|
Post by ellewood on Feb 23, 2016 2:19:05 GMT
Hi, Peas! I know this topic has been done to death so please bear with me! I am SC documenter subscriber, but after February's disaster of a kit, I need a change! For real, I made a page with as many February cards and embellishments as I could just so I could use them and not feel guilty about wasting money. Needless to say, I think it's super fug and it kind of made me unhappy about working on my album. (Side note- am I too invested in this? That's a bananas thing to say!)
Anywayyyyyss, I am looking into either Hip Kit or Gossamer Blue. I think I like Gossamer Blue more because it has saturated colors and the kits aren't so "cutesy." I belong to Citrus Twist too, and I like it a lot but it has a lot of pastels and I need something to break it up. I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation about either club's gallery and add-on situations, particularly. I live for a gallery because I need ideas! Can I get some input here?
Thanks, guys!
|
|
|
Post by seemownay on Feb 23, 2016 4:11:59 GMT
Have you looked at Cocoa Daisy's PL kit? It has very vibrant colors. I sub to the kit and really like it!
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Feb 23, 2016 11:59:35 GMT
Have you looked at Cocoa Daisy's PL kit? It has very vibrant colors. I sub to the kit and really like it! Thanks for the recommendation! Is the Day in the Life kit their Project Life kit? Haha, I'm only in my 30s but I feel so old sometimes trying to adjust to new things. Can you tell me more about it?
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Feb 23, 2016 17:50:29 GMT
Okay I've been doing my research and its between Gossamer Blue and Cocoa Daisy. While I like Cocoa Daisys designs more, I'm leaning towards Gossamer Blue. It's less expensive, the designs are still pretty cool, and it comes with cut files and printable a you can use again and again! Still interested to hear from anyone with an opinion!
|
|
|
Post by palmharborscrapper on Feb 23, 2016 18:05:39 GMT
Both Gossamer Blue and Scraptastic (I like their PL kit too) allow you to cancel at any time without penalty. For Cocoa Daisy you are penalized for canceling before you sub is up.
|
|
|
Post by awesomegabi on Feb 24, 2016 0:18:10 GMT
I used to like Gossamer Blue a lot and then I realized that none of their kits really flowed together. It felt like a hodgepodge of stuff tossed into a kit, but I did like getting a stamp set every month. Eventually I canceled because the designs weren't my style.
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Feb 24, 2016 13:28:17 GMT
Both Gossamer Blue and Scraptastic (I like their PL kit too) allow you to cancel at any time without penalty. For Cocoa Daisy you are penalized for canceling before you sub is up. Thanks! I am looking into scraptastic too now but I cannot find any info on their website! It looks like the PL kit is $31, is there a subscriber discount? What's the shipping? And their digital files are super cute, do they come with it or are they separate? I emailed the company asking for a link to their FAQ. It makes me nervous to make a commitment to a company where that info isn't accessible, whether it's because I don't understand the website or the website isn't functioning properly...
|
|
|
Post by Skellinton on Feb 24, 2016 16:50:08 GMT
Both Gossamer Blue and Scraptastic (I like their PL kit too) allow you to cancel at any time without penalty. For Cocoa Daisy you are penalized for canceling before you sub is up. Thanks! I am looking into scraptastic too now but I cannot find any info on their website! It looks like the PL kit is $31, is there a subscriber discount? What's the shipping? And their digital files are super cute, do they come with it or are they separate? I emailed the company asking for a link to their FAQ. It makes me nervous to make a commitment to a company where that info isn't accessible, whether it's because I don't understand the website or the website isn't functioning properly... There is a new site For scraptastic she was having problems with the old site designer so she had to switch over. It sounds like it was been a real problem for her but I believe that she has done her best to keep on top of it. I pay 25 for the main kit I believe the PL kit is the same. She has a very simple rewards program you earn points for each dollar you spend and then you can cash your points in on any purchase. Shipping went up to nine dollars for the main kit but she is willing to hold your kits for you, I'm getting my kids shipped bi monthly now. B all add-ons and shop purchases can be shipped with your kit for no additional charge. It looks like you were looking for PL kit but I love love love her main kit as well I love that you get a choice of which one you want each month. Her stamp designs are very cute and very useful and she has some fun exclusive items. I don't know if you can see the main kids yet if you're not a subscriber but this month they are amazing. One kid is mostly Shimels starshine and is really beautiful mostly navy blues and bright embellishments. The other kit is pastel and and uses a lot of the baby mine new crate paper collection that is impossible to find. The main kit is not very themed but there was a boy add-on and a baby girl add on that are full of that crate line. I may have gone a little crazy this month. The digitals do come with the monthly kits and they are great. She also has very inexpensive but unique add-ons for each kit including the PL. I appreciate being able to buy just a sheet of stickers from one of the other kiTs or just a flair from another kit. Let me try to get the link for the new site for you
|
|
|
Post by Skellinton on Feb 24, 2016 16:54:02 GMT
Here is the link. scraptasticclub.mybigcommerce.com/ I got gossamer blue when I first left studio calico but found after a few months they were just too flowery for me. I also got hip kit but I was charged sales tax and it just made it cost prohibitive for me with the new shipping increases. No fault of the owner at all just happen to live in the same state as her. I really really like the scraptastic kits and having a choice each month is amazing.
