|
Post by bethquiroz on Oct 16, 2016 17:42:32 GMT
So what is everyone's thoughts on the "Up" kit? I like the content this month - there's a lot of different directions you could take the theme. The kit, however, is totally lacking. I really don't want to give up on this subscription, but if the quality of the kits continues to decrease each month, I may have to cancel. Damn you, SC.....
|
|
|
Post by mom on Oct 16, 2016 17:59:31 GMT
For the first time in forever, I am not tempted by any of it. Just so lacking.
|
|
|
Post by gigi333 on Oct 16, 2016 18:39:58 GMT
I actually love it
I ordered the kit and stamp at the month to month price, I subbed for a year and left just before the summer, I'm not staying subbed because there were several stamps and kits I wouldn't have gotten if I wasn't subbing, but sometimes I just love them
|
|
|
Post by freeatlast on Oct 16, 2016 18:43:20 GMT
This is my first month since the kits/stamps started that I didn't get anything. I gave up the kit in May and the stamp set in September. When I gave up the kit, I had absolutely no regret. But giving up the stamp set was a harder decision to make. So I was really kinda surprised at myself that when I went to look at the stamp set at reveal, my response was "meh".
I have no regrets at all about giving up the last of Ali's products. What was innovative and well-thought out when the Story Kits first started has become for me slapped together and unimaginative.
|
|
|
Post by anniefb on Oct 16, 2016 19:01:16 GMT
I'm on the last couple of months of my sub and ready to pull the plug. The kit just looks sparse IMO.
|
|
|
Post by needtime2scrap on Oct 16, 2016 19:03:48 GMT
I love this month's stamp but will have to wait and see on the kit when I get it in my hands. Still getting lots of layouts/PL done between the kits and content.
|
|
|
Post by QueSeraSera on Oct 16, 2016 20:01:56 GMT
I really like these kits and the concept, but Ali needs to start bulking up the contents or the kit is just not worth it.
|
|
|
Post by anniefb on Oct 16, 2016 20:11:17 GMT
I really like these kits and the concept, but Ali needs to start bulking up the contents or the kit is just not worth it. I really loved the first few kits I got (started with Roots) but didn't really relate to a few of the themes earlier this year. Just had a look at the content for 'Up' and I can see how some of the ideas will work with what I'm scrapping now. Guess that I'm just in the place now where I 'get' how the themes work and can translate that to whatever I want to scrap, using whatever products. So Ali's 'training' has worked in that way. I definitely do think more about storytelling and different ways to translate my ideas to the page. I won't continue my sub much longer, but I can see that it's been worthwhile, at least in part.
|
|
dawnnikol
Prolific Pea
'A life without books is a life not lived.' Jay Kristoff
Posts: 7,903
Sept 21, 2015 18:39:25 GMT
|
Post by dawnnikol on Oct 16, 2016 22:05:23 GMT
I like this one a lot. It'll be one I watch when she has her sale because I can't justify the cost ATM with DD stuff coming on Friday from KP and the FYC kit I just purchased.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 8:33:00 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2016 22:32:15 GMT
I dropped both my story and stamp kit this month. I still love what Ali does and if she had discounted having both subs - like giving me $5 off the total combo - I would have probably kept them. I just felt that the story kit was getting thinner, that I was paying for shipping and access to content for both. Yes I get the digi thrown in - but it wasn't enough. Also the kits were getting boring. I am sure if things change, I will sub again in heart beat. I really had to think hard about not signing up for the hybrid class - but the price was too steep for me.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingbooty on Oct 16, 2016 22:38:01 GMT
This month's kit is not for me. If there had still been a $5 code, I would not have even thought about using it. I can see how others like it though.
To a certain extent, I feel like the Story kit and stamp idea has jumped the shark. I feel like they are starting to go the whatever-prompts-with-whatever-word way rather than a thought-out collection of paths to investigate around a theme, if that makes any sense. The more of these I see as the months go by, the more I feel like they're illustrations to the definition of a concept in a pop culture dictionary instead of being wonderful brainy puzzles that are both creative and cohesive. Like a Pinterest prompt card for Project Life but with her handwriting and her choice of fonts.
