A Muse Studio Ink Review-REVISED

**ADDITIONAL UPDATE ON 2/28/2013:
Three new ink colors have been added to the new catalog released March 1st, 2013. The first new ink color is called "Mermaid" and is a beautiful teal color. The second new ink color is called "Apple" and is a bright red. The third new ink color is called "Berry" and is fuschia color.

The 5 Venetian colors have all been kept but renamed. The renamed colors are:
Venetian Burano = Poppy
Venetian Belini = Melon
Venetian Lido = Saffron
Venetian Rialto = Moss
Venetian Titian = Mushroom
And no colors have been retired! Yay!

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****THIS POST HAS BEEN REVISED AND UPDATED AS OF FEBRUARY 2012 TO REFLECT THE NEW 2012 CATALOG AND IS CURRENT!****

There have been a few questions and interest in the A Muse Studio Inks, so thought I'd share with you some info about it! :) Hope this is helpful for you if you're curious about the inks.

First of all, here's a picture of what the ink looks like!

The inkpad case is rectangular and measures 4-1/4" long x 2-3/4" wide x 3/4" depth. The large stamping area of the inkpad measures 3-3/8" long x 2-1/8" wide x 1/8" depth. The sides of the case slightly slope inward, making it easy and comfortable to hold. It is very lightweight and the see-through lid makes it easy to tell which color is inside.

They are also stackable, as you can see here.

The inks are available in 50 individual shades. They are $5.95 each. Refills are also available for $3.95. They are sorted into 6 palette color collections, organized by the seasons. The entire collections can be bought at a discount or purchased individually.

BASIC Palette 

(includes sugar, pebble, seattle, slate, onyx)

VENETIAN Palette 

(Limited Edition colors for 2012)

(includes lido, bellini, burano, rialto, titan)

SPRING Palette 
(includes shell, blush, apricot, lemon whip, buttercup, lichen, sage, sky, amethyst, latte)

SUMMER Palette 
(includes papaya, orange, bubblegum, watermelon, lime, grass, bermuda, ocean, blueberry, grape)

FALL Palette 
(includes squash, pumpkin, nutmeg, currant, wasabi, heather, blackberry, wheat, toffee, french roast)

WINTER Palette 
(includes grapefruit, cherry, pistachio, fern, evergreen, cobalt, winter sky, navy, eucalyptus, cocoa)

The nine new (never before released) colors for 2012 are: Lido, Bellini, Burano, Rialto, Titian, Seattle, Grape, Pistachio and Grapefruit. The three colors from the holiday catalog have been added to the main catalog: Pebble, Wasabi and Cocoa. Cranberry is the only color that has been retired from the 2011 catalog.

The ink itself is a pigment ink with a chalk ink finish. It does a beautiful job stamping text as well as detailed and solid images! You can see this in the picture below, which is stamped with A Muse inks. The stamping is very crisp, and it stamps perfectly almost every time. The ink is acid-free, so can be used in scrapbooking too!

If you use Papertrey Ink colors, here are the color matches that I found to coordinate with A Muse inks:

All of these are perfect matches with PTI Colors: 
Spring Moss = Lichen
Sweet Blush = Shell
Lemon Tart = Lemon Whip
Summer Sunrise = Papaya
Plum Pudding = Heather
Dark Chocolate = French Roast
Spring Rain = Sky (Winter Sky could also work)
New Leaf = Grass
Orange Zest = Pumpkin
Scarlet Jewel = Currant
Smokey Shadow = Slate
Simply Chartreuse = Fern
Harvest Gold = Buttercup
Fine Linen = Wheat
Kraft = Latte
Hibiscus Burst = Watermelon (Bubblegum could also work)
Pure Poppy = Cherry
Soft Stone = Pebble
Autumn Rose = Currant
*New color match* Berry Sorbet = Burano

All of these are great matches with PTI Colors: 
Blueberry Sky = Blueberry (just slightly brighter)
Ripe Avocado = Fern (slightly lighter)
Blackberry = Royal Velvet (slightly lighter)
Ocean Tides = Eucalyptus (darker bluer)
Aqua Mist = Bermuda (just slightly bluer)
Enchanted Evening = Navy (slightly brighter)
Hawaiian Shores = Bermuda (coordinates well with, but much lighter)
Raspberry Fizz = Bubblegum (coordinates well with, but much lighter)

Other colors that don't have PTI matches, but are beautiful colors: 
Lime, Evergreen, Cobalt, Ocean, Seattle

Here is a handstamped ink card chart that I made of the A Muse inks. I have almost all of the colors, and will be ordering the rest soon. If you would like a chart so you can see the colors with your own eyes, please email me at: amuse1303@gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll mail a hard copy of one to you! (ETA: I now have all the ink colors and they are all included on the new updated chart! If you request one, you will see all of the new 2012 colors.)

If you would like to order any A Muse Studio inks, they are available for sale from my web store here:

www.amusestudio.com/MonicaK

Hope this has been helpful and clears up some questions you might have. If you have any more questions, feel free to email me at: amuse1303@gmail.com. The inks really are amazing and so fun to stamp with. I own a LOT of inks from many different companies and these are some of my most favorite, a true joy to stamp with. Thanks so much for reading my blog and I hope you have a great and sunshine-filled day!