April's Review	Andrea's Review	Randi's Review	Catherine's Review	Chris's Review

Review by April

I was already a fan of Tsukineko, Inc products and since I have used a couple of their smaller sized Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink pads in the past, I was really looking forward to this review! The Ultimate Metallic Ink pads are great for adding shimmer to anything and can really make your craft projects shine. Luckily, the two small ones I already had were different colors then what I received for the review, however now I want them all!

I received 4 different Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink pads from Tsukineko, Inc and I couldn't wait to use them! Each pad measured approximately 3" x 1 3/4" in size and is supposed to be the quickest-drying true metallic ink currently available on the market. The Gold, Silver, Champagne, and Honeydew colors were striking, shimmery, and in my opinion - luscious! I was excited to learn that they are acid-free, fade resistant, great to use for embossing, and there are re-inkers available.

I started experimenting with the metallic inks on dark cardstock and I loved how the colors came out when I stamped them on black cardstock. For this layout, I used the Ultimate Metallic ink in Honeydew with several different stamps on black cardstock. I cut them all out and used them to decorate the entire layout. I added some bright green cardstock to set off the colors in the picture, added bling everywhere, and then used my glitter pen to draw in some of the flower stems and grass at the bottom.

Title:Spring Beauty
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Prism Prismatics: Intense Kiwi)
Metallic Ink (Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic in Honeydew)
Stamps (Fancy Pants)
Rhinestones (Heidi Swapp Bling in Martha, Making Memories, Cell phone bling)
Pens (American Crafts Precision Pen, Sakura Gelly Roll)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I altered a small clipboard to hang on the wall for my second project. I covered the entire clipboard with the Ultimate Metallic ink in Honeydew by pressing the pad directly on the surface of the clipboard. Since the ink stays wet for awhile, I sprinkled super fine clear embossing powder all over it, and then used my embossing gun to dry it. This gave the entire clipboard a shiny and smooth surface, yet still allowed the metallic ink to show through. I added a picture, lots of ribbon, sequins, bling, and some liquid pearls for decoration. I also inked the edges of some die cuts, chipboard shapes, and a heart brad with the Honeydew Metallic ink.

Title: Unconditional Love Clipboard
Materials Used:
Metallic Ink (Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic in Honeydew)
Embossing Powder (Ranger: Super Fine Detail in Clear)
Ribbon (Tie One On Ribbon Club, Flair Designs, Personal Stash)
Liquid Pearls (Ranger: White Opal)
Brads (Bazzill, Karen Foster)
Chipboard (Maya Road)
Rhinestones (Heidi Swapp Bling in Pink)
Die cuts (Daisy D's)
Paint (Ranger Paint Dabber in Black)
Other (Clipboard, Sequins)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Glue Dots)

I love creating magnets! For my third project I painted 2 left over Pringles can lids, and used the Silver and Champagne metallic ink to line the edges. I stamped the scrapbook and princess images on black cardstock, also using the Silver and Champagne metallic ink. I used pop dots behind the cardstock to add more depth and then added some bling to the princess magnet, and stickles to the scrapbook magnet. To turn these lids into magnets, I used a strong adhesive to glue a magnet on the back of both.

Title: Fancy Magnets
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Prism Prismatics: Black)
Metallic Ink (Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic in Silver and Champagne)
Stamps (Maya Road)
Patterned Paper (Basic Grey)
Rhinestones (Heidi Swapp Bling in Pink & Martha)
Paint (Ranger Paint Dabbers in Pool & Watermelon)
Stickles (Ranger)
Other (Magnets)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Goop Glue, Pop Dots)

After playing and creating with these Ultimate Metallic Ink pads, I can definitely say that they ROCK! They are unlike any of the other ink pads I own and are the only ones that offer that fantastic shimmery quality to everything they touch. If you are looking for something unique to help spice up your projects, I suggest you give these a try!

