I love my pounce pads and have pink, blue, and white. Filling/prepping them is key. They do work better with the stencils made for them, but can be used with other stencils or making your own stencils. I buy direct from Full Line Stencils,
https://fulllinestencil.com/
I haven't yet tried the pencil, keep meaning to get one but keep avoiding actually quilting and haven't needed it yet!