I don't mind that others still see the value in them and want them. But the more of these I accumulate, the less of a direction I feel it is giving me in terms of journaling. And that's fine. There is no superior way. If Ali has more than enough customers who genuinely still want the product and look forward to it, then it just means I'm not seeing it as they do. C'est la vie.
|
|
|
Post by epeanymous on Oct 16, 2016 22:45:27 GMT
I haven't gotten mine yet, but I like the chipboard stickers, as always. I'm not a big fan of the paper handwriting circles. I dropped my stamp sub because I just had enough fairly similar word stamps (I would sub again in a heartbeat if there were images instead or in addition, probably); I'm giving the story kit a few more months, but I haven't been able to scrap much lately, and they are piling up.
|
|
nicolep
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,080
Jan 26, 2016 16:10:43 GMT
|
Post by nicolep on Oct 17, 2016 0:55:13 GMT
For me, I always like her themes because they're broad and versitle ...but no way for how VERY LITTLE you get but for how very much you pay! No thank you.
|
|
|
Post by jennoconnell on Oct 17, 2016 2:08:27 GMT
For me, I still feel like this month's kit is a good value at $19.99. I'm not excited (yet) about the theme or the arrow notepad, but I like that we get flair for a change, and I like the color scheme. I can't say this is my favorite kit, but I'm going to hang in there at least until my sub ends. I am excited to see the next few kits "surprise", "review", and "numbers". I don't know about "bond", but I bet "lens", "brave" and "fun" will be good too.
|
|
|
Post by jennyap on Oct 17, 2016 10:08:35 GMT
I dropped my Story Kit sub after my commitment was up - Drive was the last I received. People have been talking about the kits getting thinner for ages, but I didn't really feel that way until the last couple of months, and the themes for the rest of the year didn't much appeal to me either. Up definitely looks thin to me - I always look in case there's a standout, but this one's a no from me.
|
|
|
Post by joteves on Oct 17, 2016 10:57:34 GMT
I have been subbing to the Story kits from the very first one and I honestly do not feel that the kits have been getting thinner. That does not mean I love everything in the kit. Some items just don't work for my style of storytelling, and there are months when the theme doesn't say much to me either, but I put this down to personal preference - I don't expect to like every single thing Ali comes up with every month. I still love this subscription, the class content, the story prompts and the work and thought that Ali puts into every kit. I do, however, wish there were a discount for people who want to sub to both the story kits and the stamps, as I agree that the free digital kit isn't enough, especially when paying the extra international handling fee on both kits (which ship together in the same envelope).
I wish they would pause the kits for a couple of months though, say at the beginning of the year, so that I could catch up. Seems like I'm drowning in kits and ideas and I just don't have time to make layouts!! Help!!
|
|
|
Post by carolynhasacat on Oct 17, 2016 11:56:58 GMT
I canceled my story kit a couple of months ago, but held on to the stamp sub. I plan on keeping that through "numbers" in January. I would consider re-subbing in the future, but I just have too many of those kits that I haven't used. I also feel like a break would be welcome, or maybe jump to every other month or some other less frequent cadence.
I feel like there's an opportunity for her here to sell a Story album and some add-ons and make it another album project. I feel like I never incorporate these products in my regular scrapbooking like I thought I would. I reserve them for specific product-driven LOs about specific stories.
|
|
|
Post by teacherlisa on Oct 17, 2016 15:01:54 GMT
I am still loving every month
|
|
|
Post by paperpilekitten on Oct 17, 2016 18:54:09 GMT
I've been a subscriber to the story stamp since day 1, so quite a long time. I've decided to stay for Surprise and Review and then I'll leave and only pick up the months I really love. I thought the stamp sets have been getting thinner but when I checked, that's really not the case. Instead, I think I feel less for the stamp sets because they don't inspire me to tell my stories as much as they used to.
