At the end of January I shared a kit I coordinated myself from Scrapbook.com, with the intent to create a series of 8.5×11 layouts with it. The idea came from my Studio Calico card kit subscription. It’s an excellent selection of products, but not quite right for someone who actually makes no cards.
I challenged myself to select a set of supplies for $25 or less (without shipping) and scrapbook with them as I would a kit. There’s been a lot of talk about “killing” a kit and I’m very much attracted to using up products vs. just accumulating them. Here’s the selection of products I picked:
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These six pages (click to enlarge) came together in two sittings – one evening and the next morning. I found working with a finite set of supplies to be both freeing and inspiring for my creativity. It also taught me that when you focus on the stories, the specific supplies you use don’t matter all that much. In other words, just buy what you love.
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I found that I really enjoyed using journaling cards on my layouts and that one pack of Thickers only goes so far. I also discovered that I’m not that into colored cardstock and could live on kraft and white alone.
I would definitely take on this challenge again but I found I didn’t really need to buy more product if already had a kit coming (i.e. now I have a backlog). While I have decided to end my Studio Calico card kit subscription, I plan to try the regular scrapbook kit next and save my shopping for seasonal mini book projects.
Do you work with kits? Why or why not? Do you work with a digital scrapbook kit differently than you would a paper kit?
You are inspiring me to work with a few of the kits I have and to create my own kits from supplies on hand. Can’t wait for Stash Bash!
I like to create a just a couple of micro kits at a time, essentially a page kit with the photos include. I’ll work through those and then put together a few more.
I have been with studio calico for two years, but really liking grossemer blue, not sure of the spelling. Once I finish my classes on sc I may change.
Every kit club has a specific style and you have to find the one that fits you best, to be able to get the most mileage from it.
I find Gossamer Blue and Cocoa Daisy to both be “fashion forward” but a little less eclectic than Studio Calico. It’s worth trying one out for a month before committing to the subscription.
As for my card kits, I’ve been happy with the overall design, I just don’t have much use for card sentiments on the stamps and stickers.
I love what you’ve done with your DIY kits. I subscribed to SC for over a year and now have a backlog of kits to use. I will be using those up before subscribing to a kit club again. Recently I had the challenge of using up a whole kit that Gossamer Blue sent me for a mini album for Write.Click.Scrapbook. I absolutely enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to waste time choosing products for my project and just jumped right in. Saved a ton of time! 🙂
I also like that the kits challenge me to use products I wouldn’t normally select for myself.
I use the Scrapbook.com Kit Club. I love that there is no subscription needed. I just pick and choose the ones I like, when I like them.
I like those kinds of kits as well. It would be cool to see more of them, because it does take time to pick products that work well together.