Poll: Are you a "collection scrapper?"

Sometimes I buy I whole collection but not every time. I think the last one I bought all of and more than once was pinkfresh escape the ordinary.
I still love me some pinkfresh

I wasn't quite sure what to answer, I would say no, but my collections are together, not because of the collection though, because of the brand. Like all my Pinkfresh is together in a drawer. It's not separated out by collection, (Some Days, etc) but the collections are kind of together because they are the same brand. But when I scrapbook, I mix collections and brands. Clear as mud, right? Same with Vicki B, I have Color Study and Storyteller together, but that's because it is all Vicki B.

not really but I do keep collection kits separate from my stash in general until they've been 'killed' (I haven't always - this is a recent change) - but I'll still add scraps or embellishments from the stash when I scrap

I am a mix it all up scrapper. I love combining collections and papers and all the decorative bits.

That being said, there have been times when I have used one collection.

Nothing is stored by collection.

I buy and store by collection (and then theme). I keep my collections in a bag and then store in the cube by theme. For a collection (I'm considering this a line) I keep the paper together. Then on the label I put a yellow, red, green or blue sticker. It lets me know that elsewhere I have housed stickers, ephemera, dies, stamps, etc. That way I have more room to store my papers. For most collections I have just papers. I have some older lines that never came with any kind of embellishment. For then newer lines (like the last 10 years or so), I'll buy at least the stickers or ephemera so I don't have to make my own embellishments. Those are are also stored by theme. That way if I have a birthday layout to finish I can go to the ephemera for birthday and use from any collection/line that I have.

I put exclusively but I'm not exactly exclusively, it is just that the "limited to a specific brand" didn't fit, either, because I am not.

I do store my paper/embellishments by collection. Each collection is in a 2 gallon Ziplock bag. I have most of the matching embellishments thrown in the bag, too.
I do have some exceptions- enamel dots go in my enamel dot drawer- they are so versatile they don't need to be with a specific collection. Thickers and other alphabets are often not stored with the collection, either. And sometimes washi tape goes in the washi tape drawer, not with the collection, but that matters how much the washi tape pattern is exclusive to that collection.

My collections are then sorted by theme- for example all autumn lines are stored in one place.

As far as scrapping, I usually stick to one collection or at least one manufacturer when I make a page. Usually when I throw something in from another line it is paper like woodgrain, bricks, oxidation, etc. I use a lot of Reminisce paper as one-offs because a lot of their paper has that aesthetic- it makes good background paper or mats. Diecut embellishments almost always have to match the collection and are stored with the collection but enamel dots, wood shapes, washi tape, buttons, charms, etc. are used on any layout.

Specific lines (or manufacturers) have a certain style to them and my brain can't mix two styles together- for example distressed and cartoony just cannot be on the same layout.



Exactly. Vicki Boutin and Basic Grey have the same distressed aesthetic so they would work well together. I totally get that. Doodlebug is so specific I can't see it working with anything but Doodlebug.

I'm so familiar with manufacturers that I can look at a paper and usually identify what line it is from. After 20 years of scrapping I can even do this with very old lines that are no longer made. None of the people I scrap with can do that. I'm just kind of obsessed with scrapbook lines.

Sometimes I can see that organizing things by color would be useful and I used to do that back when paper was one-sided but once everything became 2-sided I could just never figure out how that would work.

Exactly! My brain sorts like this. My friend that I scrap with likes to test me, and ask me to identify the paper company while covering up the branding strip, lol. She doesn't care at all and pays zero attention (which is fine) to who makes what. And it all lives together in iris containers, unsorted.

I would agree with the posts above - I have my papers and coordinating embellishments stored in several ways, one is by theme - Christmas, Fall, Summer, Baby, etc.

Then I get more specific like all my Vicki Boutin is together because her collections tend to work together. But I will also combine designers and collections if they coordinate. For example, I have some Cocoa Vanilla with some Pink Fresh because they play well together.

It's my older stuff and leftover pieces I tend to forget about! I think I may need to consider sorting some of the older papers and embellishment items by color so I remember to use them.

It's funny that I saw this poll today because just this morning I was thinking about this. I watched a Created By Gwen video on YouTube - of her craft room - and she talked about being a collection scrapbooker. I've realized lately that I am a collection scrapper, but its new for me. I used to mix and match but I've always struggled with it, and thanks to Crop and Create in May I've realized collection scrapbooking is so much easier for me. I have trouble with matching colours and hues and tones, etc., and collections take that problem away from me.

Me too! I only buy things I know I will use or if I just really like it. Rarely have I liked an entire collection, ever. Even if I buy a collection it will be because it is only sold that way. Otherwise I will pick and choose. I mix things all the time and have no need to have everything coordinated by mfg line. If I have something else that works I'm happy.

I selected "yes exclusively." It's not entirely accurate, but it is the closest option. As a digital scrapper, I buy full kits or collections 99% of the time. I tend to use papers and elements from one kit on most of my layouts, sometimes I will bring in products from other kits if the main kit doesn't have something I want to use. 

I'm doing Shimelle's Scrap a Rainbow at the moment, and that has encouraged me to use products from lots of different kits on my pages. It's been fun, but it's also harder and more time consuming, so I doubt I will continue doing it once these classes have finished. 

I love shopping by collection and buying all the coordinating goodies! Makes more sense than trying to match it all up.

I am definitely not a collection scrapper. When I started I couldn't afford to buy full collections so I learnt to mix and match things I liked from various manufacturers and lines. I've made a couple of pages I can think of where I used mostly one collection, but I always find myself reaching for things outside the collection to make them feel finished.

I'm a mixer- in both scrapping and card-making. I do like collections - and have some, but stick with the "no rules" strategy and mix & match