Andrea's Review	Catherine's Review	Penny's Review	Renee's Review	Tammy's Review

Review by Andrea

Summer always brings us warm, sunny skies with afternoon rainstorms that blow away in time for a beautiful sunset. Just think of that lush atmosphere of heat and new growth then match it with the Summer Craft and Hobby Association Show - you've got hot, new products! Tinkering Ink had not only new paper collections to bring us this year, but also new types of products!

Beau Jardin fits the summer to a "tea", providing gorgeous navy blue mixed with burgundy, lime green and burnt orange. Ah yes, the perfect summer colors of day and night combined into one Collection. There are 12 double-sided 12" x 12" papers, rub-on transfers, a Tabs & Tags Sheet and Alphabet sheet of solid colored letters. NEW with this Collection is a product called "Rip Strips", adhesive backed fabric. Yes, they are colored strips of patterns matching the papers that are literally torn from the paper backing to use on a project. They are 12" long and 6" wide, ready to scrunch, smooth, ruffle or pleat to your heart's content!

The patterns in this Collection make it easy to scrap anything summer-related. Spikey flowers and butterflies are softened by matching smooth petaled flowers and retro-feel lava lamp designs. A sheet of stripes and flourishes grace the grouping also, melding the classic designs into today's world. One other thing that I noticed too was that the end tab on the paper is now at the top, allowing the consumer to see the paper's design on the rack first rather than the tab. I like this feature!

No matter how funky the colors seem to be in a Tinkering Ink Collection, I always find a matching Prism cardstock color. I LOVE this ability to match a solid color when I need it! The Beau Jardin Collection has patterns on both sides of each sheet allowing for maximum design ability and for you to choose the colors to work with on the project. I chose a solid yellow background for this page since I really wanted the flower and butterfly elements to stand out. I found the Rip Strips easy to use as I added a pleated border underneath the photo and in the upper right corner, then a circular gathered strip behind the smaller red flower on the upper left corner of the photo. So much fun! And so easy to use!

Title: Garden of Life
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics: Intense Yellow)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink, Beau Jardin: Jardin, Papillon, Larkspur)
Tabs & Tags, Rub-on Transfers, Rip Strips (Tinkering Ink, Beau Jardin)
Stickles and Paint (Ranger)
Glaze Pens (Sakura)
Date Circle (Elle's Studio)
Buttons (unknown)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I've had this boring kraft covered notebook for awhile now, so what better way to jazz it up then use this new collection! I found the large flowers to be a great pattern to work with and the colors were fantastic for this purpose too. I added my own custom flower centers and doodled on the stems with a white pen. Using a chipboard piece for a base, I embossed the entire piece and stamped into the last layer for a debossed imaged. It turned into a great medallion for the cover and the chipboard held up great to the heat and stamping. I used one of the wide Rip Strips to cover the spine. It worked perfectly to support the hinge area. It actually works like Gaffer's tape or book binding tape, only a little thinner.

Title: Beau Journale
Products used: Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink, Beau Jardin: Fleur, Raindrop)
Tabs & Tags, Rip Strips (Tinkering Ink, Beau Jardin)
Chipboard Circle (Tinkering Ink Pieces)
Stamp (Starving Artistamps)
Embossing Powder (PK Glitz)
Rhinestones (Kaiser)
Hugz and Dotz (ScrapWorks)
Glossy Accents and White Pen (Ranger)
Metal Corners and Glitter (unknown)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Using another Prism cardstock color that matched really well, this card came together by combining scraps from the notebook cover and an epoxy sticker. Since the sticker was clear, the patterned paper served as an ideal background for the saying. A little glitter glue and the flowers really popped off the card.

Title: Beau Card
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics: Desert Coral Dark)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink, Beau Jardin: Fleur, Raindrop)
Epoxy Sticker (Cloud 9)
Stickles (Ranger)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I just love the Rip Strips and the Beau Jardin Collection! Wonderful for all sorts of pictures, times and events, you can't go wrong with this collection. I do really enjoy the boldness of the patterns and colors leaving the distressing up to me. That really offers a lot of flexibility with the design of your projects. Thanks again Tinkering Ink, two thumbs up from me!

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Review by Catherine

Tinkering Ink’s Beau Jardin Collection is a combination of bold patterns and bright colors, which is to be expected of Tinkering Ink products as a whole. This collection reminds me of fun, frolick, and play and is definitely a perfect match for bold summertime photos and any reason for celebration.

