artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,377
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:10 GMT
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Post by artbabe on Sept 4, 2023 17:03:18 GMT
I'll start by saying I'm a huge Not Just For Boys fan. I love their kits. They are the only kits I get regularly.
But I'm curious so today I ordered a kit from 3 other clubs:
Hip Kit Club. I used to get their stuff a long time ago but I thought it all started to look the same every month. I did like the colors this month, however, so I ordered it. I see their pages on Instagram and they always look good, so I thought I'd try them out again.
Cocoa Daisy. I loved Cocoa Daisy back in the day. I love the watercolor look. Some of my favorite kits from long ago are Cocoa Daisy. But then they got rid of 12x12 so I quit buying from them. I know they are back to having 12x12 kits but they are very expensive, there is no guarantee of what product you'll get, and sometimes they are too tightly themed for my taste. But I thought I'd give them a try again.
Club Scrap. I've always been intrigued by them. Their kits are designed for very specific layouts so I think it will be a challenge to use them on my freestyle pages. The papers look really shiny, too, as does some of the ribbon. I'm not a shiny person- my cardstock is always textured and I usually stay away from shiny brands of paper. But the mix of embellishments looks fun, so why not give them a try too?
So I spent a crazy amount on kits this morning, but I think it will be a fun experiment.
I miss all of the kit clubs back in the day. It was always so fun to get "happy mail". I was sad when they started to go out of business.
Do any of you belong to a kit club or buy kit club kits?
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Elsabelle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,682
Jun 26, 2014 2:04:55 GMT
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Post by Elsabelle on Sept 4, 2023 17:10:09 GMT
I have never subscribed to a kit club or bought a kit. I've always been tempted, though. I'm not interested in mixed media at all so I wouldn't want that in a kit. Do HKC kits come with mixed media supplies?
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pantsonfire
Drama Llama
Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy your life with those who you love.
Posts: 6,169
Jun 19, 2022 16:48:04 GMT
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Kit Clubs
Sept 4, 2023 17:24:59 GMT
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Post by pantsonfire on Sept 4, 2023 17:24:59 GMT
Never subscribed to a kit club. I bought 2 Hip Kit Club kits because I really liked them and I knew I would use about 90% of the items. I also added on the embellishment kit one time.
Kits just don't appeal to me. I prefer to buy the paper I really like as well as embellishment.
All but those 2 times the kits never speak to me and there would only be a few items I would use.
Lately they seem to be all over the place and way too girly. There never seems to be a good solid option for a kit I could use for ds.
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pantsonfire
Drama Llama
Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy your life with those who you love.
Posts: 6,169
Jun 19, 2022 16:48:04 GMT
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Post by pantsonfire on Sept 4, 2023 17:26:03 GMT
I have never subscribed to a kit club or bought a kit. I've always been tempted, though. I'm not interested in mixed media at all so I wouldn't want that in a kit. Do HKC kits come with mixed media supplies? Mixed media is an add on. The problem with kits is you have the main kit and then all these add ons. So it can get very expensive overcast buying what you like and would use.
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artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,377
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:10 GMT
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Post by artbabe on Sept 4, 2023 17:49:03 GMT
Lately they seem to be all over the place and way too girly. What kits of theirs did you find to be girly? I can think of one with seafoam green and blue stuff in it that might have leaned that way, but I really liked the kit. I guess maybe this month's Harvest Market kit might be considered girly because of a few flowers and some pink but the example is a boy page and it looks very nice and appropriate. The Limitless kits tend to be very "masculine". I do agree they have been all over the place since they started. They started off with a bunch of themed releases a month and they were really packed with product. Then they stopped that and had only mini kits. Then they started having one big kit a month and a couple mini kits. This month they have one big kit, 2 mini kits, and one huge Disney kit. So they definitely have been all over the map with their business model. I know it is hard to make money with scrapbooking anymore so I guess they are experimenting to find the sweet spot. It has been kind of maddening, though. So I understand what you are saying about that. They seem to go though phases of scrapbooking styles, too, but so far I've ridden the wave. Ugh, it won't let me quote Elsabelle. No HKC has it's own separate mixed media kit that they call their Color Kit. A couple of them looked good but they aren't cheap and there seems to always be a product in them I don't want. I do mixed media sometimes but not the really messy stuff. NJFB usually comes with some kind of mixed media. Club Scrap and Cocoa Daisy don't do mixed media usually except for stamps.
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Shakti
Pearl Clutcher
Troubled, complicated, and constant
Posts: 3,204
Member is Online
Oct 30, 2022 23:42:30 GMT
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Post by Shakti on Sept 4, 2023 17:58:07 GMT
Hi, my name is Shakti, I'm a Kit-aholic.
