Salon Express Snowflakes and Beginner Tips

I got a Salon Express Stamping Kit at Walgreen's a few months ago for $10.  I have tried to get it to work and have failed horribly at getting any of the images to transfer to my nails.  I didn't want to invest any more time and money into stamping if operator error was the problem.  I've been seeing so many beautiful stamped manicures particularly the Bundle Monster 323 Plate with the snowflakes.  Determined to give it another try and get it to work, I did some reading in my polish groups on Facebook and got some tips.

 

I already had on OPI's I Vant to Be A-Lone Star, see the post here, as a base and went to work with China Glaze Frost Bite and Spoiled Correction Tape for the stamps.  I used the SE20 plate that came with the kit.  I tried to use this image back in the summer for fireworks for Fourth of July, but it was a total failure.  Here some of the tips I came up with and that I picked up from the lovely ladies that are better at stamping that I am:

1. Rough up the rubber part of the stamper with a file to pick up the image.  I used my glass file and lightly filed the end of the stamper.  I saw much better results picking up the image after doing this.
2. Use an old credit card or gift card instead of the metal scraper that comes with the kit to scrape away excess polish.  I had an old gift card and it gave me much better control since the card is flexible and pushed the polish into the image grooves better.  You can get a better angle with a plastic card too.  The metal scraper scratches the stamping plates.
3. Wipe everything down with acetone or remover after each stamp.  Use a qtip if needed to get into the lines of intricate images.  I like the pointy ones.  Make sure the plate is dry before applying polish again or the polish will run.
4. Roll the stamper over the image plate to pick up the image and then roll over your nail to transfer the image.  I tried to pick up the image using an up and down motion on the plate and that just doesn't work.

Once the stamps were dry, I added a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust to give it just a hint of sparkle and a coat of Seche Vite to seal everything up.  It gives it the look of snow crystals in the sun.  I'm really proud of this manicure and really excited to share my first stamping success.

What do you think of stamping?  Now that I've go the hang of it I think I want to buy some more plates.