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So I have been thinking about purchasing the Stampin' Spots in lieu of getting all the ink pads. I have five ink pads (Basic Black, Basic Brown, Bashful Blue, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink) and I mainly only use the black and the brown. So.....I was thinking of getting the spots so that I have them to do edge inking, etc...since I do usually only stamp in Black or brown.
I think the spots are fine if you are using them for smaller stamps. It would be a great way to get all the colors quickly. It may take a little longer to ink a bg stamp though.
Get the spots! I got all the craft spots last fall when they had a sale on them.
Then I bought one family of the classic pads and before I opened them, I said NO, I wanted to exchange them for spots. I can do everything with a spot just as easy as the big pad!
Make sure to order the re-inkers too! They take up less space, cost less, which leaves more $$ for STAMPS!
Karen
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
I also bought all the craft spots last year when they were on sale.....love them, love them, love them!! I don't think you can go wrong with the spots!
HI! I have to say, I felt the same way you did...the thing was, once I got all the spots, and used them for about a year, I fell in love with all the colors, but inking up bigger stamps was in issue...Actually, I drove me nuts..LOL...so I got the regular pads, too...MIL got me one family for christmas, I got some with hostess $$, so I actually bought 2, but have them all...plus all the retired ones...I don't regret getting the big ones, and still use the spots, too...especially for inking edges...
See that's what I was thinking, Karen!!!! I don't have the space to really have 48+ ink pads....and I really, really, really don't use the three colors I have...just black and brown for the main image!!!
MOre money for stamps is always awesome...
Anyone else have any suggestions, comments, concerns?!?!
I use both the spots and the full sized pads. The spots are great. They are a great way to get all the colors without spending alot of money. They are especially nice if you stamp away from home.
__________________ Jeanne S - Inky Paws SCS Moderator
I got just two of the families (craft spots) last year when they were on sale and i wish i would have gotten the others too. i don't use the craft pads a whole lot so the spots are good for me. my MIL bought a set of the classic spots and wasn't too thrilled with them, just because it does take a bit longer to ink up bigger stamps. i think they are great for the smaller stamps though.
Brilliant! Brilliant! I'm not too worried about inking BG stamps...cause I have uhm...one. ;) I do have several smaller BG stamps from the LSS that I like to use, but those shouldn't be too much of a problem! I hope.
I have the rich regal spots and I wish I hadn't spent the money on them and gotten full size pads instead.
They are very dry and I can't imagine they will last long. They make it very hard to ink anything other than a 1" stamp evenly because of overlap lines- they are horrible on background stamps and I haven't figured out how to use them on wheels without the ink drying before stamping.
But if you just want them for edges- well that works just fine. I use mine for that and other direct to paper stuff. But personally, I prefer the full size pads.
I have the Rich Regals and Earth Elements in the big pads, Bold Brights and Soft Subtles I have spots. I love the spots! It is easier to ink a small stamp, but it is possible to ink a large stamp. I do it all the time. I love my spots and they hardly take up any room!
I have BB, EE and RR pads but bought the SS spots and now am buying the Craft inks in spots. I don't like inking bold images with the spots because it seems to leave streaks. I would say get the spots.
I love the Spots. I got the EE classic ones. I am now getting the big pads of the ones I use the most (ALL but Cameo Coral). Even though Cameo Coral isn't my favorite--I love having a bit of it. They are also wonderful for inking alphabet stamps.
BTW--2 sets of spot fit PERFECTLY into a large stamp box (the size for Background stamps. They are just toooo pretty to keep in thier dard cardboard box that they come in.
The cardboard box is great to keep other stuff in. (and alter, too)
I have all of them and all my friends are jealous! It is the best and cheepest way to get all the colors! I like using them better than the big granddaddy pads b/c they are easier to maneuver. I find myself doing double and triple colored stamping w/o the markers. Buy 'em, they'll change your life! Thanks for the reply to my thread too...did you get your new catalog? My demo doesn't have hers yet! AHHHHHH! We're going batty! :eek:
I have the rich regal spots and I wish I hadn't spent the money on them and gotten full size pads instead.
They are very dry and I can't imagine they will last long. They make it very hard to ink anything other than a 1" stamp evenly because of overlap lines- they are horrible on background stamps and I haven't figured out how to use them on wheels without the ink drying before stamping.
But if you just want them for edges- well that works just fine. I use mine for that and other direct to paper stuff. But personally, I prefer the full size pads.
Why don't you try using the wheel cartridges instead? Just a thought. Or are you just using the things you have on hand....I do that too.
I love my spots. I don't know what the complaints about because it takes me all of 30 seconds to ink up a BG stamp. If you find the stamps dry, try storing them upside down for a while. That should bring the ink to the top and they will be too juicy for you to handle. I think I made a wise choice when I spent the $$ on the spots. The big pads might be nice, but I would hate to think of the $$ wasted on the colours I don't use very often.
I Love my spots! I've had them close to two years I guess, and I have the re-inkers just incase, but haven't had to use them. I have no problem inking up my background stamps, it does take a little longer, but hey this is just my play time! It's also a good way to see which of the full sized pads you "need", the spots you use most often. I still have some I've not even opened. Karen
__________________ "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." ~ G. Marx
I own one color family of large classic inks and almost never use them. The only other large pads I own are a black, a craft white, and a black Staz-on--I use the black and the black Staz-on a lot.