One of the first things I think of when I think Tinkering Ink, is unusual color combinations. I am constantly amazed at how well Tinkering Ink coordinates the strangest colors and patterns together to create brilliant papers and products. The Beau Jardin Collection is no exception. Lime Green, Navy Blue, Bright Orange, Lavendar, and Yellow are the main colors in the Beau Jardin papers and coordinating elements. The collection includes twelve 12X12” double-sided patterned cardstock weight papers, a set of Tabs and Tags Die-cuts, one set of Alphabet Die-Cuts, a set of coordinating rubon Transfers, and a set of rip strips which is a new product.

Tinkering Ink’s bold patterns can sometimes seem hard to use. That’s why when I saw that Tinkering Ink was printing their double-sided papers with large patterns on the front and smaller patterns on the back I was pleased. This gives the Tinkering Ink papers more flexibility and appeal to a broader range of scrapbookers. As always, the papers in this collection are perfectly coordinated as are the embellishments. Using a coordinated kit like this can make scrapbooking simple and quick. The Rip Strips are the newest product in this line, and they are adhesive backed cotton strips that are meant to be ripped apart to be used as embellishments similar to ribbon or fiber on a page. I could hardly wait to give these things a try when I opened my package, and I wasn’t disappointed in how the rip strips look on my pages.

For my first project, I was stuck by the “Raindrops” patterned paper in the collection. I love the color combination of Lime Green and Navy Blue with White. The random circle pattern on the paper reminded me of bubbles. This paper shouted “Summer” to me, and I knew that a few swimming pictures would show up wonderfully against the pattern. I used a couple of the Rip Strips as accents, and I love the way the page turned out.

Title: Summer ‘08
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Papers)
Patterned Papers (Tinkering Ink – Beau Jardin Collection)
Rip Strips (Tinkering Ink – Beau Jardin Collection)
Alphabet Stickers (Doodlebug Designs)
Chipboard Circle (Scenic Route)
Journaling Notebook (Making Memories)
Chipboard Stars (unknown)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

After getting my feet wet with my first layout using this collection, I decided to use even more pattern on my next page. I’ve always loved the combination of stripes and dots, so I chose two of the papers with stripes and dots on them and used them as the beginning point of my page. Coordinating these papers with Prism Cardstock was extremely simple to do, and I love the overall feel of the page.

Title: Serious Business
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Papers)
Patterned Papers (Tinkering Ink – Beau Jardin Collection)
Rip Strips (Tinkering Ink – Beau Jardin Collection)
Chipboard Alphabet (Lil’ Davis Designs)
Thickers (American Crafts)
Metal Photo Corners (Making Memories)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I’ve never been a really big fan of butterfly patterns, but I really like the funky butterflies and flowers that are used in the Beau Jardin collection. I decided to use several of the Tabs and Tags Die-Cut shapes to create a birthday card for a friend that loves butterflies. The card turned out simply but beautifully, and I know she will like it.

Title: TI Birthday Wishes
Products used: Cardstock (Prism - Kraft)
Tabs and Tags Die-Cuts (Tinkering Ink – Beau Jardin Collection)
Stamp (Stampin’ Up)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

As always, I have truly enjoyed creating pages and cards with the Tinkering Ink papers and products. The Beau Jardin Collection is my new favorite line from Tinkering Ink. At just a little over $25 for the entire collection, there is more than enough in this line to create numerous scrapbook layouts and other projects. I have several more pages planned using these papers, and I know I will still have leftover products. You will not be disappointed by the value or quality of Tinkering Ink’s Beau Jardin Collection. I recommend you add these products to your scrapbook supplies as soon as possible.

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Review by Penny

Tinkering Ink has a mystical quality that has revived the spirits of many scrapbookers (myself included) and somehow each new collection continues to bring a greater sense of awe and wonder. What will they think of next??

I'm not a cutting-edge fashionista but my love for all things Tinkering Ink has thrust me into the undiscovered territory of creative genius. Take a look at a collection or two and you will see what I mean. There is just nothing else like Tinkering Ink.

The Beau Jardin collection is no exception. Filled with the bright springtime colors, lime green, yellow, orange, dark blue, red, white and lavender, it is a perfect way to preserve your warm weather memories.

Beau Jardin means "Beautiful Garden" in French and aptly reflects the more feminine floral, leaf and butterfly patterns found among its 12 double-sided cardstock-weight patterned papers ($.79 each). Four of the patterns are floral in nature--Clematis, Jardin and Fleur--all with a blue background and orange, white and green floral accents. The fourth--Larkspur--is a beautiful yellow with orange and white flowers bordering one half of the front and all of the back.

I've used the Clematis patterned paper in my first project as well as a portion of a butterfly border strip and swirl from the Tabs and Tags Die Cut Sheet, numbers from the Die Cut Alphabet Sheet and Rub On Transfers.