I "subscribe" and/or buy at least two or three kits a month. I use the quotes around subscribe, because if you don't have the ability to skip months and get at least a sneak peek while you still have time to opt out, I won't subscribe. No completely sight unseen surprises. And I'm a card maker, not a scrap booker, so I don't know how much of my experience is relevant.
Club Scrap has both card and page kits, plus add ons for stamps and "packs of panels" (PoPs). I think the latter are just a way of marketing their scraps, but they're useful as both card panels and photo mats, so why not? Their materials are very high quality; I'm pretty sure they use Neenah papers. Some of their materials are shiny or lustrous/metallic, but they use grosgrain ribbons and linen-textured card stock as well. They regularly have blog posts about using their page kits with photos you might not think could be used with that "theme". And while you can use their instructions exactly to cut and complete the pages and cards assembly-line style, you don't have to. They sell other "formulas" for using their collections in other ways, or you can just strike out on your own. I love the quality and cohesiveness of their collections, but I skip any that I don't really love and go hard in when I like them -- adding on the stamps and PoPs and sometimes extra paper sheets. TYou can skip two months in a row and still be considered a subscriber. If you skip a third consecutively you are dropped from the subscription, but can resubscribed the very next month. hey do a full unboxing video of the kits a few days prior to shipping, so you have plenty of time to skip or resubscribed, whichever applies to your status at the time. I highly recommend Club Scrap, particularly if you're willing to take the time to watch the video reveal and manage your account accordingly. Past kits are available as well.
I often buy some combination of Hero Arts My Monthly Hero card making kit (Classic or Premium) and the Joann/Hero Arts collaboration Make Yourself at Home card kits. I love the style and quality if HA stamps and dies. The composition tends to vary a little between the two "systems". Joann seems to offer more ink cubes and lots of background stamps. Both offer stamps and dies. There's a mix of embellishments and sometimes tools. MMH comes in a zip pouch. You CAN subscribe to MMH, but I don't. I just buy them when they strike my fancy. Joann is purchase only. Past MMH kits are sometimes available, but some months sell out promptly.
I also subscribe to Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin. The quality is somewhat lacking, but they're fun and easy. And you get a sneak in time to skip the month. There's no limit at all to how many you can skip. They also have a "suspend" to skip until further notice. Past kits and refill for kits are sometimes available, but only to subscribers.
Spellbinders, as near as I can tell, doesn't allow skips and doesn't give sneaks in time to add a subscription before it's all spoken for.'
I bought on Simon Says Stamp kit and was unimpressed.
All three of the kits I use/buy/subsribe to had good solid "guy" options this summer.
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Post by Linda on Sept 4, 2023 18:50:19 GMT
Kit clubs aren't really my thing. I did subscribe to Club Scrap 20 years ago and love their stuff - I still have bits left from those kits. I'm always tempted to resubscribe but budget... I did try EP's kits ...I got their first 3 or 4 kits - but it was just TOO MUCH stuff from the same collection
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Post by grammadee on Sept 4, 2023 22:07:29 GMT
artbabe, I will be interested to see what you think of the different kits. I have ordered one-off kits from NJFB, but have not belonged to a scrapbooking kit club in awhile. Started and stopped Spellbinders and Hero Arts clubs for card making, but while I loved some of those kits, others are still sitting here in their packaging.
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scrappymeg
Full Member
Posts: 315
Sept 18, 2020 22:59:35 GMT
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Post by scrappymeg on Sept 5, 2023 0:49:41 GMT
I love kits because I like getting a set of papers and embellishments that all coordinate (in theory anyway, lol). For me, it helps with the overwhelm when it comes time to make a layout - I can just pull the kit out, grab the photo, and start creating.
I just ended my subscription with Hip Kit Club, which I've been with for two years, only because I was getting kits faster than I can scrap and they are backing up. That said, I made the mistake of looking at their reveal for this month and I love the main kit. I'll probably just pick it up as a one-off rather than sign up for a new subscription. In the future, though, when I've made some dent in my stash, I would definitely resub with them.
I also just quit my Cocoa Daisy subscription, which I've been with since February. I subbed to their modern memory keeping kit (pocket pages, basically) and while I loved it and the design - I just get way more cards and stuff than I actually use in a given month and it's pretty pricey. The good news is, I have so many kits from this year, I could certainly keep using them for next year's Project Life, and probably into 2025....
