# My new Etsy Fair Trade Stamps for my soaps & labels



## MySoapyHeart (Feb 3, 2016)

I purchased these stamps from a seller on Etsy, they are fair trade and 100% handmade, from India. Made out of carved wood (handle) and metal stamp, these are really solid and great. The flower one is for lipbalm labels I want to make.

I got them because I have been soaping non stop for almost a  year. So to "celebrate" I really want to do something fun, and why not  start stamping my soaps, and use same stamp to make the labels?
I started to think; what can I get that is a part of my personality and can be related to what I make?

So I bought a fish stamp. Yup. Why?? Am I fishy? Slippery?
No, hope not, just that I like them. And fish -_ like soaps and us humans_, are really cool, come in so many colors, sizes and varieties,   and - AND - they all need water to be able to function...!





The way I have labeled my soaps until now, is to handwrite on square  stickers what ingredients they are made of (the way they go in the pot)  and essential oils/fragrance etc. 
I have spent my time focusing on getting better at soaping and  making good recipes that can be duplicated and produce good soap, rather then wasting time playing with labels etc yet. I felt I wanted  to know what I was doing before focusing on the fancy stuff, like labels  (heh..)

The mistake I made testing this _today_, was that I tested my stamp on a  well cured soap that was sooooo hard! I really had to put a huge effort  into it. I first used plastic / cling film, but the soap was way to  hard (see image of the cling-film) 
So when doing this in the future, I will let them cure for a week or so,  and then stamp them when they are softer, using the cling-film to protect  the stamp (from any potential left over lye so it doesn`t start to rust and make DOS. It has not happened to me yet, let`s keep it that way, shall we...)





In the picture (and something I will do with all my soaps) I used a brush to smear blue mica into the lines so the stamping pops out more clearly, and wipe off the excess with paper. I think the effect was cool.








*Ps.* The soap in the picture is a CP milk & honey soap with real honey and milk, and a fragrance oil with vanilla that I only used in a 4`th of the batter, and the rest of the batter I added the last I had left from a honey fragrance from Coastal Scents. The vanilla has darkened a part of the soap. It is 3 months old.


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## Rowan (Feb 3, 2016)

Gorgeous stamps and so well made! They look so lovely on your soap.


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## cmzaha (Feb 3, 2016)

Those are lovely stamps. Might force me into buying some stamps


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## MySoapyHeart (Feb 4, 2016)

Rowan said:


> Gorgeous stamps and so well made! They look so lovely on your soap.



I agree!  I am sure these will keep for years and years - which makes me really happy! 



cmzaha said:


> Those are lovely stamps. Might force me into buying some stamps



So sorry for enabling you, cmzaha:razz::wink:


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## leilaninoel (Feb 6, 2016)

Oh my, those are indeed lovely! I may have to look into getting some stamps of my own for the fun of it. By any chance do you have a link to the sellers page?


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## MySoapyHeart (Feb 6, 2016)

leilaninoel said:


> Oh my, those are indeed lovely! I may have to look into getting some stamps of my own for the fun of it. By any chance do you have a link to the sellers page?



I love stamps! But this is my first that isn`t made out of rubber - which didn`t work on my soaps (yes, I had to try, lol)
So when I found a metal one I was really happy! Here is the link to the stamp I got. 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/108562...8?ref=shop_home_active_1&ga_search_query=Fish

Ps. I am in no way afiliated to this seller


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## penelopejane (Feb 6, 2016)

I am not sure if your stamps are the same but some people stamp their soaps when they cut them.  Depending on the recipe you might have to leave them 12 hours or so.


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## Soapmaker145 (Feb 6, 2016)

These are lovely stamps.  Thank you for providing the link.  I'll probably end up buying a few.  

As a side note, I'm not sure what metal they are made of.  Some metals like copper may accelerate DOS formation.  It is something to check for.


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## paillo (Feb 6, 2016)

Oh, wonderful! I have a couple prehistoric-looking fish that are similar but finely carved wood instead of metal, and on very short handles. They haven't worked well for me, but gotta try one of these!


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## MySoapyHeart (Feb 6, 2016)

paillo said:


> Oh, wonderful! I have a couple prehistoric-looking  fish that are similar but finely carved wood instead of metal, and on  very short handles. They haven't worked well for me, but gotta try one  of these!



But even if they don`t work on soap I am sure they work great on paper  to make  handmade labels? I`d love to see them if you get a chance to  show them one day:smile: 



Soapmaker145 said:


> These are lovely stamps.  Thank you for providing the link.  I'll probably end up buying a few.
> 
> As a side note, I'm not sure what metal they are made of.  Some metals like copper may accelerate DOS formation.  It is something to check for.



Yes, absolutely! That is why I wrote in my #1 post that I am going to use *clingfilm *when stamping, so that no metal will come in contact with any residual lye. 
But thanks for the reminder, always good to be reminded of things that can prevent dos, I sure do anyway! 

I got no info in my package, or any receipt of any kind either, so can`t give you any more specific info that is stated on the site - which says:

_These metal stamps is made by pressing thin brass metal strips into the  wood to get very fine lines in the print, and then the metal is sanded  smooth. These metal stamps are sturdy, and will last forever.  _

_Watch  this short video on how these stamps are made in India, and how they  use them to wood block print on fabric. It's quite extraordinary. _

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-qLUPW4KfI&feature=youtu.be[/ame]


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## fionasfrightsoap (Feb 10, 2016)

Those are gorgeous! I think I need to learn stamping now! What a great way to make your soap stand out. Thanks for posting the link!


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## Saponista (Feb 11, 2016)

They are lovely! My wooden carved ones gave inconsistent results as the depth of the stamp wasn't even. This would resolve the issue, I wonder if the metal would cause an issue though. I did a cure experiment on a range of different soap bases where I weighed and measured them over the course of a few weeks to see how they shrunk during cure. I used a metal ruler, gently pressed against them to measure. Most of them developed dos. It's not a problem I have ever really experienced since and I wonder if the ruler was the culprit.


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## MySoapyHeart (Feb 11, 2016)

fionasfrightsoap said:


> Those are gorgeous! I think I need to learn stamping now! What a great way to make your soap stand out. Thanks for posting the link!



Find a stamp you like, and get pressin` It is so inexpensive way to make soaps a bit special



Saponista said:


> They are lovely! My wooden carved ones gave inconsistent results as the depth of the stamp wasn't even. This would resolve the issue, I wonder if the metal would cause an issue though. I did a cure experiment on a range of different soap bases where I weighed and measured them over the course of a few weeks to see how they shrunk during cure. I used a metal ruler, gently pressed against them to measure. Most of them developed dos. It's not a problem I have ever really experienced since and I wonder if the ruler was the culprit.



Yes, before I ordered the stamp I did some reading, and found that others too said metal could cause dos. I can`t remember where I read it, (perhaps in the forum??) but your observation seem to confirm what metal can do. 

So I decided to do a test, and stamped three soaps, two without klingfilm (bare metal against soap)  and one _with _film. I placed them dry and in normal stable roomtemperature, and away from my other soaps. I will keep them for at least three months to see if anything happens. All three soaps are from the same batch and are 2 months old. So if any one of them - or all three for that matter - develop dos and the rest of the unstamped soaps does NOT, then I can only assume it _is _the metal stamp that is causing it, klingfilm or not. I have never experienced dos, so it will be an interesting experiment to see if anything happens now.

If this happens I will just use it as a regular stamp and not use on the soaps. Perhaps make labels with the stamp motive or something.


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