How to Set Up Stamparatus to Stamp Multiple Images

I love this time of the year. It seems my creative spirit gets kicked into overdrive. I tend to make multiple cards of the same design. Today I want to show you how to set up your Stamparatus to stamp multiple images for one card. That way if you want to set your Stamparatus to the side while you take a break, you can pick up where you left off without having to reposition everything.

There are few steps I used to create this card and I'll be going over them here. You can view the entire video below if you would like. I also have the dimensions of this card if you would like to recreate this card for yourself. Fill out the form below and I'll get you access to my resource library where I store all of my tutorials.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! The income I make helps me with the expenses of this blog. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Prepare the stamping surface

Since I am using photopolymer stamps on this card, I need something to add a bit of cushion to my stamping surface. The Stamparatus comes with this thin foam mat that you can place right under your paper.

I like to mark where I will place the different sizes of paper I use on the same project, so I cut a piece of grid paper to fit the Stamparatus. Stampin' Up! sells pre cut sheets to fit the Stamparatus but you can just as easily use any grid paper like this one from Amazon.

1/4″ grid pad 8.5″ x 11.75″ paper

I like the grid that has lines every 1/4″. It makes it easier to line up your paper on the stamping surface. You will want to make sure your paper does not move, so I suggest using 2 mini glue does on opposite sides of the paper to hold it down to the foam pad.

Below is an example of a test run I did without the foam mat. Because of the photopolymer stamp, I could not get a clean stamp without the foam mat.

Mark your alignment corners

So before you can place your stamps on the plates, you must make sure your paper will continue to be placed in the same spot. I do this by marking on the corners of the grid paper the corners. This way when I stamp my next card panel, I will place it in the same space as before.

Tip: How to get your photopolymer stamps to take shape

When you have a specific shape to a photopolymer, it is easy to place it on a stamp block or stamparatus plate and it not cling in its intended shape (ie. circle). If you lay the stamp down and let it settle back into this natural shape and then pick it up with a block or plate, then you will have the perfect shape. This concept is a bit hard to describe in written form, but I go into detail on the video so be sure to watch that part.

Test Run

Do a test run of placements of stamps on a scrap piece of paper. In the image below, I stamped the circle swirl in yellow and then I placed the sentiment inside the circle and did a test run. I was not concerned about how clear the stamped image came out because I was just wanting to check for placement.

I utilized both plates to stamp the images. The Crushed Curry circle was stamped on one side of a plate, and then the Cherry Cobbler sentiment on the opposite side of that same plate. The top part of the sentiment that was stamped in Mossy Meadow was on a separate plate (off screen). Since these images were all different colors, that required me to place them on separate sides of the plates.

Make sure nothing interfering with a clean image

As you can see in the image below, when I first started stamping on actual cardstock, my image was not coming out clean on the upper right hand corner. I determined it was because of the washi tape I had placed on my magnets. I had seen on another demo's video she put washi tape one her magnets to help pull them up, but it did not work for me, so I removed the tape. Just that small amount of added space the washi tape added, prevented the stamp from coming into contact with the cardstock.

To see the rest of this card being completed, check out my next blog post on how I put it all together, including using my blender pen to color in the lights.