how do you buy scrapbook supplies? has it changed over time?

I buy what I think I will use for photos I already have or in some cases, potential future photos 'just in case.'
Like when I wanted to go to NYC I bought NYC paper and then I did go and had all kinds of paper on hand.

I buy what I like but only if I think I can use it and I never buy an entire collection. Some of the papers I am giving away came as coordinating paper and I probably will never use it.

I never really bought for specific projects. The only time I would buy for specific projects was when I was cropping at my lss and my page *needed* something. I was a big kit subsciber, so I got a lot of my stuff that way. And I had a great lss and would just buy what I liked. If I had to do it over, I would buy just for specific projects. I have so much "pretty" stuff, but no plans for it. I am working on purging a lot of it though.

I'll be real honest and say that if I like it I buy it. I seem to always be able to make any papers/collections with my photos. I am kind of haphazard and all over the map when it comes to any sort of reasoning as far as buying scrappy supplies go.

Great question!

I used to buy based on sale. Newly one income with a baby. I tended to buy cardstock and useful tools. Pattern paper and most embellishments had to be on sale or clearance.

Then came the buy what I love phase. Over buying, because I had no time whatsoever to scrapbook.

Now I'm trying out kit clubs. I will still buy other collections or single pieces of pp and embellishments, but they have to be because I really like them. Every once in a while, it's a "I need something for these photos." Usually I can make something in my stash work for my photos. I love to get the enamel dots and generic use items from the sales sites when possible.

Like a bunch of you, I buy mostly adhesive and cardstock (white and kraft). And on a rare occasion, if it's on sale and I really think I'll use it, I'll buy a 12x12 paper pack.
But the only other things I've been buying, and only rarely, are cut titles. I never was able to justify to myself paying for a cutting system, so once in a while I'll buy a precut word or phrase or a sticker pack.

Has it changed over time? Sure. In the beginning I bought lots more, but now I still have a whole lot of stuff left over, so I don't need to buy anymore of it. 

I think I've had my share of glitter too! Hahaha!

Well, today I went to the scrapbook store down the street from my house. I bought some cardstock in shades that will likely work for my daughter's October 2016 wedding photos. I generally only buy white/off-white, black and kraft cardstock but they had a coupon for buy 10/get 10 so I went for it. I also picked up about 4 sheets of patterned paper. They had just put out some of the newer lines, so I went through and grabbed embellishments from those lines that I liked and hadn't ordered elsewhere already. I still spent a fair bit of change, but it felt very picky-choosy to me. I also went on Saturday and bought a good bit but it's extremely unusual for me to go twice in less than a week. The last time I was there, for example, was October.

I buy what I like but also what I think I might reasonably use. An example is that I really like that newish line that has space stuff in it, but I am really not sure I would ever use that so I passed it by. I have one category of scrapbook supply within which I allow myself to buy whatever I want to buy: Thickers and other alphabets. My Thickers take up 3 drawers of an Ikea Hemnes dresser at this point, and there are a ton of alphabets elsewhere, but I still feel okay with that. Letters and alphabets? They are my thing. One of my things.

It is pretty rare that I buy a whole kit of one particular collection. I have done it more lately than usual, but it's still quite rare. I like to cherrypick what I like and what I think might work.

I also regularly pick up papers with a certain look to them. These are mainly grid papers, ledgers, papers with print on them. I love those and know I will use them so I will typically get at least one of those if I spot one in a collection even if I don't really care for anything else.

I have a pretty solid collection of stamps, but I very much try to watch it on those. Same with dies. I have never seen the point of getting matching dies for a stamp I might only use 5 times and maybe might not even cut it out any of those times. I try to have a plan for those sorts of things, like if I am going to make a bunch of Christmas cards or something. If I have to have a stamp set and the dies come with it, then great. But that's pretty unusual.

For tools, I tend to research those pretty well before I buy them. Not always, but usually. I am a little cautious in that area for some reason. What I really like is if my scrapbook store gets a tool in; then I can check it out in person. Youtube videos with demonstrations are also good for research.

My scrapbook attic is very, very well stocked. I would say a little too well stocked at the moment, so I have slowed down on purchases for now. I need to reevaluate the room and reorder things soon. I don't get rid of a bunch of stuff, but in the last year my sister has gone crazy for scrapbooking, so I did give her a TON of stuff. Other than that, I tend to hang onto things for quite a long time. I've been doing this since 1994 and I just got rid of some of my earliest Creative Memories supplies maybe in 2007 and then the rest about three years ago. I still have some of them that I use (like the circle cutter).

I do normally scrapbook a good bit, so I use my stuff. I don't really care how new or old it is usually. After the newness wears off of new stuff, I assimilate it into the collective by color or type of product and that's where it waits for me. SaveSave

I used to buy more by the project when I had several LSS near me, and scrapped regularly at one of them. I'd do most of my buying either in anticipation of a crop, or during the crop.
Now I don't have a store near me, most of my shopping is online and I tend to bulk buy to minimize shipping. I buy more collection packs, as it saves me having to try to co-ordinate colors on a computer monitor. I don't do subs, as I haven't found one I like here - international shipping coupled with customs charges caught me out once too often!

I started out buying with specific photos in mind, like I would go into my LSS with a stack of photos in hand and buy all the paper, cardstock and embellishments that matched.
Over the years that changed to buying not only for projects in mind or things that I know I will have a use for eventually to pretty much everything that caught my eye, was on a serious sale, could not live with out....I think many of us know the drill there.

One of the big changes that I have noticed in the way I shop is that I am far more selective with what I actually purchase, there was no rhyme or reason on what caught my eye previously but now I have to know that I will use it. I scrapbook a lot of camping and beach trips so for me buying stamps with shells or anchors is something I would use far more than say a stamp set with flowers.

I'm a non-impulse shopper. I buy supplies that I like, reflect my style & primary scrap subject, & will actually use...eventually.

Typically I just buy what I like, but I do keep in mind any photos I have bee recently taking or prepping to print when I shop, so I do buy with certain photos in mind, too.

Only very occasionally do I make a purchase strictly for one particular project or layout.

That has definitely changed over the years, though, because my style of scrapping has changed. Early on I used primarily cardstock and just a few themed patterned papers as borders, frames, embellishments, etc. Many of my layouts had no patterned paper at all. So back then, all of my paper choices were geared towards certain photos.

Then when Basic Grey became super popular and scrapbook lines started having "semi-patterned" papers, I started using those more and more and almost stopped using plain cardstock. And then I just started buying up anything I liked in colors I knew worked well with the majority of photos I take.

I buy it if I like it. Belonging to a kit club made me look outside the box, and I tried to use whatever was in the kit. However, when I'm buying in real life (like CKC), I HAVE to like what I'm buying. I'm past the stage of just buying it because it's new and cute.