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Review by Andrea

Tsukineko is one of my favorite specialty ink pad manufacturers, bringing "Versa" inks like the watermark VersaMark ink and VersaFine fine detail ink along with Brilliance and StazOn inks to the crafting world. For this review, we're covering the Encore! Ultimate Metallic Pigment Ink Stamp Pads - another terrific specialty ink! Pigment ink is known for it's longer drying time, but Tsukineko has formulated the Encore! ink to be the fastest drying "true metallic ink" currently available. Offering 12 solid-colored ink pads and 2 multi-color pads, there are enough colors to really liven up your project with color and shimmer!

We received 4 colors to use in our review - Gold, Silver, Champagne and Honeydew. All of the colors are equally beautiful with the shimmer and glitz to make any project a masterpiece. The ink itself is opaque and shows up the best on darker colored papers due to the contrast. The cases are about 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" with the raised pad area at just under 2" x 3". The entire case is plastic with a clear lid and black base. The case is rectangular with the sides slightly pinched in for easier gripping during inking. The pad is a true rectangular shape that sits above the base. The name of the color is printed on the clear cover and on the bottom label. The label also states that the ink is water soluble, acid-free, fade resistant and non-toxic.

I wanted to create a background using the inks, so I smooshed the Honeydew pad onto the surface of a black glossy piece of cardstock using a "direct to paper" technique. In order to blend the hard lines together, I sprayed alcohol onto the cardstock and rolled over it with a brayer. That really did the trick to smooth out the lines! Here is a sample of what it looked like:

I ended up using the background as pieces in a mosaic card, shown below. The butterfly is stamped using the Champagne colored ink - so pretty!

Title: Butterfly Card
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Black Glossy and Ivory Cover)
Ink (Tsukineko Encore! Metallic: Champagne and Honeydew; Versamark)
Embossing Powder (Powder Keg Ivory and Stampin' Up! Crystal Clear)
Stamps (Starving Artistamps)

For the next card, the top cluster of feathers was stamped onto the paper using Gold and covered with clear embossing powder. The two feathers in the lower corner were left unembossed. The Encore! ink shows equally well under both conditions.

Title:Feathers Galore Cracked Tile Card
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Black and Splendorlux)
Inks (Tsukineko Versamark and Encore! Metallic Gold)
Stamps (Starving Artistamps)
Embossing Powder (Ranger Clear)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I couldn't pass up using Silver either! This card has the image stamped on paper then covered with clear embossing powder. The ink is so crisp and clear with the metallic shimmer coming right through!

Title:Western Retro Tile Card
Materials Used:
Paper (Navy and Grocery Bag Dark Brown)
Inks (Tsukineko Versamark and Encore! Metallic Silver)
Stamps (Starving Artistamps)
Embossing Powder (Ranger Clear)
Staple (EK Success)
Twill (unknown)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I can wholeheartedly agree with the "quick dry" claim after working extensively with these inks. I found that the air drying time was a little longer on non-porous or coated paper, but the zap from a heat tool cut the time down dramatically. The inks did heat emboss extremely well when on the coated paper leaving nice detail to the image. I loved the ability to use the ink as a background too. All of the shimmer and color was prevalent throughout the application to the paper even when brayering to move the ink around. I highly recommend these inks for any crafting project!

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Review by Randi

As Tsukineo's website states, " All that glitters is not just gold... it’s pink, purple, green and satin rose, to name a few." I discovered how true this is when I worked with their Encore! Ultimate Metallic Stamp Pads. These non-toxic, water soluable pigment inks come in twelve luscious colors.

Tsukineko also claims that these inks are ideal for scrapbooking because it’s the quickest-drying true metallic ink currently available. I found that claim to be true when used on cardstock, as in this layout. I stamped the background with the Champagne Encore! ink and a crackle stamp. Honeydew Encore! was used on one of the leaf stamps on the bottom of the page. The inks dried super-fast on this porous paper. I found that I had to use a clear embossing powder with the glossy chipboard letters, however. Even after allowing a couple of hours the ink refused to dry. Know your surface and be prepared with some embossing powder if the surface isn't porous.