I've subbed in the past to Ali Edwards' Stories by the Month and Story Kits. The Story Kits weren't for me, but I used to crush my Stories by the Month kit. It was the perfect amount of product for me. That said, it looks like they've made some changes and those kits look thinner than they used to, but the price has gone up. For now, I'll just stick to those one-off projects throughout the year when it comes to AE (December Daily; Week in the Life; etc).
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Kit Clubs
Sept 5, 2023 0:56:02 GMT
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Post by scrappyrabbit on Sept 5, 2023 0:56:02 GMT
I follow ShesCrafty on YouTube, and she is on the design team for a few kit clubs. She has been on NJFB for a while - I used to like that kit club a lot more before they revamped their kits. Now I’m usually very meh on them. Plus I don’t like that you can’t opt out of mixed media. I also find their price point to be way to high. She’s also on the Scraproom kit club which just sends you a sampling of new collections each month. I like the concept of that club but of course I would wish that I could choose which collections specifically. I don’t think kit clubs are for me, I enjoy curating my purchases for my needs and picking/choosing myself.
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Post by SnoopyFan on Sept 5, 2023 1:07:46 GMT
Years ago I subscribed to The Scrap Room Kits. I loved getting the variety every month. I eventually stopped because I wasn't scrapping as much.
I subscribed to Ali's Stories by the Month and Story Kits for a while. I loved them but they were starting to pile up and I was trying to cut my expenses. I also got the Studio Calico Documenter Kit for about a year.
I don't have any subscriptions right now. I need to work through the product I own before I even think about getting more.
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Kit Clubs
Sept 5, 2023 5:13:58 GMT
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Post by KikiPea on Sept 5, 2023 5:13:58 GMT
I’ve never subscribed to a kit club until this year. I picked Hop Kit Club because most of all of the products in the kits are exclusive. I don’t like getting kits with product I can get in stores because I could go anywhere to get them. I like having something not everyone has.
I don’t use them as a kit, though. I use each piece like I would any collection and mix and match them with everything else I have. I like the variety it provides.
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Post by mikklynn on Sept 5, 2023 13:13:26 GMT
I've subscribed to multiple kits over the years. Hip Kit, Felicity Jane, Not Just For Boys, and more. I'm not currently subscribed to any.
I usually stop because I have too many unused kits. I really miss FJ. I'd resubscribe if she started again.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,461
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Sept 5, 2023 14:01:09 GMT
I used to use Freckled Fawn until they stopped subscriptions. I know they are back.
I don't like using letter stickers (I prefer to cut my titles so I can resize them) so that kind of turns me off of subscribing to anything. Maybe I need an attitude adjustment...
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pantsonfire
Drama Llama
Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy your life with those who you love.
Posts: 6,169
Jun 19, 2022 16:48:04 GMT
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Kit Clubs
Sept 5, 2023 14:10:31 GMT
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Post by pantsonfire on Sept 5, 2023 14:10:31 GMT
I follow ShesCrafty on YouTube, and she is on the design team for a few kit clubs. She has been on NJFB for a while - I used to like that kit club a lot more before they revamped their kits. Now I’m usually very meh on them. Plus I don’t like that you can’t opt out of mixed media. I also find their price point to be way to high. She’s also on the Scraproom kit club which just sends you a sampling of new collections each month. I like the concept of that club but of course I would wish that I could choose which collections specifically. I don’t think kit clubs are for me, I enjoy curating my purchases for my needs and picking/choosing myself. Of the kits I know of, this is true. I will also add that each kit has different amount of papers. Some 3, some 5 some 7. At the start NJFB had papers and embellishments that aligned with how I scrap. Now their papers are sometimes really random and papers I would never use. They just don't appeal to me.
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PaperAngel
Prolific Pea
Posts: 7,923
Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Sept 5, 2023 21:43:58 GMT
No. Consistent with my style, I use patterned paper sparingly & few embellishments. I also gravitate toward non-themed/neutral products & enjoy mixing/selecting patterns/supplies as part of my creative process. Therefore, I've never subscribed to or bought anything from a kit club (in two decades of scrapping).
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Post by artisticscrapper on Sept 6, 2023 3:43:57 GMT
I’ve never subbed since it would just be too much since I don’t scrap that quickly. I do like kits though and will buy a coordinating one occasionally. Unfortunately the sites I used to buy from are either gone or have switched to mostly digital (looking at you Citrus Twist).
I want to try Cocoa Daisy. I like the ones on their site and especially their exclusives. I never cared much for Hip Kit Club but when I checked the site I was surprised. I liked some of those and would consider buying one. NJFB isn’t my style.
I go back far enough that I remember when there were a lot of kit clubs. I also remember that when you bought a kit it contained paper, all the embellishments, etc. Then some smart marketer came up with the idea of add ons. The price of kits stayed the same but the they were smaller. If you wanted the full kit you had to buy the add ons. I think Studio Calico was one of the first to do this. In any case that what we have now.
