I hereby introduce a new type of featured posts on Creativity Prompt, titled: “On The Catwalk“.

On these posts I will review different products – both tools and supply – as well as different stores, artists and other creative spots I have been stumbling upon. “On the catwalk” would not be posted on a weekly basis as the rest of the prompts, but only from time to time, as I spot something worth sharing…

Marching proudly on the catwalk this week are Papertrey Ink‘s products.

Overview –

Papertrey Ink is a company offering original photopolymer stamp sets as well as the ink pads, cardstock and ribbons to accompany the stamping (and some other cool tools and supply).

The company is releasing a few stamp sets each month (on the 15th) along with new shades of ink pads, cardstock and ribbons.

This is how their stamp set is packed:

[Polka Dot Basics]

As you can see, minor assembling is needed but their built-in storage solution is fantastic. The clear plastic case is also great for paper scraps’ storage.

[The content of the stamp set’s package]

[The assembled stamp set]

Tip –

I find it the easiest to first lay all the stamps down inside the CD case and then cut off the impressions from the index label sheet individually and stick them on the CD cover, behind the matching stamp.

Pros –

• High Quality – Their cardstock is heavy weight, at 110lb – it is the heaviest cardstock I have come across (apart from specialty artist’s paper which is very expensive). With its smooth texture, the stamped impression is perfect each time. The cardstock also takes heat embossing and water coloring very well. In addition, the sturdiness of the cardstock makes it the perfect for notebook covers (as you can see at the picture above.)
  The vellum is extremely high quality and can be made into a card by itself, as you can see below:
  
  [Click on the photo above for a larger size]
  Their stamps are very durable and gives clean impressions.
  Also their ink pads (by Palette) are excellent too. The ink dries quickly and the light opaque ink-pads give a strong impression on darker colored surfaces.
• Great use of the transparency of the stamps – The stamps’ design is very imaginative and the transparency of the stamps is well incorporated into it. The stamp sets are nestable, thus allow you to customize and adjust your stamped image with layering.
• True Match system – Papertrey Ink is offering matching cardstock, ink pads and ribbon for a perfect coordination.

Cons –

• Price – The stamps are on the expensive side, at 24 USD per set (some smaller sets are sold at 15 USD and the mini ones, that compliment the bigger sets are sold at 5 USD). You can rest assured I would have bought each and every stamp set, had it not been so expensive.
• Shipping – I am a true fan of Papertrey Ink’s products, which makes me more susceptible to delays. It took about 15-20 days for me to receive the products (in California) after making the order. I wanted to play with my new stuff much sooner… On the other hand, they offer a flat rate price for shipping (to continental US) and free shipping on orders above 55 USD (to continental US).
• Release agent – Some of the stamps might have a release agent residue on them, which can interfere with your stamping. On the information leaflet that comes with the stamp, they advise to erase the stamps with a pencil eraser… After getting the residue off, the stamps are perfect.

This is my current Papertrey stash:

I am planning on increasing this stash, significantly… (as my budget allows)

Stay tuned, as tomorrow I am going to post a video tutorial on how to make this notebook using Papertrey Ink’s products.

Share –

Have you ever used Papertrey Ink’s products? What do you think about them?
Is there a specific product or tool you would like me to review?

Share your thoughts and leave a comment on this post!