|
|
|
Post by anniefb on Oct 17, 2016 19:07:52 GMT
I've been a subscriber to the story stamp since day 1, so quite a long time. I've decided to stay for Surprise and Review and then I'll leave and only pick up the months I really love. I thought the stamp sets have been getting thinner but when I checked, that's really not the case. Instead, I think I feel less for the stamp sets because they don't inspire me to tell my stories as much as they used to. I think that's a good approach - to pick up the ones you really love. I guess the reality is that after a while of the same thing it's hard to feel as inspired.
|
|
|
Post by lasteve1 on Oct 18, 2016 14:28:25 GMT
We sorta got on this topic on the December Daily 2016 thread so I said more over there, but I'm happy there is a separate thread for this topic (Ali threads always seem to die though). I have been a story kit & stamp subber since the "first" kit, which was also the first one with a story kit. I think the kits have stayed pretty consistent in terms of content and quality throughout, although there is some fluctuation from month to month, I definitely don't think it has been a downward trajectory.
I think that after a few months, the content does start to get a little repetitive. I'm not sure this is something Ali can help, she has a specific style and perspective, and she's going to bring that each month. I think the guest story tellers do bring some additional perspective, but I think I would prefer if that content was released on the 15th as well, and then maybe on the first Ali released an additional layout/process video by herself. Then maybe the guest story tellers could add more story ideas that would add to the main lecture (not recorded in it, but just content wise so you could watch them back to back), instead of just their layouts.
I also dislike that there are some upcoming words that don't really speak to me, but besides the word itself, there is no sneak of colors, etc. I wish there was something so I could decide if I wanted to cancel, I have found in the past that sometimes words I have dreaded turned out to be great kits, and sometimes words I looked forward to, disappointed. I dislike that there isn't a discount for getting both kits, I like the digitals, but because the class content doesn't double it still feels like overpaying. I'm going to keep subbing anyways though, at least for now, I look forward to her kits the most each month so as long as I have that excitement about them, I'm going to stick with it.
|
|
|
Post by lasteve1 on Oct 18, 2016 14:40:47 GMT
I have seen a lot of discussion about the "thinning" of Ali's kits lately, so I decided (because I apparently have too much free time) to go back and compare all of the kits and see if this is in fact true. Obviously the stamp is the same size each month, so I just compared the story kit itself.
Each kit, from the beginning, has consistently included: 6 3x4 cards, 4 4x6 cards, chipboard pieces (almost always on 4x6, but occasionally different although comparable), a marketing card, a plastic envelope, and a plastic word. So this is consistent across kits and it is just the other content that really needs to be compared.
In addition to the items listed above, each kit contains 4-6 other items (except that Roots had 7, but lots of them were very cheap like twine & brads, plus two smaller sticker sheets than the usual size). It is true, that there are more kits with only 4 items in 2016 than in 2015, but there have been kits up to 6 items in 2016 (stuff) and down to 4 items in 2015 (go). Most kits have 5 items. Typically the kits that have 4 items seem to be "higher value" items than the kits that have 6 items, which tend to have at least one super cheap item (e.g. bag of sequins, bit of thread).
Personally, I would rather get 4-5 high quality story themed items, than get extras like sequins or thread, but I do agree that those make the kits seem "fuller" which is probably why they throw them in. Although 2016 has more kits with 4-5 items and 2015 had more kits with 5-6 items, 2016 has seen much higher quality items (rubber pieces, pad of 3x4 prompt papers, badges) and almost no super cheap items (brads, glitter, twine) which were more common in 2015. Therefore, my assessment is that Ali has chosen quality over quantity for the later kits, but in reality the kits have not gotten thinner in value... just thinner in number of items. (I could totally type out the product list for each kit, but I think I would bore everyone haha).
