breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,580 
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Sept 21, 2017 20:06:17 GMT
And yet she still sells two monthly subscriptions for physical product, one for digital. Add on top of that the money-eater that is DD these days as well as WITL and two DITL a year and just with her go-to stuff, AE is anything but a minimalist in terms of the volume of stuff she's offering. She has a minimalist aesthetic, not necessarily a minimalist approach to documenting (as December Daily proves it). People often confuse both and believe the aesthetic is the ultimate measure to go by. I've seen minimalist-looking homes with big wardrobes that were full of clothes once you opened the minimalist aesthetic doors. Same once you went through the beauty and hygiene products or kitchenware. Clean lines and space to put everything away/out of sight is just a look, not a life philosophy. Right, which means she doesn't use as much stuff as other people. I didn't say she didn't record much and tried to squeeze a month into a single 6x12 pocketed page, but she doesn't use the quantity of things other designers do, which means she has fewer things to sell...it's really hard to bridge the gap of not needing a lot of stuff and trying to sell that same stuff. I get that her class content is a huge part of her value, but it just comes across like jumbo shrimp to me! Cathy Z is the same way. Isn't "taking the crap out of scrapbooking" one of her motto's? Maybe it works better because she sells a lot of digital stuff which is digital crap and not physical crap... I like both Ali and Cathy, and scrap like neither one. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 21, 2024 21:03:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2017 20:09:22 GMT
Right, which means she doesn't use as much stuff as other people. I didn't say she didn't record much and tried to squeeze a month into a single 6x12 pocketed page, but she doesn't use the quantity of things other designers do, which means she has fewer things to sell...it's really hard to bridge the gap of not needing a lot of stuff and trying to sell that same stuff. I get that her class content is a huge part of her value, but it just comes across like jumbo shrimp to me! Cathy Z is the same way. Isn't "taking the crap out of scrapbooking" one of her motto's? Maybe it works better because she sells a lot of digital stuff which is digital crap and not physical crap... I like both Ali and Cathy, and scrap like neither one. Cathy only has about 500 ink pads though which I find contradictory but oh well. |
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Post by teacherlisa on Sept 21, 2017 21:35:20 GMT
side topic-any AE story kit subscribers, what do you do w/ your plastic envelopes? Anything fun or creative?
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Post by gigi333 on Sept 21, 2017 21:43:11 GMT
I store my lawn fawn stamp and die sets in them
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Post by Scrapper100 on Sept 22, 2017 1:04:36 GMT
New member here!  I'm wondering if anyone else noticed a difference in shipping this month with AE's time kit. I've subscribed for over a year now and when I first started it would typically take 6-10 days for me to get my order (story & stamp kits). Then a few months ago when the envelope packaging changed, the shipping changed to USPS first class and I was getting my order so fast - 2-3 days (I'm in CT). This month the shipping is via UPS Innovations and my package isn't supposed to arrive until the 23rd! The shipping order is generated on the 15th, and I get that it wasn't picked up realistically until the 18th, but still 5 days to get to me is crazy. I guess they went back to cheapest shipping possible? SaveI think it depends on if you order an add on. If I order an add on it comes in the new packaging and I get it quicker. If I don't it takes at least 10 days. I didn't even get a shipping notice until the 18th I think it was in August and then it took forever to get here. This month I added something and it shipped quicker and got here in a more reasonable time frame. I still like her stuff but not sure how much longer I will subscribe to the stamps. What I really need to do is get sn album and actually work on using the stamps snd telling the stories. I like the FB group and get additional ideas there for using the theme. |
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Post by bethquiroz on Sept 22, 2017 13:45:35 GMT
side topic-any AE story kit subscribers, what do you do w/ your plastic envelopes? Anything fun or creative? I use them to store my Kelly Purkey kits. |
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Post by justlisa7 on Sept 22, 2017 15:50:44 GMT
I have subbed to all but 9 of the AE Story Kits and they are piling up.  I love the idea of them and wanted to put them in a "Stories" 6x8 album I have from AE, but I have actually only used 4 of the kits and 2 of the acrylic words. I plan on quitting my sub after the "Home" kit. I have only took the time to listen to one of her classroom videos. I do like her clean style and have lists of stories I want to tell with the kits. I need to stop buying and start using.  |
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yeppers
Junior Member
Posts: 57
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Post by yeppers on Sept 22, 2017 17:12:08 GMT