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camcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,133
Jun 26, 2014 3:41:19 GMT
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Post by camcas on Sept 6, 2023 10:47:26 GMT
Hasn’t mercytiara just started a kit club ?
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Kit Clubs
Sept 6, 2023 12:22:38 GMT
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Post by boymom5 on Sept 6, 2023 12:22:38 GMT
I’ve subbed in the past, but at the moment nothing. My last sub was Elle’s Studio since I was doing PL and I liked that one. It was a good price point and I used the majority supplies. I had also done hip kit and thought I liked it, i never used it all and ended up spending too much on the embellishments! I loved Scrapbook generation page kits back in the day as fun and easy pages I could put together when I was in the mood to scrap but not creative. I was sad when those stopped.
I keep looking at clubs and want to sub again but not sure with the cost. I’m thinking maybe Studio calico since I may go back to PL next year. I do look occasionally at the NJFB club but their price is high, too much of a theme for me and at least in the past they tended to use older things but not at discounted prices I could get elsewhere. I like the idea as I am a boy mom but it hasn’t suited me (and I subbed back when they started right away in high hopes).
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Post by hoopsfn on Sept 6, 2023 12:54:06 GMT
I've never subscribed to a kit club either. Mostly due to the cost and the possibility of receiving items that I would never use. And with all the add-ons that seem to be the norm now, it's even more expensive. But some of the monthly kits that I've looked at are really tempting. Thanks for posting this artbabe - I'll be watching this to see how you feel about the ones you've ordered.
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miascraps
Full Member
Posts: 368
Jun 26, 2014 15:37:58 GMT
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Post by miascraps on Sept 6, 2023 19:44:35 GMT
Not currently. They all started piling up so I quit Club Scrap, Cocoa Daisy, Felicity Jane, AE Stories By The Month and a lss sold monthly kits for a couple of years and I bought every one of them. No more kits until I get this stash reduced!
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ScrappingMe
Full Member
Posts: 208
Feb 3, 2023 2:05:16 GMT
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Post by ScrappingMe on Sept 6, 2023 22:58:49 GMT
I love kits but I prefer the ideas and directions to create beautiful pages. It cuts out the design time for me, which is my least favorite part.
BUT so many kit clubs look the same to me these days. Lots of pastel, floral and more of a feminine feel. That doesn’t really work for me. I like the look of the NJFB kits but they tend to pull things that are “older” and I already have in my stash bc it’s not that floral/feminine look. So I’ve already purchased and don’t want it again. I like The Scrap Room and have subbed off and on to that one but am not currently getting it.
I’ve more been loving the kits and weekends Vicki Boutin does. Her stuff isn’t overly feminine and the classes that are I just don’t buy. I also love the Crop & Creates. That way I get some fresh stuff AND the ideas to actually use it up. These two seem to be the sweet spots for me. I’m looking forward to how Scrapbook & Cards revamps their SCT sampler kits to be layout based. Can’t wait for that!
CTMH also has some kits I like. Not enough to get them every month (their style isn’t quite mine, but occasionally I like it), but I will order if I like what I see. I have purchased a couple over the last year or so. I also like that they come with the ideas and directions to make the pages too.
What I really miss are the Scrapbook Generation kit clubs. It was just enough product and the design idea to mostly use up the product and make some great pages. I was heartbroken when they ended those. I miss Allison doing the page designs and it seems Debbie does the one-off kits they release now. Nothing against Debbie, but I liked Allison’s pages better for how I scrap. Now it seems all of Allison’s pages she teaches at their crop are stitching based which I do not enjoy doing at all. So even buying those extra kits after an event doesn’t appeal. They’re very cute though.
I’m such a kit girl but what I like doesn’t seem to be what the “masses” like and are buying. So I have to find my own niches.
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,605
Jun 28, 2014 21:14:36 GMT
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Post by kitbop on Sept 6, 2023 23:21:55 GMT
I’m looking forward to how Scrapbook & Cards revamps their SCT sampler kits to be layout based I hadn't heard about this! I enjoyed the sampler but stopped subbing because I wasn't using the stuff consistently - although I loved trying things that weren't necessarily what I'd purchase, and loved their dies. I hope they keep these kits affordable. Shipping is killer and the sampler wasn't bad because of it's small size. In the past, I subbed to and loved: My Favorite Memories, Little Red Scrapbook, Scraptastic, Studio Calico, 3 scrappy boys. I've been eying hip kits for years, but I think I do better spending my money myself. I do allow myself to be guided by Shimelle's Best of Both Worlds and use her affiliate link. I agree that the Crop and Create events are very good value for what you get...but 1) I can't WAIT that long to purchase new lines so often the box duplicates what I already have and love 2) I don't scrap that way (make a layout then find photos to fit it). 3) I also didn't feel my money was well spent for the "extra" projects - the mini album, the travelers notebook - I made them, but they aren't things I use. I won't do another event despite my FOMO - although I'm sure I will do another card event in the future! Mercy tiara kits - when I added up the retail cost of the items in the cost, there was not a significant savings compared to full price at my LSS. I can get all the items cheaper from an online store. So I'm not sure why I would bother?