|
|
|
Post by rune2484 on Oct 18, 2016 15:31:06 GMT
I have seen a lot of discussion about the "thinning" of Ali's kits lately, so I decided (because I apparently have too much free time) to go back and compare all of the kits and see if this is in fact true. Obviously the stamp is the same size each month, so I just compared the story kit itself. Each kit, from the beginning, has consistently included: 6 3x4 cards, 4 4x6 cards, chipboard pieces (almost always on 4x6, but occasionally different although comparable), a marketing card, a plastic envelope, and a plastic word. So this is consistent across kits and it is just the other content that really needs to be compared. In addition to the items listed above, each kit contains 4-6 other items (except that Roots had 7, but lots of them were very cheap like twine & brads, plus two smaller sticker sheets than the usual size). It is true, that there are more kits with only 4 items in 2016 than in 2015, but there have been kits up to 6 items in 2016 (stuff) and down to 4 items in 2015 (go). Most kits have 5 items. Typically the kits that have 4 items seem to be "higher value" items than the kits that have 6 items, which tend to have at least one super cheap item (e.g. bag of sequins, bit of thread). Personally, I would rather get 4-5 high quality story themed items, than get extras like sequins or thread, but I do agree that those make the kits seem "fuller" which is probably why they throw them in. Although 2016 has more kits with 4-5 items and 2015 had more kits with 5-6 items, 2016 has seen much higher quality items (rubber pieces, pad of 3x4 prompt papers, badges) and almost no super cheap items (brads, glitter, twine) which were more common in 2015. Therefore, my assessment is that Ali has chosen quality over quantity for the later kits, but in reality the kits have not gotten thinner in value... just thinner in number of items. (I could totally type out the product list for each kit, but I think I would bore everyone haha). I think that is fascinating. Thank you for taking the time to share your analysis with us.
|
|
|
Post by anniefb on Oct 18, 2016 16:38:24 GMT
Thanks lasteve1 that was very interesting. I guess my perception of the thinness/value of the kits is just influenced by the fact that I'm kind of 'done' with them. I feel like my time as a subber has just run its course and it's time to move on to something else. I'm not really interested in any of the 2017 themes so far, though guess I might pick up the odd kit in the future if it really speaks to me.
|
|
|
Post by lasteve1 on Oct 18, 2016 16:59:19 GMT
Thanks lasteve1 that was very interesting. I guess my perception of the thinness/value of the kits is just influenced by the fact that I'm kind of 'done' with them. I feel like my time as a subber has just run its course and it's time to move on to something else. I'm not really interested in any of the 2017 themes so far, though guess I might pick up the odd kit in the future if it really speaks to me. This definitely makes sense. I think that whenever anyone looks at a kit, their own personal opinion about the items influences how much they think the kit is worth, so if there are items in the kit that we don't really like we tend to think the kit is thin because we won't use those items... but that doesn't mean it didn't cost money to include them. That's why I did the comparison, because it's hard to tell what a kit is really worth without looking at the items objectively.
Also, for Ali's kits, I think the repetitiveness of the concept between months really lowers the value of the class. Although I still enjoy it, I think I'm getting less out of it than I used to because I tend to be able to come up with most of the ideas on my own before I hear them in her video, and that wasn't always the case in the beginning. I can't tell if this is because her classes are less creative, or if it's because I'm learning how to see the words from a different perspective as it goes on. I do wonder if she intends for most of her subscribers to only stick around for about 6-12 months and then move onto something else.
|
|
|
Post by joteves on Oct 18, 2016 17:17:46 GMT
Thanks lasteve1 that was very interesting. I guess my perception of the thinness/value of the kits is just influenced by the fact that I'm kind of 'done' with them. I feel like my time as a subber has just run its course and it's time to move on to something else. I'm not really interested in any of the 2017 themes so far, though guess I might pick up the odd kit in the future if it really speaks to me. This definitely makes sense. I think that whenever anyone looks at a kit, their own personal opinion about the items influences how much they think the kit is worth, so if there are items in the kit that we don't really like we tend to think the kit is thin because we won't use those items... but that doesn't mean it didn't cost money to include them. That's why I did the comparison, because it's hard to tell what a kit is really worth without looking at the items objectively.
