S/O of FOMO thread sort of ….

With some lines my LSS only brings in collection packs, which means that I have no choice but to buy the pack if I want the papers. I only do this with collections that I know I will have a use for. And I have to have the embellishments to keep me a happy scrapper. There are always some embellishments I don't buy (epoxy or really bulky things), but I tend to be inclusive in my shopping. Like christinec68 I like having something that is all together. Over time, I find I throw in extra embellishments or papers that coordinate and the kit evolves.

Some lines, I pick and choose for sure. There are increasingly few lines that really excite me anymore, so when I find one I do stock up, especially if it is generic and I can use it for multiple occasions. I'll buy multiple papers, and even some multiples of the embellishments if I think they will work well with the rest of my stash.

That said, I recently pulled out an old Christmas collection from Crate Paper. It had two sheets of each of the papers and the embellishments (punch outs, borders and stickers) all together. So far I have made four quite elaborate layouts with it and I still have a ton left. It's been a real wake up call as to just how far I can stretch a sheet of paper. One more layout with it (maybe two), and then it will go back in the stash and I'll consider whether to just divide the rest of the papers up by colour or to keep it as a kit.

I have only once ever purchased all of a line. It was when Club Echo Park came out, and I joined not knowing what line they would pick-actually I thought they might mix a sampling of different lines together (wouldn't that be fun?)

The line they use was very pretty, but without the club, I would have probably just purchased the 6x6 pad to make cards. Now I have alllll of the things. I cancelled after that month, I felt overwhelmed in product that even if it was my favoritist line ever, would be hard to use up.

Since not living near an LSS anymore, I do tend to buy a paper collection pack vs just picking the papers I like. I will usually get either the chipboard or the ephemera pack if they are different enough from the stickers and have enough pieces I would use. I also like the Simple Stories phrase foam stickers they do with their lines-if I can use most of the pieces, I will get those.

If I loved a line, in the past I would purchase the 6x6 pad-I've stopped doing this because I wasn't really using them along with the line for scrapbooking, and I don't like the newer 6x8 pads.

I have been getting more selective about how much of a line I purchase. SS had a home themed line eary this year, and I picked up the sticker sheet and 3 pieces of the paper, that's it. EP came out with a summer line I liked, and I picked up all of the papers (and a second sheet of a few papers), so I guess it all comes out in the wash. 😀

My purchasing habits are not static; sometimes I buy it all and sometimes I cherrypick. I have no problem working leftovers back into my stash; I simply figure out which kit/collection the leftovers will work best with and then store them together. Alternatively, I have some 'random embellishment' boxes to put things in that I dig through from time to time.

But I do agree, my stash has a 'limit'. After 20+ years of scrapping, I have found my sweet spot as it relates to stash size; too big, I'm overwhelmed...too small, I never have what I want or need. We all need to find our own 'sweet spot'. And knowing your scrapping style (i.e., what you like to use, what you NEVER use) helps keep it from getting overwhelming.