaning Stamps

Hi stampers! I know as crafters, cleaning is one of the last things we like to think about, right?! Today I want to talk about cleaning, but no worries…I’m talking about cleaning stamps! That’s much more fun than cleaning house! Do you love the way you clean your stamps? Today I’m sharing the way I clean my stamps and I actually do love it. The Stampin Up Simply Shammy for cleaning stamps makes it so quick and easy to clean them off and put them away. Let’s talk about it more below.

Do you love the way you clean your stamps? If not, take a look. This shammy for cleaning stamps is the absolute best!

How Do You Clean Your Stamps?

How do you clean your stamps? Do you use baby wipes? A cloth? Run them under the sink? Use a scrubby tool? I’ve cleaned stamps a lot of different ways over the years, and I know without a doubt, I DON’T like cleaning my stamps with baby wipes. I’ve watch stampers at my classes end up with ink everywhere, because the ink from the baby wipes ends up on their hands. Then the little fibers from the wipes stay on the stamps and end up on ink pads the next time they’re used. There is a much better option…the shammy!! Let me share it with you.

Stampin Up Simply Shammy

Here’s the shammy I love so much. It’s an absorbent piece of foamy cloth. Foamy cloth – I just made that up because I don’t know what to call the material, but what I know is it does an awesome job of cleaning my stamps. My favorite thing about the shammy is that I leave it laying inside of a spare stamp case (these are available for purchase if you need one) and I don’t have to touch anything to clean my stamps! I just press the stamp onto the shammy a couple of times and it takes the ink right off!

My Favorite Ways To Use The Shammy

My favorite ways to use it are…

-To clean my stamps without having to touch anything!

-To clean the stamps on my Stamparatus

-Lay it in the base of my Stamparatus and rotate the plate to clean my stamp that way

-Wipe down my craft table when it gets dirty or dusty

Next I’ll share a handy tip for using the shammy.

Tip For The Shammy

Here’s a fun tip. Order an extra shammy so that you have one to cut into pieces. I took one and cut it in half, then cut one of those halves in half again. Now I have a half size shammy and two quarter size shammies to use to clean stamps on my Stamparatus. The smaller size is less to flop around in my hand…just easier to manage!

Way Too Much Ink On Your Stamp?

There are a few times when the shammy doesn’t get into the cracks and crevices of the stamp to get it fully clean. If you over-ink your stamp, you might need to do some heavy pressing onto the shammy to get it to absorb all the ink from the stamp. In this case, I occasionally get out my Stampin Scrub which is another very helpful stamp cleaning tool. It’s perfect for getting the really dirty stamps clean.

In general I prefer my shammy over the Stampin Scrub because it takes up less space, and once I wet it for the day, I don’t have to re-wet it. With the Stampin Scrub, I usually have to spray it with Stampin Mist every few times I clean a stamp because it dries out. Both are helpful tools and are good for their own reasons!

Care Of The Shammy

When the shammy is new, it comes in a plastic package and it will be damp. You’ll want to run it under the sink and squeeze out the excess water before using it the first time. From then on, I recommend keeping it with a stamp case to protect your work surface from the moisture. I don’t recommend closing the stamp case, even when you’re done for the day. Leave the case open to allow the shammy to dry. If you close it with moisture still in the shammy, it will get a little funky if you know what I’m sayin’…

Cleaning The Shammy

To clean the shammy, simply run it under water and squeeze it out. When it gets really dirty, you may want to soak it in some hot water for several minutes, then rinse and wring it out several times. If it really needs a cleaning, you can throw it in your washing machine with jeans or dark clothes. I know several people who do this and so far we haven’t had any clothes get stained from ink! I would not put it in the dryer, just get it out and let it air dry.