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Has anyone else tried the new scrapbook.com domed blending foam pads? Absolutely wonderful. I have weak hands and can't adjust the pressure when I'm applying ink very easily, so for the first time I'm able to get mark-free ink blending. The brushes work very well, too, but you have to keep applying to get darker coverage, which can be tiring. I started these sponges right on the paper and got zero swirl marks!
Has anyone else tried the new scrapbook.com domed blending foam pads? Absolutely wonderful. I have weak hands and can't adjust the pressure when I'm applying ink very easily, so for the first time I'm able to get mark-free ink blending. The brushes work very well, too, but you have to keep applying to get darker coverage, which can be tiring. I started these sponges right on the paper and got zero swirl marks!
Thanks for the review. I haven't tried these but have been very interested in them. Funny enough, about a week before they debuted, I found a domed make up sponge at a discount store and bought it to try but immediately forgot where I put it, lol.
I have a question, is the velcro on the applicator fully attached or just with a staple like the Tim Holtz? In their video it looks fully glued. I'm not a fan of the single staple.
Thanks for the review. I haven't tried these but have been very interested in them. Funny enough, about a week before they debuted, I found a domed make up sponge at a discount store and bought it to try but immediately forgot where I put it, lol.
I have a question, is the velcro on the applicator fully attached or just with a staple like the Tim Holtz? In their video it looks fully glued. I'm not a fan of the single staple.
I am another huge anti-fan :-( of that single staple, too! I just bought the pad refills to put on my Ranger handles to see if I liked them, so if someone tries the scrap book.com handle I'd love to know is well!
Has anyone else tried the new scrapbook.com domed blending foam pads? Absolutely wonderful. I have weak hands and can't adjust the pressure when I'm applying ink very easily, so for the first time I'm able to get mark-free ink blending. The brushes work very well, too, but you have to keep applying to get darker coverage, which can be tiring. I started these sponges right on the paper and got zero swirl marks!
ETA: ignore question - just found them. They look neat!
Link? I’m not seeing anything on the site - searched about six ways.
With the single-staple issue, what’s worked for me is pulling off the foam pad similar to how to pull painters tape off of cardstock or walls without damaging the card (or wall): folded back against itself, not pulled out and away.
As for circular edge marks using the Ranger pads/tool, and posted on another thread, I copied what Laura Bassen does and has talked about - pressing the edges of the round pad against scrap paper before blending.
I’m going to get some (not the tool) but have a feeling they won’t fit well into the container. I use a Tim Holtz mini cube container with three inserts, so they’re stacked in three layers.
But it will be fun to try them and if I like them much better, I’ll figure something else out. Thank you for posting about them.
I bought a bunch of these after seeing the demo on YouTube, but haven't had a chance to try them yet. I figured the easy storage would be a problem, but I think these will be a game changer! I love watching Gina K use the big ink daubers because of the domed configuration, but those are so darned expensive they just weren't a good solution for me.
Yes, I got them and I LOVE them. The velcro is more firmly attached and the foams are sturdy enough to pull off and on without falling apart. I'll never get another kind!
The Tim Holtz applicators don't work for me at all. I've had much better results with cheap makeup blending brushes from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BGHKYMD/
I have looked at them twice, but was on the fence. After reading everyone's comments...I'm going to give them a try! I have bad arthritis and am hoping this will work well for me. I've always had trouble gripping the applicator.
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I have looked at them twice, but was on the fence. After reading everyone's comments...I'm going to give them a try! I have bad arthritis and am hoping this will work well for me. I've always had trouble gripping the applicator.
I can barely grip that Ranger handle and I can be super shaky, but I still got really nice results! Which is pretty incredible…
Last edited by poppydarling; 10-02-2019 at 08:15 AM..
I was hoping I wouldn't have to buy those, but now.....sigh. LOL
I had the same thought but I will be waiting until after the holidays (they are on the wishlist I send hubby). Using from my stash will free up storage space for a change!