New member here! I'm wondering if anyone else noticed a difference in shipping this month with AE's time kit. I've subscribed for over a year now and when I first started it would typically take 6-10 days for me to get my order (story & stamp kits). Then a few months ago when the envelope packaging changed, the shipping changed to USPS first class and I was getting my order so fast - 2-3 days (I'm in CT). This month the shipping is via UPS Innovations and my package isn't supposed to arrive until the 23rd! The shipping order is generated on the 15th, and I get that it wasn't picked up realistically until the 18th, but still 5 days to get to me is crazy. I guess they went back to cheapest shipping possible? SaveI think it depends on if you order an add on. If I order an add on it comes in the new packaging and I get it quicker. If I don't it takes at least 10 days. I didn't even get a shipping notice until the 18th I think it was in August and then it took forever to get here. This month I added something and it shipped quicker and got here in a more reasonable time frame. I still like her stuff but not sure how much longer I will subscribe to the stamps. What I really need to do is get sn album and actually work on using the stamps snd telling the stories. I like the FB group and get additional ideas there for using the theme. I was wondering about that. The past couple/few? months I ordered add ons. They came in a couple of days and in the nicer envelope. This month I passed on the add ons and finally got my order today and it wasn't in the nicer envelope - just a padded mailer. Pretty lame if the add on purchase is the make/break for better shipping. The 2 kits still cost $40 a month. This month's kits aren't worth it (imo). Save |
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Post by gigi333 on Sept 28, 2017 4:38:57 GMT
Well I got my story kit and add ons and if I wasn't stuck subscribing til next February I'm so mad I would cancel right now
My sister told me not to buy the time notepad, but I've gotten notepads from ali before and have always liked them and used them. I plan to do a day in the life the day she has her baby as I will have her sons
There are so few pages in this $8 notepad that I am just disgusted. I feel like a complete idiot
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coffeegirl
Junior Member
Posts: 98
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Post by coffeegirl on Sept 28, 2017 6:38:50 GMT
For the price, I wish they had been more upfront about the size.
I still really like the product though
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Post by sleepingbooty on Sept 28, 2017 8:02:14 GMT
There are so few pages in this $8 notepad that I am just disgusted. I feel like a complete idiot Ouch! That sounds pretty bad. Care to snap a picture to show us what you paid $8 for? I know the tendency has been to drive prices up in Ali's shop but I'm intrigued about this expensive thin/small notepad. |
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Post by loveslabradors on Sept 28, 2017 10:39:36 GMT
Well I got my story kit and add ons and if I wasn't stuck subscribing til next February I'm so mad I would cancel right now My sister told me not to buy the time notepad, but I've gotten notepads from ali before and have always liked them and used them. I plan to do a day in the life the day she has her baby as I will have her sons There are so few pages in this $8 notepad that I am just disgusted. I feel like a complete idiot Ugh, sorry  . The prices she's charging lately make me really disgusted too. Not sure if this would work- what happens if you change the credit card number on file with them to a visa gift card that has a zero balance? I've done this after getting a $5 kit with a month to month sub from SC. Just in case something funny happened and my sub didn't get cancelled the next month for some reason. Their system let me do it, even though it's not a real credit card. Would they send a bill in the mail for the balance of a 12 month sub, or just cancel it? Might be a way to get out of the 12 month commitment if a person really wants to quit. (I wouldn't feel guilty about it at all, considering the shrinking kits, poor quality and skyrocketing prices of the past year  ) |
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Post by woodysbetty on Sept 28, 2017 12:25:36 GMT
For those of you that use the story kits envelopes for other things...do you incorporate the story kit into your stash..I have been keeping them together....I was worried I would never use the stuff if I incorporated it....any thoughts?
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Post by joblackford on Sept 28, 2017 15:27:58 GMT
For the price, I wish they had been more upfront about the size.I still really like the product though The bit that I didn't get was why they weren't able to say how many pages were in the pad. Is it that hard to flip through the pages and estimate whether there are about 10 or 30 or 50? Or whether it's 1/4" thick or 1/2" thick? But then I've always been frustrated about SC&co not giving basic details about the products they're charging so much money for. Like when I buy an album, tell me the measurement of the spine width. When I can't get a basic detail like that I feel like I'm being had. Tell me all the specs and features. |
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Post by janamke on Sept 28, 2017 15:41:47 GMT
For those of you that use the story kits envelopes for other things...do you incorporate the story kit into your stash..I have been keeping them together....I was worried I would never use the stuff if I incorporated it....any thoughts? Me too! I'm in the process of combining and sorting by color and/or theme all my PL sized cards. I'm at a loss for the AE story kits. I'm having a hard time breaking them apart, but kept in their pouches I know I'm never going to use them. |
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Post by gigi333 on Sept 28, 2017 15:43:48 GMT
For the price, I wish they had been more upfront about the size. I still really like the product though I also really like it but I way is it worth the money |
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Post by gigi333 on Sept 28, 2017 15:45:36 GMT
There are so few pages in this $8 notepad that I am just disgusted. I feel like a complete idiot Ouch! That sounds pretty bad. Care to snap a picture to show us what you paid $8 for? I know the tendency has been to drive prices up in Ali's shop but I'm intrigued about this expensive thin/small notepad. I don't know how to add a photo but I just counted the pages and their are 25 I think that's very few for $8 I have Ali's 6x8 pad from I think olw and there are loads and loads of pages and better quality paper too I'm very disappointed and I'm annoyed with myself for buying it |
