Ever wondered which was the best stamp pad for water-based markers or Copics? If you are a stamper, you know that the right stamp pad for the job is pretty much essential. You use the wrong stamp pad- well, your project might not turn out or stand the test of time. It’s in this spirit that I dive into another stamp pad review- this time, the Memento Luxe Stamp Pad from ImagineCrafts.
Here’s how it’s described on the website:
| Made by Tsukineko• Mixed media ink for use on any porous surface; permanent on fabric when heat set • Available in 24 colors similar to the Memento line • A great ink for paper projects as well as mixed media • Relatively fast drying for a pigment ink • Highly fade resistant |
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As you can tell, it’s a new product. And in typical CTD fashion, I needed to give it the full work out.
The pad is a standard size, and when I opened it there was NO ODOR. Like, none whatsoever. As you can see in the above picture, the pad itself is very spongy and coarse in texture. I have come to realize that that is because the ink itself is so thick- almost gel-like- that it needs that textured pad.
Now, I made a video showing all my examples- so take a peek at that, then scroll down to see stills of the samples.
This is standard cardstock. You can see that Memento Luxe gives a thick, black line that is highly pigmented. It does a superb job of covering that patterned paper.
Who knew you could get such a nice, dark impression on such a bumpy surface?? Again, the combination of thick ink and a spongy pad work like a marvel.
While most colors under perform on dark surfaces, I really kind of dig the white. It looks a bit like a chalkboard effect to me! The gold sample on red paper is embossing. The ink is nice and sticky and works great as an embossing medium.
You can see on these wood pieces that Memento Luxe gives the coverage of an acrylic paint! No fooling.
Fabric Swatche
The dark Memento Luxe colors are equally remarkable on fabrics. This really doesn’t surprise me; the original Memento Pad was the one I found to be the best for fabrics out of all the ones I tested. (You can read that post here.) Looks like the Memento Luxe just bumped it out of the top spot, though!
NOTE: I WILL UPDATE IN A WEEK OR SO WITH THE RESULTS OF WASHING/DRYING.
From top: Glossy Cardstock, image colored with alcohol markers, image colored with water-based markers.
I know that this is an important question for many devotees of coloring- YES, it is compatible with both water-based markers AND alcohol-based ones. Just let them dry completely first- or better yet, hit them with the heat gun.
Which brings me to water-reactivity. When you first stamp them- before they are dry- you can run a wet brush over Memento Luxe ink and it will move or smear. (Shown on the left.) However, if you heat set it (as in the sample on the right) it will no longer react.
Stamped and then misted with water-based spray inks.
Case in point- the bottom sample was misted with Tattered Angels after it was dry- but not heat set. You can see that the inks didn’t budge. Great for layering!!!
Now for the bottom line: these are retailing for $6 USD per stamp pad- and considering how juicy and versatile they are, that seems like a downright bargain to me. So many stamping surfaces!!!
The only downside to this pad is that the ink is so very thick (like I said, almost like an acrylic paint in a stamp pad form) that it’s not great for details. Stick to your VersaFine for those! One other minor thing to consider- it has a very slow drying time. (Especially on wood, where my application was thicker.) So either keep that heat gun handy or lay projects aside so you don’t smear them by mistake.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Memento Luxe stamp pads. I’m already thinking of picking up a few more colors!
Disclosure: samples provided for review purposes.
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Thanks for this review! I am a beginning stamper (trying to expand my crafting repertoire) and I always appreciate the product reviews on this blog.
Another thorough review – thank you! Hope one day soon you can test the new inks from Gina K. Designs 🙂
I’ve been looking for inks that are good on different surfaces. Thanks!
Will you be giving some away so we can try them out? I’d LOVE to try them.
sharon dot gullikson at gmail dot com
Love the video, lots of good information. I want to give these inks a try now that I can see what they’re best suited for.
I bought five of these pads. I wish that I had bought reinkers for all of them. Three of them were very dry-the white, pistachio and black. I had refills for two of the colors but not the black. I thought this was pretty disappointing. Memento dye inks have always come fully loaded for me. I would advise buying reinkers at the same time you purchase the pads. I like the PTI Fresh Snow hybrid ink better than the Luxe. even inked up the Luxe didn’t cover well for me with either rubber or polymer. Love Letter Luxe is such a great red shade. .
Thanks for the review. Very useful.