Materials Used:
White Prismatics Cardstock, Prism Papers
Gold, Champagne and Honeydew Encore! Ultimate Metallic Inks, Tsukineko
Olive Pastel ColorBox Fluid Chalk Inkpad, Clearsnap
Leaf Stamps, Pebbles Inc
Tag Stamp, Spellbinders
Crackle Background Stamp, All Night Media
Clear Embossing Powder, Ranger
Dottie Ann by Magic Mesh
Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Adhesive Tech

The Encore! performed well with an embossing powder on the chipboard letters, but I wanted to see how well it would do when used with an embossing powder and stamps. It took on even more of a vibrant hue when used with clear embossing powder on this Christmas-themed stamped basket.

Title:Stamped Basket
Materials Used:
Classic Green Prismatics Cardstock, Prism Papers
Gold Encore! Ultimate Metallic Inkpad, Tsukineko
Picnic Basket Stamp, Limited Edition
Clear Embossing Powder, Ranger
Santa's Sack, CM
Gold ribbon and buckle
Permanent Bond Glue Runner,Adhesive Tech

These are among the most beautiful inks I've ever used. The color is excellent, the image is sharp, and they clean off the surface of the rubber by just holding it under cool water. Well worth their retail price of $8.99. You'll want to add several of the Encore! Ultimate Metallic Stamp Pads to your collection soon!

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Review by Catherine

I have a friend who swears by Encore! Metallic Inks. She has one in every color, and keeps raving about how she loves these inks. Up to this point, I haven’t had the opportunity to play with Encore! Metallic Inks; but based on her recommendation, I was excited to get the opportunity to review them.

As soon as I opened my box, I was taken by the deep, rich metallic colors in these ink pads. The ink pads I received are the usual size for ink pads, with a deep foam pad. Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink Pads are available in twelve different colors, and two different multi-colored pads. The colors available are:

• Pink
• Purple
• Blue
• Green
• Gold
• Silver
• Satin Rose
• Teal
• Honeydew
• Bronze
• Enchanted Evening
• Sweet Dreams

The Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink Pads are also available in smaller sizes, for those who like having small ink pads around for storage reasons. These Ink Pads are pigment inks, but they dry very quickly on porous paper. As opposed to most pigment inks that must be heat set or embossed before they will dry. The Encore! Ink Pads can also be embossed if one works quickly.

For my first project, I decided to stamp the Gold Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink onto a piece of glossy black cardstock, and also to cover a piece of chipboard with the Champagne ink. The Inks were drying slowly on the glossy cardstock and chipboard, and I sprayed the images with Preserve your Memories Protective Coating to be sure that the inks would not smear. I also inked the edges of my cardstock and several items with the gold ink to get the desired look.

Title:Crazy Cool Ride
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Prism Papers)
Patterned Paper (DCWV)
Stamps (Technique Tuesday; 7gyspies)
Ink (Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink)
Chipboard (Making Memories)
Paint (Making Memories)
Ghost Shape (Heidi Swapp)
Foam Alphabet (American Crafts)
Stickers (American Crafts; Making Memories)
Protective Spray (Preserve Your Memories II)
Adhesive (AdTech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

For my second project, I had a few invitations to make for my son’s birthday party. I decided to use the Encore! Ultimate Metallic Inks for the stamping on my invitations. I love the way that the invitation turned out.

Title:You’re Invited
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Prism Papers)
Patterned Paper (Rusty Pickle; Love Elsie)
Stamps (Technique Tuesday; Stampin' Up!; Stampers Anonymous)
Ink (Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink; Tsukineko Staz-On)
Adhesive (AdTech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I wanted to do one more project using the Ultimate Metallic Ink Pads for my review. I have wanted to create a layout using the angel wings stamps in a stamp kit that I have for quite some time. However I wanted the wings to be metallic, but slightly muted and I was never sure how to achieve the affect that I wanted. These Tsukineko inks have the perfect look that I envisioned. I layered two different colors, the Honeydew and the Silver, to obtain the results I had been hoping for.