Title: @ 10 yrs.
Products Used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics-Twilight Light)
Patterned Paper, Die Cut Swirl & Numbers, Rub Ons (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin Collection)
Marker (Zig Writer)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Glue Runner)
Other: ribbon, stick pin

Papillion is filled with butterflies in all of the collection's colors. The front has large butterflies on a white background while the back has a scaled down butterfly pattern.

Meadow has a leaf pattern--green leaves on a white background on the front and white leaves on a green background on the reverse.

Five of the patterns are more unique and modern--Gate with an orange and white scroll pattern, Trellis has a green background with a small trellis type pattern in the other colors, Fountain has a funky wavy type stripe in all colors, A Stones Throw has a pattern of ovals with green, blue, white and red being the predominant colors. And Raindrop, lime green with blue bordered white circles in various sizes on the front and a blue and white pebble looking pattern with green accents on the reverse. You can see the front of the Raindrop patterned paper and a die cut tag on my second project.

Title: Dream Big
Products Used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics-Stormy Dark)
Patterned Paper, Die Cut Tag (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin Collection)
Snaps (Chatterbox)
Chipboard (American Crafts)
Stamps (The Scarlet Lime)
Stamping Ink (Stampin Up)
Ribbon (Tie One On Ribbon Club)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Glue Runner)

And on my third project I've used the Fountain patterned paper, Rip Strips and Rub On Transfers.

Title: Happy Birthday Card
Products Used: Cardstock (Prism)
Patterned Paper, Rip Strips, Rub Ons (Tinkering Ink)
Die Cut Tag (Daisy D's)
Epoxy Stickers
Ribbon (Tie One On Ribbon Club)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Glue Runner)

Lastly there is Runners--a traditional stripe pattern with all of the collection's colors.

As with past collections this one also includes their Tab and Tags Die Cut Sheet ($2.49), the Die Cut Alphabet Sheet ($1.99) and colorful Rub On Transfers ($4.99).

The innovative twist comes with the new Rip Strips--adhesive backed cotton strips that you literally tear off of the card. You get an awesome torn fabric effect that is ready to adhere to any craft project. The Rip Strips retail for $4.99.

Tinkering Ink has also introduced clear Stamp Sets. This collection has a 3" x 4" stamp sheet with three Clematis stamps for $6.99 retail.

The buzz at the summer Craft & Hobby Association's tradeshow were the new Beadels. Beadels are die cut sheets of coordinating patterned paper that you roll into beads for jewelry or paper crafting projects. You can coat your beads with ultra thick embossing powder for a sturdy glossy finish. Each sheet creates 10 large beads and retails for $1.99.

Although the stamp set and Beadels die cuts were not included in my review package I did get a chance to see these at the tradeshow and they are wonderful!

Each collection brings a new surprise and I can't wait to see what Tinkering Ink comes up with next!

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Review by Renee

Have you ever found a paper line that tends to be a “go to” line for you. For me, that paper line is Tinkering Ink. Their paper lines are bold and graphic, and suitable for use in most types of projects. The patterns and colors are always such that many different projects may be completed with a paper line.

For this review, I received the complete paper collection for the Beau Jardin collection from Tinkering ink. This collection includes:

• Thirteen sheets of double sided, cardstock weight patterned papers,
• One sheet of Tabs and Tags,
• One sheet of Die Cut Alphabets,
• One sheet of the Beau Jardin transfers (rub ons),
• and one sheet of the latest addition to the Tinkering Ink line of embellishments, Beau Jardin rip strips.

As with all Tinkering Ink lines, the papers are designed to all coordinate together. This line, more so than others, has a wide range of patterns available, making this collection the most versatile that I have worked with in a while. There are a mix of floral patterns, stripes, and graphic designs. The graphics have no obvious theme, making them useful for all kinds of layouts. Furthermore, the colors of this collection are a wide mix and can be used in feminine and masculine layouts. New in this collection is the “Rip Strips.” These are strips of fabric that can be “ripped” at varying intervals to match the particulars of your layout.

For my first project, I created a layout using the raindrop papers coupled with the coordinating rip strip portion to match the paper. The raindrop paper has a very boy look in this particular instance. However, it could just as easily have been used for many other types of layouts. I also really loved using the rip strip. It has the look of fabric, while being self sticking. Another huge benefit of these strips is that they are very forgiving. I initially placed my strip down in one area but was unhappy with the placement. I easily lifted the strip, and straightened out the folds.

Title: Middle School
Products used: Cardstock (White)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink)
Chipboard Letters (American Crafts Thickers)
Chipboard Circle (Scenic Route)
Rip Strip (Tinkering Ink)
Pen (Sharpie)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

For my second project, I created a layout using the pre-printed pattern of the Larkspur sheet from the collection. I also cut a butterfly from the Papillon paper as an accent for the preprinted flowers. I also used letters from the die cut alphabet sheet to create my title.