|
|
|
Post by scrapaddict702 on Feb 24, 2016 18:20:48 GMT
I love my GB kit. Initially, I found the boldness of it a bit difficult to use and then I really fell in love with it. And then, they started mixing designers and now there are a lot more CAS type cards. I haven't dug into any of those kits (I'm way behind in PL and am using up older kits first if they work) but I know that I'm going to struggle to use them as I now love the bold colors in the older kits and an abundance of white just isn't me.
Have you looked up the past 6+ months worth of kits for both companies you're considering? For GB, I would suggest looking at the past 3-4 months only to get a true feel for their kits because of the transition they've been doing through. I've been a subscriber since the beginning and I don't see myself stopping it any time soon (I honestly signed up because Elle's Studio was doing the stamps but that has changed as well). Traci Reed used to design everything, but now she does so much for Simple Stories that other designers now contribute, too. The upside is that I have gone into kits from fall last year and mixed with some SS card packs (the ones with all different sized cards and a few die cuts) and they've matched REALLY well and made it much more affordable to make my kits go further without add-ons or major stash diving. I hadn't done that intentionally, just looked for things with a good color match and when I started to use things, realized the graphics were all very similar (same script fonts, watercolor hearts, similar cameras, arrows, etc).
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Feb 25, 2016 0:42:52 GMT
There is a new site For scraptastic she was having problems with the old site designer so she had to switch over. Thanks for the link! I emailed the scraptastic contact and she wrote back very quickly with the info I was looking for. She seems really sweet! I am really liking the kits but their gallery is a pinterest page and that just won't work for me, as I try to stay away from the pinterest sinkhole. I love my GB kit. Initially, I found the boldness of it a bit difficult to use and then I really fell in love with it. I am getting some mixed reviews about GB! It appears to me to be stark, bold, trendy, etc but some people are saying it's flowery. I think this is the root problem for why it's so hard to get a handle on which kit club is the right fit for me- everyone's definitions are different! It's hard to quantify something as nebulous as style/design. I am getting my SC kit for March and may hold off on making a change... after all of this research! I was digging GB but their preview for March is gold. SO MUCH GOLD. I am so over that. I also really like Kelly Purkey's designs but she doesn't offer enough in the way of embellishment to make it worth it for me. I am asking myself "what would tracyxo do?" since she is the person whose work I most consistently admire. In the end, I think the problem is with me for not having my own style defined well enough to be confident in my choice. Can you tell I've spent so much energy thinking about this lately?! Thanks for all of your help!
