Friday, August 22, 2014

Product Reviews: Memento Ink

I've been in the habit of using Tim Holtz Distress Ink for a long time and I do confess to loving it.  But that doesn't mean there aren't great alternatives out there, too.  I recently had a chance to experiment with Memento Ink (another dye-based ink) and wanted to see if it behaved in a similar manner to Distress Ink.  So I tried out two of my favorite Distress Ink techniques with Memento Ink to create this little "life lesson" tag:



Both Distress Ink and Memento Ink pads are smooth and firm, not spongy.  The first technique I tried with Memento Ink was to stamp the pad onto my craft mat, spritz the ink with water, then mop it up with a couple of tags to create a speckled effect.  I do this technique with Distress Ink all the time.  So how did Memento Ink do?  I used the shade called Teal Zeal and as you can see, it beaded up nicely when I spritzed it with water and was bursting with deep juicy color. 



I dragged two tags through it and really liked the splotchy look I achieved, which was pretty much the same as the look I get with Distress Ink.



My second favorite Distress Ink technique is smudging ink onto my projects with sponges.  I got out my sponges and Memento Ink in shades of Pear Tart, Pistachio, Lulu Lavender, Elderberry and Paris Dusk.  Here's how my tag looked after some smudging fun:



In terms of Memento Ink's smudgability, I was very pleased!  It blended nicely and gave me the type of shadowy weathered look I wanted.  I proceeded to use Memento Ink to stamp on some pattern using the Honeycomb Texture stamp from 100 Proof Press.  Once I had my background done, I finished the tag with this great villain stamp image, called Evil Man, also from 100 Proof Press.  I heat embossed it in black and then added the white scribbly circle around my villain's head using acrylic paint.



I added a touch of pink Memento Ink (Rose Bud) to lighten it up just a bit and then hit the edges with black Gesso.  Once it dried, I sewed some Prima flowers to the side.  At the top, I used alphabet stamps to make my sentiment and topped it with a Hero Arts flower and some yarn.



Another thing that I really liked about Memento Ink is its packaging.  The ink pads are labelled so conveniently and the lids fit very well.  You can almost feel a slight bit of "suction" when you put the lids back on so you know that your ink is going to be protected from drying out.


So how would I rate my Memento Ink experience?  High marks for ease of use, brilliant bold colors and stamping versatility.  I absolutely look forward to using Memento Ink again and think it's a fantastic product.  It's a great alternative to Distress Ink and it was good for me to get out of my rut and see what other amazing products are out there.