Title: Chillin’
Products used: Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink)
Letters (Tinkering Ink)
Glitter Glue (Stickles)
Bling Flowers (Target)
Black pen (Sharpie)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

For my last project, I made a anytime card. I used the large circle from the Tab and Tags sheet as the main accent. Because I like dimensional accents, I used pop dots to raise the accent. I used simple letter stickers to complete the card.

Title: Happy Day Card
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Die Cut(Tinkering Ink)
Letter Stickers (Miss Elizabeths)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Tinkering Ink has once again created a beautiful, versatile collection with the Beau Jardin papers and accents. Be sure to give these papers a try.

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Review by Tammy

The complete collection of the Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin collection will be sure to inspire you whether you are creating a layout, a card, or gift item. The beautiful bold patterns coupled with smaller versions of the same or similar patterns, makes it easy to create projects you will cherish for years to come.

The Beau Jardin collection is a beautiful mix of flowers, butterflies, graphic designs & shapes, stripes, and even a few flies! You will also see a bold mix of yellow, green, blue, orange, maroon, white, and black which make some very eye catching combinations. Another very interesting item to note is the "Jardin" design; on this paper you will find a portion of almost every design in this collection.

The Beau Jardin collection consists of:

• 12 double sided papers
• One sheet custom die-cut tab and tags
• One sheet alphabets
• One sheet of coordinating rip strips (adhesive backed cotton)
• One package of rub-on transfers

I will have to admit that once I finished admiring the beautiful designs in this collection I was drawn to the new Rip Strips. At first glace this appears to be one solid 6.5 x 12 inch sheet of adhesive backed fabric but if you look closer, you will see that this is not so.

The Rip Strips are notched every so often so that you can smoothly "rip" the design from the rest of the sheet. By ripping a strip from the sheet you are left with a slightly worn edge while still maintaining a straight edge.

Since the Rip Strips are adhesive backed I was concerned that once they were placed on my project that it would be difficult to make any adjustments. I found this to be far from the truth. While the adhesive on the back of the cotton strips is permanent, it can easily be removed to make adjustments.

I chose to use the reverse side of Jardin paper to frame the Meadow paper background. I also used the Raindrop paper as a large mat for my photo and added three cloth strips from the Rip Strip sheet to my layout. Instead of ripping the orange strip from the sheet I used a pair of pinking sheers to cut the strip to add a decorative edge to the strip. I used 2 of the die cuts for my journaling block and added a flower rub-on to the top left corner of the photo. The rub on not only adhered nicely to the paper but also went on very easily over the top of the photo and the Rip Strip. A couple of flies are also included on the rub-on sheet, and considering my subject, I thought they would be very fitting to include on this layout. I used the alphabet letters for the main part of my title and my layout was complete.

Title: Hey Wilbur! Is that Water Wet?
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin collection)
Rub-ons (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin)
Die Cuts (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin)
Alphabet Letters (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin)
Rip Strip (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin)
Black Pen (Micron)
White Pen (Inksenssials)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I am always looking for creative ways to give inexpensive gifts and when I ran across this idea, I knew that I wanted to use the Beau Jardin collection to create this cute little gift giving idea.

I used the Gate paper as the pouch for my candy holder and the butterfly strip from the die cuts sheet as the band around the pouch. For an embellishment, I cut a medium sized butterfly from Papillon and added some glitter to the wings and body along with bending the paper to give it a more realistic feel. The candy holder was so pretty that I needed to add a little something to candy bar itself so I made a band from some of the extra Papillon paper and mounted it on coordinating cardstock.

Title: Candy Holder
Products used: Cardstock (Prism)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin Collection)
Die Cut (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin)
Border Punch (Martha Stewart, Doily Lace)
Bind-it All (Zutter)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

With so many wonderful patterns to choose from it was hard to decide what I would use for the background of my card. The decision finally came down to either A Stones Throw or Fountain. Since I had already decided I wanted to use the big flower circle I felt that the smaller version of Fountain would be the best choice. I then used a narrow Rip Strip piece and pleated it as I placed it across the bottom of the card – no additional adhesive was need – that's cool!

Title: Flower Card
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin collection)
Die Cut (Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin)
Rip Strip Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin)
Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)
Rhinestone Brads (Karen Foster)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I loved the bright bold colors mixed with a few darker shades found in the Tinkering Ink Beau Jardin collection. With the variety and patterns and the color palette this collection becomes very versatile and easy to use. The new Rip Strips are an added bonus providing texture to whatever project you are working on. I have to say that the new Rip Strips are very easy to work with and will adhere to almost any shape or texture.

As can be expected – Tinkering Ink has provided another outstanding product when they introduced the Rip Strips with the Beau Jardin collection!

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