I chose, instead, to spend my money on a BUNCH (more than 60) of Colorbox cat's eye inkpads and re-inkers (before the owner of SU! bought the company). I have not regretted it. It does take longer to ink a large BG stamp, but I suppose I could find some other solution if it bothered me enough (like using a couple of drops of re-inker on a piece of felt and brayering or some such thing). I LOVE the cat's eyes. Some are the chalk type, some are the regular. It is wonderful to have so many colors and be able to store them in so little space. And the pointy edges on the pads make it easier to use several different colors of ink on a stamp without having to drag out my markers. Just my HO. But be sure to get the re-inkers if you decide to go just with the SU! spots or the Colorbox cat's eyes.
Why don't you try using the wheel cartridges instead? Just a thought. Or are you just using the things you have on hand....I do that too.
A wonderful suggestion- but since I only make cards I only need 1 revolution of the wheel. Collecting all the colors in cartridges too would just be way too expensive. (especially since I can't use them for regular stamps).
So far my ink plan has been- 1 full sized pad per order (from the same family), one box of spots.
I now have 4 bold brights and black, rich regal spots. I think I'll get SS craft spots because I won't use them too much, and continue to get bold bright full size pads. Then get started on EE- probably in full sized.
The wheel cartridges are just too expensive. I keep reading great things about spots- maybe I just got a dry batch?
Heavens! I'm LOVING these repsonses...I am a decision making wuss....so this is truly helping me!
Carol! I totally feel ya on the wasting money on ink pads that won't be used. I BARELY use the colors I have now...I could have bought another stamp set instead of those!!! ;)
I have all the classic spots. I pay attention to which spots I use frequently and then I buy the ink pad for that color. I have lots of ink pads that I want to get soon. I hope to have all the pads by the end of the year. But I will still use my spots for small stuff and for traveling.
Just so you know, #105746 medium size SU cases, fit twelve SU spots so you can store each color family in a box and stack them! I love it this way.
I also have about 80+ spots from VersaColor, Ancient Page and ColorBox. They are easy to store, cost less and I have a wider range of colors and ink styles (chalk , pigment, and dye inks.)
HTH
Karen
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
Location: formerly of southern CA, now of southeastern MO
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I love my spots, I got all of them in the past 2 years. Last year when the new catty came out they had a new colors set you could buy also. (Wish they did this year, big sigh). After I got them it helped me decide which big pads I couldn't live without. I love Certainly Celery and a few others. Otherwise, the ink spots work just fine for me. I don't have trouble inking anything. I do have trouble with the regular sized pads inking big BG stamps.
__________________ Carey
======================================
I'm lucky, my hubby lets me buy all the stamps
and accessories I can hide.
I love my spots. It does take longer to ink up a large stamp, but it takes up less space, is cheaper and I have trouble with the lid on the big stamps! LOL!
LOVE my craft spots! Why?
* I can also use them to ink a wheel for an 8in length because it doesnt dry as quickly.
* They are great to use with clear embossing powder- no messy flecks with the colored powders.
* I ink edges all the time, and the craft inks make for a nice soft look because you can smudge them with your finger to blend (they do take longer to dry though- so be careful if you dont want smudging)
* I love that the colors stay vibrant
* I tend to use printed papers most often for backgrounds, so inking the stamps was not an issue for me.
Love my ink spots too, love them! Cant afford full sized ink pads and I am working with very limited storage space in my house. These are perfect -- I have all the colours and all the reinkers. Mine are not dry at all. They work just fine on background stamps, just might take you a minute or two longer to ink the stamp up, that's all. I say go for it!
I love my Spots! They are just as easy to use as the pads (IMO of course) and save a TON of space and $ so I can buy/store more of what stamps and embellishments.
I've been contemplating buying the spots as well, so am pleased to hear such good reviews of them. It seems like they woul be easier to take to crops and such than trying to transport your big pads.
I have all of the Classic pads but have yet to accumulate the craft pads, so I think this will be the way to go.
I love using the spots. They are easy to use and you can ink a specific area with them - I don't think you could do that with the big pads. The only thing I can't do with them is rub the lid on the color to use with the blender pens.
__________________ ...scissors and cardstock and tape....oh my!
Don't forget to store your spots upside down, then they won't get dry. All the ink settles to the bottom of the spot. I have all the craft spots and EE classic set. Have had the EE classics for over a year and they're still juicy. Got them because that family wasn't my favorite, but have since gotton all the standard size pads in the EE. Store the craft spots upsidedown too. I probably won't get any of the colors in the craft pads, but I did get the white and vanilla in craft and love those.
I love my spots too!!! I do have the EE in full size pads because that is what I started buying first. Then I got the new colors in spots last year and got hooked. I have all the spots now and EE in craft spots. Thanks for the tip on wheels with craft ink. I didn't think about it staying wet longer so being able to roll a longer line. Also I store my regular spots in the clear cases too, but 24 will fit (2 color families) in the large (I know it's the size case the bg stamps come in.) cases. I have also labeled each spot on the bottom with the color name cut from the side label then stamped with a small coffee bean or flower stamp the ink color on the little round dot on the bottom as well. Since I store the regular inks upside down in the clear case this make chosing the spot so much faster.
__________________
~~~ Barbara~~~ ~~Case me if you please~~100% great trades~~
Your welcome Erin! That box is perfect, all four stack and use such a small amount of space! You can see the colors through the case and they never get dusty!
And I do store all my ink pads, up-side down!
Karen
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
Don't forget to store your spots upside down, then they won't get dry. All the ink settles to the bottom of the spot.
I had read on SCS that DS recommends that demos don't have their customers store spots upside down because they can leak. Anyone have problems with that?
I have two sets of the spots and they work well for me! Although, I prefer ColorBox chalk inks for inking. I would like to purchase a few individual regular sized SU pads to use on larger sized stamps like the background stamps, but for the most part the spots have been a great choice!
Stampin' Spots
Get 'em!
Love 'em!