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gramma
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,103
Location: Sacramento, Ca
Aug 29, 2014 3:09:48 GMT
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Post by gramma on Sept 7, 2023 4:28:04 GMT
I don't subscribe to anything any more. When I do buy a kit it's usually for a specific event. My daughter and I went to Wicked last year and I found a kit for that. I struggle with kits that consists of product only
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Post by Night Owl on Sept 7, 2023 5:43:04 GMT
If I was a new scrapbooker I have thought the Down Memory Lane Monthly Scrapbook Box would be nice. For somebody like my SIL who has a big family and only has time to sit down and scrapbook once in awhile and doesn't buy scrapbook supplies online it would be ideal, and you don't need a cutting machine because the titles and such are cut out for you.
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Post by MsChiff on Sept 24, 2023 19:39:26 GMT
I used to belong to Club Scrap and ScrapGoods. I LOVED ScrapGoods because each kit was a new technique to learn and we had a private message board to share ideas. The materials in the kits were usually my style. I was sad when they went out of business. I’d join another kit if there were something similar.
Club Scrap had quality papers which weren’t really my style so I quit.
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Post by Margie on Sept 24, 2023 21:26:49 GMT
I just ended my subscription with Hip Kit Club, which I've been with for two years, only because I was getting kits faster than I can scrap and they are backing up. That said, I made the mistake of looking at their reveal for this month and I love the main kit. I'll probably just pick it up as a one-off rather than sign up for a new subscription. In the future, though, when I've made some dent in my stash, I would definitely resub with them. I cancelled my scrapbook sub to HKC for the same reason as scrappymeg. I loved their main kits, but I just couldn't keep up. Then I subscribed to their Pocket Life kit, but cancelled about 6 months later because I didn't think they were worth it. Their pocket cards and embellishments come in cut-it-yourself sheets - you need to buy 2 dies to separate the embellishments unless you want to fussy cut. I compared the new kits to a few older ones I purchased when they had a sale, and I couldn't believe the difference. Definitely not worth the price. I just looked at one of my old invoices, and I paid $29.95 plus 9.95 shipping for those kits. It looks like they've reduced the price on their website to $24.95. Still not worth it. I was also a Felicity Jane subscriber and was very disappointed when she closed down her subscription shop.
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Post by bossymom on Sept 25, 2023 14:59:33 GMT
What I really miss are the Scrapbook Generation kit clubs. It was just enough product and the design idea to mostly use up the product and make some great pages. I was heartbroken when they ended those. I miss Allison doing the page designs and it seems Debbie does the one-off kits they release now. Nothing against Debbie, but I liked Allison’s pages better for how I scrap. Now it seems all of Allison’s pages she teaches at their crop are stitching based which I do not enjoy doing at all. So even buying those extra kits after an event doesn’t appeal. They’re very cute though. Same. I miss those kits.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Sept 25, 2023 15:36:15 GMT
I did NJFB kits for a long time. The thing I didn't like was getting a stamp every time. I will never use them. So it started to seem like a waste. I have 2 girls, but the colors and themes of their kits fit me the best. I stopped when I got sick of all the stamps. I still buy from the ala'carte every once in awhile.
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craftymom101
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,789
Jul 31, 2014 5:23:25 GMT
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Post by craftymom101 on Sept 25, 2023 15:39:56 GMT
I did NJFB kits for a long time. The thing I didn't like was getting a stamp every time. I will never use them. So it started to seem like a waste. I have 2 girls, but the colors and themes of their kits fit me the best. I stopped when I got sick of all the stamps. I still buy from the ala'carte every once in awhile. NJFB doesn't include a stamp in their "Limitless" kits anymore. This is the September "Rad" Limitless Kit (not stamp) and essentials kit: "Rad" Limitless KitEssentials Kit
The Essentials Kit does have a stamp this month (it's a Vicki Boutin stamp set), but not every Essentials kit includes a stamp. Full disclosure: I am on the NJFB DT, but these are not affiliate links.
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