Memento, Inkadinkado, Stazon, CTMH.... Stamp Pads Review & Organization

Hello All, 

If spring is for cleaning, can fall be for organizing? I think so!

Fall is a great time to tackle those few organizing jobs you've been putting off. 

I started with my ink stack and my glitter drawer. Yikes. Both were scary scary places for me to venture! 

I also figured while I was organizing, and using all my pads at one time, I would do a brief review of the ink pads in my stash. 

First here was my organizing end result...

I thought it was time I went through my ink pads and throw out the dry ones, re-ink the ones that needed it, and create a resource for a quick view of what I have already. Isn't it the crafters curse that we stash a whole bunch of stuff we don't use cause we don't know we have it??!!!

This year, I really have been trying to use what I have ... so I needed to make this chart~!

Quick Ink Review... 

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 Inkadinkado Chalk Stacks.

I have two of these stacks I bought at Joann's with a coupon. I really liked my cats eyes by Color Box but they are pretty hard to find around here, considering the closest scrapbook store is 30 min away. So, I have been trying other 'chalk' mini ink pads from the local craft stores hoping to find something I like just as much. 

Pros: 

The color is really light but solid. It's hard to find lighter colors that also come 

out as solid looking as deep tones. 

The pads are mini squares that come off each other with ease. And are easy to handle to ink edges. 

They also are really full of ink. So, I don't worry about one all of sudden after 10 uses having 

no ink. I hate that. 

Cons: 

The color is really sheer. I would load up my stamp, look at the stamp, curse because I didn't see the ink, load up the stamp with more ink... get the same result... finally stamp it only to realize I had too much ink on it. So, for those of you who like to see the ink on your stamp before you press it down, these aren't for you. It took a little getting used to for me... but I do like the resulting look. 

The labels are hard to read under each pad. I know it sounds silly but when I went to organize it I could barely read the names of the colors. Uggg. 

Overall: 

I like the pads and if they had more color choices I liked I would consider buying more. I like them as much as my Cats-Eyes.... I think... (Old habits and product loyalty dies hard :) 

Martha Stewart Halloween Stack

Please ignore the punch, I couldn't find a photo of just the ink pad stack.  :) 

I really like most products Martha. I think most of what I have bought has been high quality and is made by fellow crafters who understand how to make the tools we all love with a few changes to make them better. This pad stack is no exception. 

Pros:

Ink comes out really nice, almost exactly like cats-eyes. The pad itself is more sponge-y. 

Easier to edge paper with out the ridged lines. Gives a nice 'glow' look. 

Ink pads are full of ink. I also liked the color combo they choose. I would use this pad for so much more than

just halloween. And I got it on a good clearance halloween sale. So, I think it was like $3.50. 

Names come on a separate sticker sheet so you can decide where to put it. 

Cons:

Uggg. Don't take it apart... it's impossible to get them all back together stacked with the right name on the 

right ink. Somehow I always end up spending 5 minutes solving the ink pad puzzle. Granted, this is probably more telling of my intelligence than the quality of the product... but, it's still frustrating. 

Overall: Really like it. I would replace all my cats eyes with them... but, the cost is a lot ($10) and they don't have many color options. So, I'll just keep buying the holiday stacks on clearance. :) 

Memento Dew Drops and Full Pad (Black) 

I only have one Memento full pad, black. The rest are dew drops. I apply the ink to the stamp rather than the stamp to the ink. So, I buy dew drops to have more color choices at a cheaper price. :) I suggest you try it out :) 

These are dye based ink and I don't use them for inking edges... I use them like a regular stamp pad. 

They are hard pads with really solid inky colors. They come out with a more 'wet' look and tend to stay that way. 

Pros: 

They are my go to Copic marker stamp pad. I can just stamp and go. No heat setting required. (Disclaimer: heat setting is needed when the stamp is really block-y... meaning heavy areas of the stamp are solid. But, odds are if your using copics, your stamp is mostly lines and no heat set is needed) 

They tend to give a crisp look and my black stamp pad (full pad) I have used A LOT has yet to need a refill. They really are inked up!

Cons:

They stain, everything. They really are the inkers ink. So, be careful. (this is a 'pro' too, because we want ink that works on all surfaces... but it's still messy, beware!)

The wet look on more solid stamps isn't my personal favorite look. I would probably use another pad for an all over solid look on a block-y stamp. 

Overall: Love them. Continue to buy them to this day. Mainstay in my craft room, esp. the black. Try out the black and one color before you jump in the deep end. See if you like it! 

Close to My Heart 

Yep, I tried CTMH a few years ago, turns out I like to craft and teach more than I like to feel like a car salesman guilting my friends and family into trying my hobby. :) I don't have many friends who craft... actually, I just have one. I like to craft durning the day and I'm not much of a 'cropper' or a class taker... so I don't know many people who craft like me. So CTMH was hard for me but, I got some good products out of the deal :) 

The stamp pads are white and the top is the pad which rotates on the bottom so the pad sits on top of the whole case. Confused? Me too! 

