Last year at CHA I was just about done- the show was closing, my dogs were barking, and I had a plane to catch. Just as I was taking my last lap I ran across the Quick Quotes booth and stopped in for a chat.
Quick Quotes is a scrapbooking kit company that also offers layout kits, albums, chipboard, and embellishments. And Powder Puff Chalking Inks, too! These babies caught my eye and the owner graciously offered me a set to review AND a set to give away! (But more on that later. Keep reading.)
The Powder Puff Chalking Inks are sold individually, in sets of 6, or the complete set of twelve. I cracked a few open, and took them for a test spin.
First off….it’s an unusual size and shape. It’s about 1/3 smaller than the regular full size stamp pads that I have, and about twice the size of the small “eye” or “drop” shaped ones. This size makes it so easy to hold- no fumbling with little pads- and gives you plenty of surface area for stamping too. It’s the best of both worlds.
While we’re on that topic, I should mention price point. These pads retail on the site for $2.15 USD each, or $26.99 for a set of twelve. Compare that to $1.99 for the much smaller “Eye” or “Dewdrop” version. It’s like getting twice as much for fifteen cents more!
But let’s face it- all the savings in the world don’t mean a fig if the product doesn’t work well. So let’s take a look at the pad, some swatches, and a few projects and you can decide for yourself then.
Here you can see that the pad has a linen-type finish on the pad. Personally, I like these better than foam because I feel it distributes the ink better and is more durable. Also I took a good whiff, and found a faint, pleasant odor to the ink. Nothing that is intrusive or offensive.
Now let’s see how it performs on different papers. I chose 4 colors- mocha, blue, green, and orange and applied them to different surfaces:
It never did dry on the transparency.
On the glossy surfaces, it took a second to dry- you might see some blue fingerprints on my samples because I stuck my finger on a pad without realizing it! However, the dry time was really good and the papers took the ink well- even the vellum! However, it never did dry on the transparency- even after 24 hours. It’s not surprising, though- these are labeled for porous surfaces.
I also stamped with the ink:
From upper left, clockwise: glossy, vellum, matte, and black paper.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the lighter ink showing up on black paper. A plus!
Next, I tried some “direct to paper” technique, first on canvas paper:
And then on carstock:
Again, here’s where having a decent-sized pad made it easy to handle and covered the area quickly. I blended just a bit with a baby wipe.
(Did you know you can blend or soften your chalk inks with a baby wipe? Handy!)
I thought the colors were lovely and vibrant, and provided good coverage.
Now, the packaging says that they unique shape is so that you can “color” with the stamp pad and use the pointy part to get into little areas. So I did just that:
Even the green was "colored" on, right from the pad.
Another packaging plus- the clear base made it easy to see just where I was applying ink. Nice. Little things count, you know?
So after playing with these inks for a few hours, it’s my personal opinion that they are just as good as the other name-brand chalking inks at a MUCH better price- that makes them craft-tastic!
The color palette is nice, if subdued-Â I really hope they add some more vibrant, rainbow colors to this collection, because I’d snap them up in a minute.
By the way, Quick Quotes has a Facebook Page – go show them some love and tell them I sent you!
So now for the good stuff- our first giveaway of 2011! I have a set of these yummy chalk inks to a lucky reader! Please leave a comment with how YOU like to use inks in your projects. I’ll draw a winner via Random.org on Friday, January 7th around noon EST.
This giveaway is now closed. Please see the winner here.
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Oooh, I just love these and so affordable! I love to use these to ink my edges of the cards I make and the cuts I do with my cricut. Of course the traditional stamping as well. Thanks for the Opportunity to win!
How Pretty! I love these, and would really be interested in trying these out.
I love what you made with these chalk inks. The blending sounds cool, too! I am impressed.
