New Paper Pouncers by Picket Fence Studios Review

Hello friends!  I was recently gifted these new Paper Pouncers by Picket Fence Studios with no expectations at all attached to receiving these.  I finally had time to give them a try this weekend and I thought I'd share my honest thoughts with you, so keep on reading!

This is the description from the Picket Fence website:

Paper Pouncers are a brand-new way to apply ink to die cuts, stencils, and many other paper crafting projects! These top quality super-soft SPONGE applicators are not your momma’s old inking tool! Paper Pouncers were custom designed by Picket Fence Studios to make applying ink easier, faster, and more comfortable on hands. Simply add ink onto the sponge head and pounce away! Two color palettes are available: Bright Rainbow and The Neutrals (3 pack of black, brown, and gray). Use with water-based inks or watercolors, and clean with a damp cloth or wipe. Each Pouncer comes with its own color coordinated holder for simple storage and display. 

Paper Pouncers were developed to add to a new ink application tool on the market for easier and quicker application of water-based inks to paper. They do not replace Life Changing Blender Brushes.

The first thing to keep in mind about the Paper Pouncers is that they are not intended to replace our ink blending brushes.  They aren't intended to be used in the same way as we do the brushes.  When I use the brushes, I go in a circular pattern to add ink to my project.  As the name implies, these are intended to be pounced.

For continuity, I used the same ink:  Spun Sugar, Mowed Lawn, and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide inks on 80# Neenah Solar White cardstock for each technique.   The first thing I wanted to try out was stenciling.

I found that the Pouncers gave me a very pretty, soft stenciled image and definitely think this look is very desirable for certain projects.  The difference between stenciling with these and the brushes is that when you add ink with a brush, the brush catches the edges of the stencil and fills in the opening completely.  The Paper Pouncers do not add ink along the edges of the stencil opening as you can see in the next photo.

The pounced image is on the left and ink blending brushes on the right.

If you have any issues with your hand strength or grip, I would highly recommend these.  I have experienced hand fatigue with the ink blending brushes when I have a lot of things to ink up.  I did not have that happen with the Pouncers.

Where I really thought the Paper Pouncers were a star is using them to ink up intricate die cuts!  Typically I will adhere my die cut in the negative space with removable tape on the back.  That's not hard to do with a sentiment die cut like this one, but the more detailed die cuts like branches with leaves and other florals  can be a bit fiddly.  

I was super surprised that I could easily blend the three ink colors onto the sentiment using the Pouncers!  The lighter you pounce, the smaller the area of ink coverage.  I actually, and shockingly, prefer the pouncers over the brushes for inking this up!  I felt like I had to work the brushes back and forth more to blend the ink.

Next, even though I don't believe the Paper Pouncers are intended to give that smooth blend on ink on a piece of cardstock like the brushes do, I still wanted to try it.

As the photo above shows, especially in the green ink, I wasn't able to achieve a smooth blend with the Paper Pouncers.  Maybe it's me?  I'm not sure.  However, I do think this would be an awesome look for a blue sky, especially with water splatters!

This is my blending with brushes.  It turned out as expected with a good smooth blend of ink.  The next photo is a side-by-side comparison (Pouncers on the left).

All of this leads to the question of will I continue to use these new Paper Pouncers?  I say absolutely yes!  Because I use a lot of die cut elements on my cards that I typically color with inks, these paper pouncers will most certainly be my go-to tool for coloring the die cuts!

If you wanted to give these a try, there is a Neutral Set of three Pouncers that you could try.  The bundle of both the Bright Rainbow and Neutral sets is definitely the most economical way to get these.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Let me know in the comments if you found this review helpful!  Have a wonderful day!

Thank you for shopping with my affiliate links (never any additional cost to you).