Pros: 

It is the closest pad to Memento on the market. I think it's cheaper than memento too! But I don't really remember. Like $6.50? 

It has solid color and it's full of ink. 

Cons:

The whole top as pad so the pad sits on the top... whew, it's so difficult. It's a great idea, but in actuality... I always get ink on my hands and it's a mess. Forget letting a less experienced person borrowing it... they'll be inked up for weeks. 

It's a little to ink-y ... it's one of the only inks that showed through the bottom of the sheet. 

Overall: Yeah, I'll use them... don't know if I'll buy them ever again. Hmmm, yeah probably not. But, for all you CTMH lovers out there I will do another review on clear stamps and you'll be pleased to know CTMH makes it straight to the top. 

Distress Inks

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks

Overall: Really Ink-y... Too ink-y. Best if used with another sponge or dauber to distress. 

Antiquites By Ranger

Overall: Really like the color, super light. Find myself using it a lot. It actually sits on my desk. It's just a nice light highlight color with a sponge-y pad. 

Memories Dye Ink: 

I use it as a distress-er b/c I have it in 'Sand' and I like it. You could compare it to Memento. 

Hard pad and fairly ink-y. I like it. Not enough to replace my Memento. But, I like it. 

Van Dyke Ranger Tins

Overall: My favorite distress-er EVER! The pads are just dry enough that you can use the pad directly on your surface without worrying about lines. I have two of the brown, one I keep really inked up and one I keep more dry. I just can't say enough about these little beauties! I don't even know if you can still by them, story of my life :) 

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Stazon Solvent Pads

Stazon, lives up to it's name. It's claim to fame is being able to stick onto virtually anything. 

And, it does. 

Pros: 

Can be inked onto glass, plastic, wood... etc. and it stays. So, it's great for the altered artist who is working with mediums other than paper. 

It also works nicely with Copics, but not as nice as Memento. 

Cons: 

Messy. Period. Get it on your hands, make sure to have the Stazon remover... cause no other remover will do the job. 

Hard hard pad. Probably the hardest I have. Sometimes I like a little give so I can feel like the stamp got inked up :) 

It used to be my go to stamp pad. Then Memento took over my ink love and I never much looked back. But, Stazon does get some love when I do altered art. I still would buy pads and re-fill the ones I already have. 

Brilliance 

Pros: 

Really soft ink-y pad. You can see the ink on your stamp the minute you put the stamp on the pad. 

It's soft pad is good for edging too. 

I also like the metallic colors. They seem to be more sheer with a hint of shimmer rather than solid. I have the gold and I really like it. It goes with lots of stuff.

Cons: 

A little goes a long long way. It's  so ink-y that if your heavy handed with your stamps you will have a halo around your stamped image. It's not the 'beginners' stamp pad. 

You have to heat set it to use it for anything beyond stamping, like coloring or layering. 

Overall: 

I like the pads for very specific uses. I think they are expensive to just buy. I like Memento better. 

Versa Magic 

I think that Versa Magic and Brilliance are inner changeable... I feel the same about both... Truly. 

If I had the top off both I would have a hard time telling the two apart. 

Versa Mark

Watermark pads for shadow effects and embossing. 

I only have this brand and I really  like it. I have the same pad from years and years ago and I have 

never had to refill it. I also have the new shimmer watermark pad from Versamark and I really like it. 

It sits on my desk too. It's a watermark with the slightest gold glimmer. So nice. 

Color Box Cat's Eye

I mentioned above that they are hard to find and I meant to write that the singles are hard to find. Michaels seem to carry a lot of the stackable but I hate those. I don't own even one stacking colorbox cats eye. I already have so many colors I am bound to repeat my stash when I buy the stacks. So, I don't. It's probably so silly of me. But, I like how I have organized my single cats eyes and if I bought a stack one I would have to store it somewhere else... uggg. OCD has kicked in high gear. :) 

I love my cats eyes... I love everything about them. Except some of the new chalk pads have fallen off the base.... but I am hard on them. I really  like these stamp pads because of the soft pad and the colors offered. If only I could buy them single! ARGGG!

Check my next blog for my review on White stamp pads :) I know everyone is interested in that~!

Here is how I organized my glitter. 

I bought these 'bead' organizers at Michaels and thought they would be perfect for 

my glitter assortment. 

Oh boy, was I right... how gorgeous do they look in these containers? 

Can anyone guess from my ink colors and glitter colors what my favorite color families are?? 

If you organized your supplies by color... what color family would be dominant? Which color do you shy away from, why? 

Happy Fall Organizing! 

Cheers, 

N.