I would love to have a set of these; I would use them to accent the cards that I create and layouts, too! This looks like so much fun. Thank you for the chance to win! Happy New Year!!
wow I like the size. the smaller ones I have a hard time holding. but these do look bigger. I haven’t worked much in chalk as I only have a few colors and still working on supply’s 🙂 but these do look great and for the price and size that is a plus. Just I will have to go check these out. anything thing for my wish list.. thanks
I love to ink lots of things, edges of cards, mats,etc. They seem very versatile!
Thanks for the chance and Happy New Year!
good morning & Happy New Year.
I’m primarily a watercolor artist. I love to use inks when I do mixed media art as well as when I’m working on a collage.
thanks for hosting this giveaway.
Looks like a great product and I would love to try them out. I’d use them on my ATCs and cards. I’d love to play around with the coloring with a point option – sounds like fun. Thanks!
i was just plotting a series of canvases displaying a tree in various seasons…..this would be a good tool to use for that!
A friend sent me your review, saying ” I know you have every ink known to man/woman, but have you heard of this one?”. My answer is “No, but also, where can I get ’em?”
This looks like a great idea, and I would use them with my ATC’s, on canvases, and on cards.
I like several things about them, the pointy ends, the see-through case-these are both really good and workable ideas.
I’ve never played with chalk inks before but I bet they would be great for giving a distressed look and to use with blender pens to draw with! I’d love to try them out!
I do a lot of traditional stamping with inks, ink up the edges of papers, etc. but I haven’t played too much with chalk inks. These make me think maybe I should!
Your cardstock creation is beautiful!! I don’t have much experience w/chalk inks as I’m just starting my ink collection now. I’m kind of the designated “card maker” for our office and usually free hand all my drawings/doodles. I would love to have a set of these and see what else I can create with my hand made cards!!
Happy New Year and thanks for the opportunity!!
Thank you so much, Marta! I’m going to have a quick tutorial on Friday on how to use an Embossed Resist technique to make some REALLY pretty images…stay tuned!
Thanks for the opportunity to win these great looking chalk inks! I’d most likely use them on my cards.
I don’t use inks like this much, mostly because I’m unfamiliar with the medium. I’d love to try these out… the colors are so vibrant!
I’ve never heard of these, but they look excellent! I’m a huge fan of chalk ink and use it in all sorts of ways on layouts and cards. Thanks for the chance to win!
What a great opportunity… I am pretty traditional with how I use my inks 🙂 I generally ink the edges of my papers and punched items. Thanks for the chance to win. Hugs, antonella 🙂
I got a Cuttlebug for Christmas and am just beginning to experiment with the different types of inks available. I’ve never used chalk inks before but I think they would add a gorgeous hint of color to to an all-over embossed pattern followed by something darker and more defined over the top!! Thanks for the review!!
I mostly use inkpads for traditional stamping and occasionally for inking paper edges. I always read about cool new techniques and think that I would like to try them, but by the time I get a chance to work to my craft room, those thoughts have long since disappeared. Since I haven’t worked at all with chalk inks, this sounds like a great opportunity!
What a great product! I’m so glad you stopped by to check out the Quick Quotes booth! 🙂
I would use these lovelies to enhance my scrapbooking. How fun!
Thanks for the opportunity!!
shonijunk (at) yahoo (dot) com
I used this on my first scrapbook and it looked great. It was borrowed from a friend, so I would love my own. THank you
These would be great to have! We decorate cut and 3-D paper projects.
What a great giveaway! I just recently got back into paper crafts and art journaling. Theses would be fab!
I’d love these for making cards for the family
I use inks with polymer clay. With re-inkers, I may use it to tint translucent clay, but stamp pads are fun “direct to clay” options. It’s lighter than paint and you have options to tinker with it while it’s still wet. I’m glad you posted about this brand — I’ve never seen it and it looks like it has some great possibilities!
id use them when i make cards
I would love to use these for backgrounds when making my handmade cards and atc’s.
