Kit Clubs

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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). 

Hasn’t mercytiara just started a kit club ?

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.

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.

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

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.

Same. I miss those kits.