Title: Fresh From Heaven
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Prism Papers)
Patterned Paper (Rusty Pickle; MME)
Stamps (Technique Tuesday)
Ink (Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink)
Chipboard Circle (Scenic Route)
Stickers (7gypsies)
Title Card (Fancy Pants Designs)
Rubon (BasicGrey)
Ribbon (Imaginisce)
Protective Spray (Preserve Your Memories II)
Adhesive (AdTech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

In the past, I have found that metallic inks are sometimes more trouble than they are worth. I’ve felt that since they would need to be embossed anyway, a metallic embossing powder would be just as effective. The Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic Inks have changed my mind. I can see why my friend has always spoken so highly of these inks. It’s wonderful to get beautiful metallic results without having to pull out the heat gun and embossing powders. If you’ve been looking for something to lend a beautiful metallic finish to a special project, then these are the inks you are looking for.

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Review by Chris

Metallic ink lends a luster and elegance to stamped projects that cannot be achieved by other dye or pigment inks. Unfortunately for the impatient stamper like me, the waiting time required for the ink to dry is always a limiting factor. I like to keep moving when I work and I really dislike the down-time required by most metallic inks. Enter Tsukineko’s Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink. As they advertise, “this non-toxic, water soluble pigment ink dries within minutes…” And it does. And it’s wonderful!

Encore! is available in 12 gorgeous, shimmering colors. For this review I received Silver, Gold, Champagne and Honeydew. The stamp pad is a raised foam pad, perfect for inking stamps and applying the ink direct to paper. The cases interlock so when stacked on the work table, they do not topple over. This is a great space saving feature for those, like me, with small work surfaces. Because the ink is water soluble, clean-up is a snap!

My first project was a test run for a possible Holiday card. I like to design cards that are non-denominational and snowflakes are a favorite image for this purpose. First, I stamped multiple images of pine trees across the bottom. I love the way this metallic ink allowed overlapping images, without masking and without the images looking blotchy. What a great feature! I added falling snowflakes to the sky area, and an embossed greeting. Quick and elegant! This might be a keeper.

Title:Wonder card
Materials Used:
Inks (Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic Ink in Silver and Honeydew)
Stamps (Stampscapes, Pine Trees; Hampton Arts, Classic Snowflake; Rainy City Stamp, Wonder)
Embossing powder (Ranger, Ancient Gold, Princess Gold)
Cardstock (Prism, Prismatics, Frosted Cobalt, Twilight Medium)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Tape Runner)

The beauty of this metallic ink is that it dries quickly without heat-setting or embossing, but it also is moist enough to allow embossing for an enhanced effect. On this card, I stamped the baroque image with Encore! Ultimate Metallic ink in Champagne and embossed with Ranger’s Antiquities Frosted Crystal. The image sparkles with depth and elegance. I stamped the background text and the greeting using Encore! Gold and embossed just the greeting with Ranger’s Clear embossing powder. I love the subtle metallic look of the background and the glistening sheen of the greeting. As I mentioned earlier, the quick drying feature of the metallic ink lets the crafter keep moving when creating a project with very little waiting time for the ink to dry.

Title: Thinking of you card
Materials Used:
Inks (Tsukineko Encore! Ultimate Metallic ink in Champagne and Gold)
Stamps (Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz, Baroque; Hero Arts, Italian Poetry Background; Impression Obsession, Thinking of you)
Embossing powder (Ranger, Clear and Antiquities, Frosted Crystal)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Tape Runner)

Metallic ink can lend a finished look to many stamping projects and now with the quick-drying feature of Tsukineko’s Encore! Ultimate Metallic inks, waiting for stamped images to dry is no longer a consideration. The versatility of using these gorgeous metallic inks by themselves or adding embossing makes these a must-have addition to your stamping ink supply.

For more information visit Tsukineko