UPDATED (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 13, 2020 9:01 PM)
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Growing in popularity, rubber stamps are useful in making cards and stationery, scrapbooking, and creating custom decorations. They can be applied to a wide variety of surfaces and used in combination with a range of media. When selecting a stamp set that you will want to use over and over again, consider the versatility of the designs and whether the stamps are appropriately sized for your projects. There are thousands of stamp sets to choose from, but our picks below will help you find the best one for your needs.
1. Cavallini Numbers and Symbols Stamps
These typewriter-style number and symbol stamps are must-haves for invitations to your Peaky Blinders-themed party, but you’ll likely find them useful for a multitude of other purposes. Besides the numbers zero through nine and basic symbols like an ampersand, the kit includes an always-handy pointing finger as well as the words “To,” “From,” “For,” and—for some reason— “Rush.” Cavallini is a respected stationery and ephemera brand whose stamps and ink will last and last.
2. Hero Arts Pastel Petals Stamp Set
These unique stamps ink in reverse, leaving the depicted flower un-inked and depositing the color of your choice around the silhouetted bloom. Either leave the image—which looks convincingly like a real pressed flower—blank, or fill it in with ink, pencils, or paint.
3. Sniggle Sloth Chinese Zodiac Ox Stamp
Has there ever been a year that inspired so much yearning for it to be over as 2020? Think hopeful thoughts about 2021, the Chinese Year of the Metal Ox, with this lovely stamp. Sniggle Sloth’s U.S.A.-made stamps are thoughtfully designed every step of the way. The foam between the rubber and wood provides superior spring and a darker, more defined image. The contoured wood is comfortable to hold and easy to grip. The rubber itself is thick and deeply etched. Even the identifying image on the back, so you can easily tell which stamp you’re grabbing, is etched into the wood rather than printed on, so it won’t rub off over time.
4. Beverly Enterprises My Neighbor Totoro Stamps
If you are among the many with Studio Ghibli fever, these stamps will delight. The set features a variety of magical beings from animator Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved film My Neighbor Totoro, including soot sprites, Catbus, and the great Totoro himself. Each tiny stamp is smaller than a sugar cube, making them perfect for annotating notes.
5. Trodat Do-It-Yourself Stamp Kit
Make multiple tags or labels, change your return address, create business cards, date artworks, and send personalized messages with this handy, customizable stamp set. The sturdy, compact kit comes with rubber characters in two sizes, including capital and lower-case letters, symbols, and numbers, and a set of tweezers for setting them. Switching out the characters takes a bit of time, but once in place, your message will print evenly and clearly over many stampings. Great for business owners, this set is also ideal for older children, who will love this set for journal entries and letters.