|
|
|
Post by scrapaddict702 on Feb 25, 2016 1:56:57 GMT
There is a new site For scraptastic she was having problems with the old site designer so she had to switch over. Thanks for the link! I emailed the scraptastic contact and she wrote back very quickly with the info I was looking for. She seems really sweet! I am really liking the kits but their gallery is a pinterest page and that just won't work for me, as I try to stay away from the pinterest sinkhole. I love my GB kit. Initially, I found the boldness of it a bit difficult to use and then I really fell in love with it. I am getting some mixed reviews about GB! It appears to me to be stark, bold, trendy, etc but some people are saying it's flowery. I think this is the root problem for why it's so hard to get a handle on which kit club is the right fit for me- everyone's definitions are different! It's hard to quantify something as nebulous as style/design. I am getting my SC kit for March and may hold off on making a change... after all of this research! I was digging GB but their preview for March is gold. SO MUCH GOLD. I am so over that. I also really like Kelly Purkey's designs but she doesn't offer enough in the way of embellishment to make it worth it for me. I am asking myself "what would tracyxo do?" since she is the person whose work I most consistently admire. In the end, I think the problem is with me for not having my own style defined well enough to be confident in my choice. Can you tell I've spent so much energy thinking about this lately?! Thanks for all of your help! The upside to some kit clubs now is that there isn't a time requirement for subbing. Gossamer Blue is like that (plus you and a referral can get a free add on if you put their name in the notes section at check out...which I think is crazy generous since there is no term requirement) so you can always try a month at a discount and if you don't like it, cancel. You won't really know how a kit will work for you until it's in your hands. I do have several kits that have a lot of florals, but it's not super dominant (and if I don't like those cards, I can easily downplay them as photo mats). I think they do the florals because it allows them a nice pattern to include the entire kit's color palette in. They definitely have been bold in the past, but they've been making massive transitions lately so they aren't nearly as bold as they used to be. PL is the one place I like bold and lots of embellishment so on the one hand, it sucks that they are shying away from that but on the other it lets me put a huge dent in my massive embellishment stash. I understand about the gold, though. It's finally growing on me because I avoided it for the longest time, so I'm not yet at the 'over it' point because I haven't used it as long as everyone else. I feel the way you do about February. I will NEVER sign up for a kit in February because I hate pink...and while most kit clubs will have pink every month somewhere in it, February is going to be the worst in terms of probability for pink. March will probably be the worst for gold because of St. Patrick's day. If you want to test the waters, they have a sale section and you can pick up November or December's (maybe both, can't remember) kit to try out for just $10 plus shipping. They even have a few add-ons on markdown for those same months (I may have done a lot of damage during those sales over the past couple of months).
|
|
|
Post by goldenblind221 on Feb 25, 2016 21:00:20 GMT
Have you considered going digital? A lot of amazing designers sell their stuff online and you could print out your favorite designs and use that. The only downside is not getting embellishments, but lord knows we all have a stash we need to use. It's a little more customizable than a monthly kit, and although it is a little more work to curate your own stuff, at least you know you'll love it every single month.
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Feb 25, 2016 22:21:35 GMT
goldenblind221 That's a great idea, thanks! Unfortunately (or fortunately? idk) I don't have much of a stash because I've been relying almost exclusively on SC kits for the last year or so. Maybe after 2016 when i have a backlog built up, I could do this! Or subscribe to, say, Freckled Fawn, that is only embellishments! Definitely something to look into! What designers would you suggest? I'm not super familiar with the offerings, as you can see from my question. Do you have a recommendation? Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by ojyma on Feb 25, 2016 23:15:39 GMT
I would suggest both Paislee Press and One Little bird for digital. They both have a great catalogue of work available at thelilypad.com and you can get smaller groups of journalling cards (you'll even recognize a bunch from your past studio calico kits that sometimes chery pick a card or two)
|
|
AmandaA
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,502
Aug 28, 2015 22:31:17 GMT
|
Post by AmandaA on Feb 26, 2016 0:22:16 GMT
I never paid attention to who designed each card in my SC kits, but when I ventured into the land of printables, I realized that many of my faves were OLB. Her style is right on for me. And her PL edition that was just released is fantastic too. I ended up with a split of the physical kit and bought the digital version too.
|
|
|
Post by goldenblind221 on Feb 26, 2016 5:48:38 GMT
AmandaA I would echo what ojyma said and investigate designers at the Lilypad. I love OLB and Paisley Press, Ali Edwards of course does great digitals, don't forget you can always print off SC cards, Little Lamm Co is similar in style as OLB, Inspire Lovely sometimes puts out nice designs (and I love every time she does!), Azzari Jarrett has great designs. Dive in to the world of digital! It's only as scary as trying to print them off! And oh, there's a ton of threads just on that subject alone (trial and error and personal preference, honestly).