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Post by gigi333 on Sept 28, 2017 15:47:21 GMT
Well I got my story kit and add ons and if I wasn't stuck subscribing til next February I'm so mad I would cancel right now My sister told me not to buy the time notepad, but I've gotten notepads from ali before and have always liked them and used them. I plan to do a day in the life the day she has her baby as I will have her sons There are so few pages in this $8 notepad that I am just disgusted. I feel like a complete idiot Ugh, sorry . The prices she's charging lately make me really disgusted too. Not sure if this would work- what happens if you change the credit card number on file with them to a visa gift card that has a zero balance? I've done this after getting a $5 kit with a month to month sub from SC. Just in case something funny happened and my sub didn't get cancelled the next month for some reason. Their system let me do it, even though it's not a real credit card. Would they send a bill in the mail for the balance of a 12 month sub, or just cancel it? Might be a way to get out of the 12 month commitment if a person really wants to quit. (I wouldn't feel guilty about it at all, considering the shrinking kits, poor quality and skyrocketing prices of the past year ) I do like and use Ali's kits so for the moment I will keep them but next year I will probably quit them |
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Post by gigi333 on Sept 28, 2017 15:48:33 GMT
For the price, I wish they had been more upfront about the size.I still really like the product though The bit that I didn't get was why they weren't able to say how many pages were in the pad. Is it that hard to flip through the pages and estimate whether there are about 10 or 30 or 50? Or whether it's 1/4" thick or 1/2" thick? But then I've always been frustrated about SC&co not giving basic details about the products they're charging so much money for. Like when I buy an album, tell me the measurement of the spine width. When I can't get a basic detail like that I feel like I'm being had. Tell me all the specs and features. If they had said how many pages I wouldn't have ordered them |
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Post by merry on Sept 28, 2017 15:49:51 GMT
For the price, I wish they had been more upfront about the size.I still really like the product though The bit that I didn't get was why they weren't able to say how many pages were in the pad. Is it that hard to flip through the pages and estimate whether there are about 10 or 30 or 50? Or whether it's 1/4" thick or 1/2" thick? But then I've always been frustrated about SC&co not giving basic details about the products they're charging so much money for. Like when I buy an album, tell me the measurement of the spine width. When I can't get a basic detail like that I feel like I'm being had. Tell me all the specs and features. I totally agree - tell me the dimensions completely and open it up and show the rings. They are the queens of no details or descriptions. I won't buy anything from ebay that doesn't have a description and enough pictures, I'm certainly not going to buy something where the specifics really matter from a company that has a bunch of employees that could enter in that info but don't. AE needs to improve on that too. SaveSaveSaveSave |
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AmandaA
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,502
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Post by AmandaA on Sept 28, 2017 16:42:02 GMT
For those of you that use the story kits envelopes for other things...do you incorporate the story kit into your stash..I have been keeping them together....I was worried I would never use the stuff if I incorporated it....any thoughts? I took mine out of the pouches, but kept them together. Someone had posted somewhere about a recipe box being the perfect size. I snagged a cute Rifle one and use it now. I like that I can easily "flip" to a kit and go through it for something without having to open up the envelope and dump it all out. It was a good compromise for me to make the product more accessible while keeping it together. But I will admit that I am odd about how I organize product.. all of my other Ali product is together in a decorative container on one of my shelves rather than being integrated into my stash. I haven't done that with any other designer/company. But I usually know when I want to use something like her chipboard or phrase stickers, so having it separate works and makes it easier to find. |
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katiejaeger
Junior Member
Posts: 65
Sept 19, 2016 22:50:37 GMT
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Post by katiejaeger on Sept 28, 2017 17:07:45 GMT
Well I got my story kit and add ons and if I wasn't stuck subscribing til next February I'm so mad I would cancel right now My sister told me not to buy the time notepad, but I've gotten notepads from ali before and have always liked them and used them. I plan to do a day in the life the day she has her baby as I will have her sons There are so few pages in this $8 notepad that I am just disgusted. I feel like a complete idiot I agree with you about this. I am looking into a solution to make this right. |
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Post by woodysbetty on Sept 28, 2017 17:13:34 GMT
For those of you that use the story kits envelopes for other things...do you incorporate the story kit into your stash..I have been keeping them together....I was worried I would never use the stuff if I incorporated it....any thoughts? I took mine out of the pouches, but kept them together. Someone had posted somewhere about a recipe box being the perfect size. I snagged a cute Rifle one and use it now. I like that I can easily "flip" to a kit and go through it for something without having to open up the envelope and dump it all out. It was a good compromise for me to make the product more accessible while keeping it together. But I will admit that I am odd about how I organize product.. all of my other Ali product is together in a decorative container on one of my shelves rather than being integrated into my stash. I haven't done that with any other designer/company. But I usually know when I want to use something like her chipboard or phrase stickers, so having it separate works and makes it easier to find. Amanda - I love that idea!! Thanks! Off to start looking for a recipe box!!!  |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 21, 2024 21:03:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2017 17:44:29 GMT