Also, for Ali's kits, I think the repetitiveness of the concept between months really lowers the value of the class. Although I still enjoy it, I think I'm getting less out of it than I used to because I tend to be able to come up with most of the ideas on my own before I hear them in her video, and that wasn't always the case in the beginning. I can't tell if this is because her classes are less creative, or if it's because I'm learning how to see the words from a different perspective as it goes on. I do wonder if she intends for most of her subscribers to only stick around for about 6-12 months and then move onto something else.
I totally agree with this. The value of these kits lies in people's personal opinions of them. Like I said before, I don't always love the kits (I guess I'm hard to please) but I still feel it's worth keeping up my subscription because this is the type of storytelling and kit that most appeals to me. And I do genuinely like the kits and themes most months, and I always look forward to getting my kit.
|
|
|
Post by paperpilekitten on Oct 19, 2016 11:47:28 GMT
Thanks lasteve1 that was very interesting. I guess my perception of the thinness/value of the kits is just influenced by the fact that I'm kind of 'done' with them. I feel like my time as a subber has just run its course and it's time to move on to something else. I'm not really interested in any of the 2017 themes so far, though guess I might pick up the odd kit in the future if it really speaks to me. I agree on this. And, as I posted before, I 'felt' that the stamp sets consisted of fewer stamps than before, but when I checked it, that was not true. So, probably a feeling coming from being a long time subscriber and it's time to change things up for a while. I'm curious about Surprise and Review, but for 2017 none of the words (except maybe for 'Fun') is speaking to me. I'm also a new subscriber to other (planner) kits this year and the novelty makes me ooohh and aaah over the contents of those. So maybe the reason for all this is that we all need a little change sometimes?
|
|
|
Post by carolynhasacat on Oct 19, 2016 12:35:16 GMT
Thanks lasteve1 that was very interesting. I guess my perception of the thinness/value of the kits is just influenced by the fact that I'm kind of 'done' with them. I feel like my time as a subber has just run its course and it's time to move on to something else. I'm not really interested in any of the 2017 themes so far, though guess I might pick up the odd kit in the future if it really speaks to me. I agree on this. And, as I posted before, I 'felt' that the stamp sets consisted of fewer stamps than before, but when I checked it, that was not true. So, probably a feeling coming from being a long time subscriber and it's time to change things up for a while. I'm curious about Surprise and Review, but for 2017 none of the words (except maybe for 'Fun') is speaking to me. I'm also a new subscriber to other (planner) kits this year and the novelty makes me ooohh and aaah over the contents of those. So maybe the reason for all this is that we all need a little change sometimes? I agree about the novelty factor. I love the story kit idea, but as I've said, I've had trouble incorporating them into my regular scrapbooks because they are so specific. As a solution, I am now thinking of making a Story Book out of the kits as a stand-alone album full of pages sparked by the kits because I generally really like the kits and appreciate the content she provides as part of the sub and this gives me a new way of thinking of how to use the kits. But I am ready to be done with the buying phase of that project, I think, and move onto something new.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 8:33:00 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2016 16:34:23 GMT
I suggested to Ali that she give long term subbers the option of taking a break and being able to resub at the same terms.
I needed a break, I cancelled after 21 months. I'm now unlikely to sign up again. I may occasionally buy a month to month but that's it. Price was an issue for me so subbing at the 6 month price I wouldn't do and 12 mths, I refuse to agree to the cancellation terms. I had to think long and hard before I cancelled knowing that I wouldn't sub up again.
|
|
|
Post by anniefb on Oct 19, 2016 17:15:56 GMT
As a solution, I am now thinking of making a Story Book out of the kits as a stand-alone album full of pages sparked by the kits This is how I've got most of my kit layouts/spreads at the moment - in a separate album which sort of functions as my PL type approach. I got bored with even based PL because my life is so repetitive!
|
|