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 13, 2024 20:54:23 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2016 9:55:23 GMT
A couple of months back I was going to sub to a kit club. I kept looking at my choices, narrowing down my choices, going back and changing my mind over and over again. I gave up. I couldn't find anything that fit my personality. I went back to digital. I finding the cutest scrapbook kits that way. I was worried about the embellishments aspect. I love to print and I love to use my die cutters. I do make most of my own embellishments. I still like to purchase a few of them. My DH gave me the best idea he told me to go to my favorite online scrapbook site, look at what is released in the last thirty days and make my own kit club that fits my needs and personality. That has really helped me. I do admit I buy more tools than embellishments. I still can get my Washi, stickers & bling this way. I am spending less than if I subbed to a kit club and I am getting things that fit me.
|
|
|
Post by ghislaine on Feb 26, 2016 16:53:53 GMT
A couple of months back I was going to sub to a kit club. I kept looking at my choices, narrowing down my choices, going back and changing my mind over and over again. I gave up. I couldn't find anything that fit my personality. I went back to digital. I finding the cutest scrapbook kits that way. I was worried about the embellishments aspect. I love to print and I love to use my die cutters. I do make most of my own embellishments. I still like to purchase a few of them. My DH gave me the best idea he told me to go to my favorite online scrapbook site, look at what is released in the last thirty days and make my own kit club that fits my needs and personality. That has really helped me. I do admit I buy more tools than embellishments. I still can get my Washi, stickers & bling this way. I am spending less than if I subbed to a kit club and I am getting things that fit me. This is what I do. I check out the various kits and add-ons for embellishments I would like then I figure out where to buy them. Exclusive items are a little harder, but I have not really run across an exclusive item I had to have.
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Feb 27, 2016 2:08:33 GMT
Just a little note-- in all my research I am still undecided and I think I'll wait until I can see all the March kits and make a decision about April. But I am really leaning towards scraptastic right now! The website is hard to navigate (because they're in the middle of a move, I understand) but this blog post really put me over the edge: scraptasticclub.mybigcommerce.com/blog/this-life-noted-cari-and-anna-feb-26/Cari's page is beautiful and if I can get more inspiration like that, then it will be worth it! Thanks again to all of you and your ideas and help!
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 13, 2024 20:54:23 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2016 15:53:26 GMT
I never should have opened this thread I can't decide on Gossamer Blue or Hip kits also but I'm leaning more toward GB. Seems to be more my style. Can't wait to see the March kit which will be the deciding factor. Let us know what you pick!
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Feb 27, 2016 16:34:37 GMT
I never should have opened this thread I can't decide on Gossamer Blue or Hip kits also but I'm leaning more toward GB. Seems to be more my style. Can't wait to see the March kit which will be the deciding factor. Let us know what you pick! Looks like we're in this together! Just curious, what would you say your style is? I'm really interested in defining these sorts of things, from a design perspective!
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 13, 2024 20:54:23 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2016 17:00:50 GMT
This may sound weird but I'm all about the embellishments. Paper to me is more of an accessory. I like bright colors most of the time but also like fall colors such as the dark oranges, browns and darker blues. Of course I absolutely love shimmer and sparkles and most anything shiny!
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 13, 2024 20:54:23 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 15:42:20 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Mar 1, 2016 16:37:02 GMT
Yay! What made you decide? Is their March kit up yet?
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 13, 2024 20:54:23 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 17:05:24 GMT
Yes it is and what really did it for me was the alpha's, the cork hearts and I actually like the paper. I can't wait to get it and see everything in person!
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Mar 1, 2016 17:16:29 GMT
Yes it is and what really did it for me was the alpha's, the cork hearts and I actually like the paper. I can't wait to get it and see everything in person! Why can't I work the internet? Where did you see it? Also looking for scraptastic, but can't find that either!
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 13, 2024 20:54:23 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 17:29:31 GMT
I had to register which was a piece of cake. I couldn't see Scraptastic either.
|
|
|
Post by ellewood on Mar 2, 2016 0:39:44 GMT
I had to register which was a piece of cake. I couldn't see Scraptastic either. I found scraptastic, if anyone is interested: scraptasticclub.mybigcommerce.com/march-2016-this-life-noted-kit/It's a small miracle I could find it! I saw GB a lot and I like their March kit! But I also like the March SC kit, so it's making it harder to quit them
|
|
|
Post by ojyma on Mar 2, 2016 13:23:01 GMT
I went and subscribed to the Felicity Jane scrapbook kit because I'm tired of getting double embellishments in both the scrapbook and documenter at SC. The last few months there have been the same or similar item in both and most of them are things I won't use. I have so many enamel dots and wry few places I will use those. But the new felicity Jane kit looks gorg. I'm exited about it
|
|