I am a really big scrapper and love to use these chalk/ink for designing great backgrounds and around pictures as borders
The Powder Puff Chalk Inks look awesome, thanks for the product review. I am new to chalk inks (only have 2 small ones) but the card above is beautiful. I am going to have to experiment with these, try out the coloring with the tip. Oh and thanks for the baby wipe tip:
I would just looove to win a set of these chalk inks! Hope I win!
Thanks for the review! I’m excited to try these out – as a winner or consumer! I want to try them for direct-to-paper application (go baby wipes!) and for stamping/coloring. I’m really curious to see how well they work for coloring. Right now I have a few cats eye chalk inks that I mostly use for coloring edges because of their small sizes. The larger pad is definitely an appealing feature. Thanks again!
Wow, these look so pretty. I would use these to in the edges of cards I make.
I would love to try these out on fabrics! I am always looking for a stamp pad that works well well on fabric. Love the price point too!
I will most certainly use these in a mixed media art project and probably on fabric too!! Love the look!
I use inks mostly with my polymer clay. Great for putting highlights on textured pieces, and for adding color to a small area.
These look great, and I like the linen finish you pointed out.
I’ve been wanting to try some sort of watercolor crafting medium. This looks cool. I’m not sure what I’ll make, exactly, but I would love to play with these! Thanks for the giveaway!
I’m glad to hear that these are bigger than the “drop” and “eye” inks to make them easier to handle. I like to use inks to add color to distressed edges of my mini albums.
I have not yet tried chalk inks bout I would LOVE too! I do plenty of stamping with my dye ink pads though hope to try these soon 🙂
I’d like to say I’d let my daycare kids use these but I probably wouldn’t let them near them lol! I used to do a lot of artwork and that died with the whole becoming an adult sort of thing. Now I’m realizing that I’m allowed to have hobbies and am slowly obtaining supplies. I’ve never even heard of these but they look/sound awesome!
We will do drawings with my small niece
I’m not too sophisticated with ink usage, the most I currently do is stamp the same image, slightly offset, with two different colors of ink to make a shadow or depth effect. I’d love to play with these chalk inks to see if I can do some cooler effects!
I love to use them to create colorful handmade cards.
I would love to make a few prints for my daughters room.
We are just getting back into crafting- I imagine I would use these on cards.
Thanks for the great test flight on these. I didn’t know about them. I use inks for stamping, of course, but for any kind of coloring I think I can get away with on any surface that takes it. I use watercolor brushes for detail, but sometimes that takes some reworking. I like the idea of the little corners for detail. Would love to try these out!
I like ink pads for stamping out designs on the white paper flowers…fun to make them anything you can think up!
Wow! I want those! I would use them making colorful backgrounds for my art journal. I sure hope I’m the winner. 🙂
I would use these in my scrapbooking and other misc crafts I do.
freebiegoddess03@aol.com
I would use this for decorating edgings and special effects
i will use these in my scrapbooking, what a unique was to create designs!
I am always looking for a good chalk ink. I love the size of these… Makes it easier to cover a lg background stamp, like the Design blocks from Hero Arts. I also LOVE the fact that it showed on black. I can see these getting a lot of use on my scrapbook pages & cards! Thanks for the review! 🙂
I would use these in my cardmaking and in my glasses.
I think to start, I would love to create my own thank you cards and then experiment from there. Thank you so much for this opportunity to win it.
I’d use them for making greeting cards and with my scrapbooking for my kids!
I have a good friend who is very artistic and likes working with all media including chalk. She bought chalks for her students to use and a good set for herself. She would love to use these in her art projects.
I love the color on these. I would make so many cards for my friends and family members.
chalk on black paper is a specialty of mine. i’d love to continue in that medium. thanks!
These are absolutely beautiful.
I like to use them to create stationary.
I use them when I handmake my own greeting cards!
Thanks!
I haven’t stamped in a long time, these look very
interesting and maybe would jump start me back into making my own
greeting cards again.