I used my new domed foam blenders the other night. Like anything else, there is a learning curve. They are much firmer than the Ranger foams, and I found the Distress Oxide ink I was using didn't soak into the foam. I'm going to have to play with them to learn to use them to their best advantage. That said, I think they're worth it -- for one thing, they come off the handles very smoothly and the black and white layers won't delaminate so easily the way the Ranger ones do.
I just tried mine to make a Oxide background with three colors, heavily applied and blended. Half of the CS was blended with the dome pads and the other half with Ranger pads. The Ranger tool was used for both.
They didn't pick up as much ink as the Ranger pads but color went on smoothly. I'm used to "doing a wheelie" with the edge of the Ranger pads like mentioned above, so don't get edge marks with those, and the two sides of the CS look about the same.
The pads sound and feel different, if that matters to anyone! The dome pads are a bit harder, like MelanHelen said, and make more of a rough or scratchy sound on the CS.
My Ranger pads have never come apart, and the white velcro on the tools has never come off.
Time will tell how the new ones hold up. I actually found them a bit more difficult to remove. I realized when a Ranger pad is removed, beside pulling it back on itself rather than pulling out and away, I also put a finger on the white velcro that's on the tool. That can't be done with the harder dome pads.
I like them, but don't know yet if I'll start reaching more for them than the Ranger ones.
I cannot thank you enough for posting this thread. After reading it, I got a set of 2 tools and 5 domed applicators and, being hopeful, 2 packs of 10 more applicators. They're on sale for World Cardmaking Day. Just got mine today, and they are WONDERFUL! I like them better than Ranger's, but also better than the Life-Changing Blender Brushes! They don't need a heavy hand. Wow!!
Yes, they sit taller than Ranger's foam applicators, so they won't store under the pads. I think I'm going to attach some rough velcro dots to heavy cardstock and stick the domed applicators to those.
Thanks, bjeans, for posting about your technique. I never heard about the wheelie technique and will try it. You had much better results than I did. I'll definitely try this next time!
Going to try really hard to forget I read about these. I do not need to be buying more blending tools when I don't use the ones I have. Right? :rolleyes:
Thanks, bjeans, for posting about your technique. I never heard about the wheelie technique and will try it. You had much better results than I did. I'll definitely try this next time!
You’re welcome - and that’s just what I call Laura Bassen's suggestion of how to avoid those circular edge marks. So simple but I’d never heard anyone address it before.
I watched myself remove a foam pad from a Ranger blending tool, and realized I left out a step in how to remove them so the Velcro piece doesn’t pull off. Wondering how to describe it, coincidentally I was watching a Tim Holtz video today, and he did the same thing, so you can see it: putting the thumb on the Velcro piece for a split second.
Fast forward to 1:00:20+. That’s 1 hour, 0 minutes and 20 seconds, and in a few seconds you’ll see the thumb action, a little more than 4 minutes from the end of the video. new idea-ology kraft-stock: | Tim Holtz
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I used the new domed ones again. I like the regular ones better because they pick up more ink. I don’t get circular marks because I take a second to wheel the edge onto scrap paper (or now my glass mat) a la Laura Bassen.
But I’ll use these domed guys sometimes too for light applications.
I ordered a set of the pads to use with TH blender tools. The domed pad appeals to me. Hopefully they'll hold up longer then the TH's replacement sponges.
I’ve never had a problem with the TH pads and think the thumb trick that Tim and Jennifer show is why.
My sense is the domed pads are 1) easier to use right off the bat for many people. The Tim ones take some practice, including figuring out what others do to avoid marks; 2) don’t hold as much ink; 3) sound scratchier though that doesn’t affect performance, and 4) *may* wear out given the material. But pads are consumables, so if after a good while they do wear, that’s okay too. And 5) the type of paper has a huge effect.
Thanks for the videos, bjeans. I've seen the Scrapbook.com one but not the other one, so I'm looking forward to seeing that one. I haven't had a chance to play with my domed sponges again after the first try. It took me a long time to get comfortable blending with the others ones, and both my discovery of bristol cardstock and the advent of Distress Oxide inks helped with that.
Scrapbook.com domed blending foam pads = love