But I will admit that I am odd about how I organize product.. all of my other Ali product is together in a decorative container on one of my shelves rather than being integrated into my stash. I haven't done that with any other designer/company. But I usually know when I want to use something like her chipboard or phrase stickers, so having it separate works and makes it easier to find. I do that too! I guess we're not odd anymore?  |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 21, 2024 21:03:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2017 17:46:15 GMT
Has it been mentioned that Ali's classes are 25% off until Sunday?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 21, 2024 21:03:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2017 17:51:17 GMT
The bit that I didn't get was why they weren't able to say how many pages were in the pad. Is it that hard to flip through the pages and estimate whether there are about 10 or 30 or 50? Or whether it's 1/4" thick or 1/2" thick? But then I've always been frustrated about SC&co not giving basic details about the products they're charging so much money for. Like when I buy an album, tell me the measurement of the spine width. When I can't get a basic detail like that I feel like I'm being had. Tell me all the specs and features. I totally agree - tell me the dimensions completely and open it up and show the rings. They are the queens of no details or descriptions. I won't buy anything from ebay that doesn't have a description and enough pictures, I'm certainly not going to buy something where the specifics really matter from a company that has a bunch of employees that could enter in that info but don't. AE needs to improve on that too. SaveSaveSaveSaveI'm the same way. To be honest, I usually get an answer pretty quickly when I asked AE customer service about an item. But you do have to ask and it's time lost for everyone. |
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pancakes
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,002
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Post by pancakes on Sept 28, 2017 17:52:17 GMT
Has it been mentioned that Ali's classes are 25% off until Sunday? I saw that but there hasn't been anything new, unfortunately. I'd probably buy a class (I love classes for some reason) if there was something new. |
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pancakes
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,002
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Post by pancakes on Sept 28, 2017 17:54:02 GMT
Well I got my story kit and add ons and if I wasn't stuck subscribing til next February I'm so mad I would cancel right now My sister told me not to buy the time notepad, but I've gotten notepads from ali before and have always liked them and used them. I plan to do a day in the life the day she has her baby as I will have her sons There are so few pages in this $8 notepad that I am just disgusted. I feel like a complete idiot I agree with you about this. I am looking into a solution to make this right. I'm kind of surprised — when Ali did the kit video, the notepad looked pretty full. Did the finished product not end up that way? |
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AmandaA
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,502
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Post by AmandaA on Sept 28, 2017 18:11:38 GMT
Well I got my story kit and add ons and if I wasn't stuck subscribing til next February I'm so mad I would cancel right now My sister told me not to buy the time notepad, but I've gotten notepads from ali before and have always liked them and used them. I plan to do a day in the life the day she has her baby as I will have her sons There are so few pages in this $8 notepad that I am just disgusted. I feel like a complete idiot I agree with you about this. I am looking into a solution to make this right. Katie, you are awesome |
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AmandaA
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,502
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Post by AmandaA on Sept 28, 2017 18:16:13 GMT
woodysbetty This is the one I have. I got it on sale, Zulily maybe?, and justified it. It doesn't hold a ton... maybe 6-8 months but was worth it for the cuteness factor. I did washi tape my actylic words under the lid to make extra space . I have some open upper shelves in my craft area with things in fun, decorative containers so this was perfect for me. I actually use it to hold up a small collection of mini books on one shelf. So it was a win-win solution for me.
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I'm wondering if anyone else noticed a difference in shipping this month with AE's time kit. I've subscribed for over a year now and when I first started it would typically take 6-10 days for me to get my order (story & stamp kits). Then a few months ago when the envelope packaging changed, the shipping changed to USPS first class and I was getting my order so fast - 2-3 days (I'm in CT). This month the shipping is via UPS Innovations and my package isn't supposed to arrive until the 23rd! The shipping order is generated on the 15th, and I get that it wasn't picked up realistically until the 18th, but still 5 days to get to me is crazy. I guess they went back to cheapest shipping possible?
I love the idea of them and wanted to put them in a "Stories" 6x8 album I have from AE, but I have actually only used 4 of the kits and 2 of the acrylic words. I plan on quitting my sub after the "Home" kit. I have only took the time to listen to one of her classroom videos. 
. The prices she's charging lately make me really disgusted too. 
)
