Kit Review: Paper Camellia

Prior Reviews

Citrus Twist Kits

Hip Kit Club

Felicity Jane

Scrapbook Circle 

 

Happy Monday!  We had a crazy weekend with some unexpected tasks, so I'm a little bit late today.  But  I wanted to share the next installment in my kit review series.  This week I played with the April kit from Paper Camellia.

I wasn't familiar with this kit club at all so I didn't know what to expect when I ordered a kit.  But it was packed with a mix of Maggie Holmes, Crate Paper and My Minds Eye.  The soft color palette was perfect for a photo of the bowl of Lake Erie beach glass and pebbles I keep on my desk at work.  

The kit included a 3 sheets of cardstock, 5sheets of patterned paper and a ton of embellishments.  I  tend to love any kit that comes with a full package of die cuts and that Maggie Holmes confetti pack was on my wish list.  The kit did not include a stamp.  

My only complaint about the kit would be the lack of a larger scale alpha.  It had several small My Mind's Eye alphas (the mixed color alpha you see in the photo and several tile style alphas), but I love thickers and alphas of a similar scale. And the Maggie Homes thicker pack provided lots of choices for putting together a title to a layout.

I was really inspired by a layout by the wonderful Danielle de Kronik which just happed to be the Sunday Scraplift challenge at Paper Issues this week.  So here is my finished product.

I especially loved all the gold accents in this kit.  They provided lots of textures that helped keep the soft color palette interesting.  (The enamel dots and hearts were from my stash.)

Paper Camellia kits are $29.95 for subscribers.  Shipping in the United States is $8. The website says you can cancel at any time.  But if you cancel after the 20th, you will receive the next month's kit.  It seems like a super manageable commitment and the kit was a great value.  I've been checking out their website and the past kits all look really lovely.  They offer a variety of add-ons each month too and have a project life style kit as well.  This is definitely on my list of kit clubs to keep an eye on.  

I still have kits from Studio Calico and Scraptastic sitting in my scrap room and a Cocoa Daisy kit is on its way.  I am still thinking about trying to snag kits from Clique Kits and Gossamer Blue to add also.  Let me know if there is another kit that you think I should check out.

Enjoy your evening.  Thanks for stopping by.

Kit Review: Scrapbook Circle

Prior Reviews

Citrus Twist Kits

Hip Kit Club

Felicity Jane

It's another Monday and time for another kit review.  I have been lucky enough to win both the May and July kits from Scrapbook Circle.  My plan was to work with the May kit this week, but when the July kit showed up on my doorstep, plans changed.  So I played with the July kit from Scrapbook Circle.

The kit had a great color palette that would lend itself to both bright and soft layouts.  Papers came from Crate Paper, Shimelle, Dear Lizzy and Pink Paislee.  The mix of embellishments was great too - The puffy stickers from SevenPaper are one of my recent favorites.  And I loved the Elle's Studio wood veneer pack.  (It made me wonder why I don't have more Elle's Studio in my stash.)  And the exclusive cork pieces were really fun.  The kit also came with an exclusive stencil which might help push me into experimenting with some of those mixed media supplies I've accumulated.

However, the only alphabet was the small tile style alpha from Shimelle.  I missed having a large scale alpha in the kit (although I have the world's largest collection of thickers and really don't need any more so that is really silly).  The kit does not include a stamp (important if you are a stamper)and does not include any cardstock - which doesn't bother me because I rarely use it.

These kits are not offered on a subscription basis - an interesting twist in a time when so many companies are focusing on securing commitments.  That's definitely an advantage in my book.  And they offer add-ons (including more pp and cardstock), cut files  and printables that coordinate with the kits.

My intention was to put together a layout that used some of the bright colors in this kit.  But I ended up with this layout emphasizing soft, pretty colors about my daughter helping me fix Thanksgiving dinner (2 and a half years ago - I might be a bit behind).

Design inspired by July 4th scraplift challenge at My Scraps and More

I added the doily, sequins and small pink alpha to the kit products for my layout. The label with the gold border made me really happy and I think I used almost an entire pack of the Elle's Studio wood veneers.  

The kit was lots of fun (the May kit is really pretty too) and I love that you don't have to make a commitment - I will be checking their website every month to see the kits and I am sure that some of them will be showing up on my doorstep in the future.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

Kit Review: Felicity Jane

Happy Monday!  It's time for the third installment in the kit review series I am doing.  This week I played with the June Felicity Jane kit titled "I Am...."

Felicity Jane is a fairly new kit club.  The kits feature exclusive papers each month.  I would describe them as modern takes on classic patterns.  The color combinations and patterns in the kit each month are swoon worthy.  But I am a bit of a paper snob - I generally only use good quality paper that has a nice weight to it.  So before I committed to a kit, I ordered the paper pack a couple of times to try it out.  And it turned out that the papers were even more beautiful in person. 

Another great feature of the kits is the packaging.  First it shows up on your step in a bold black and white striped box - somehow that makes the mail just a little bit more fun.  Your kit is wrapped in black polka dot tissue and tied with a big black ribbon. There is a pile of white shredded paper on top. It just made it feel a little bit like I was opening a present.  And (at least in June) all the tiny bits and pieces came in a round black and white striped box.  I have visions of having a row of them filled with little bits in my craft room some day.

In addition to the six unique two sided papers, the kit included 2 sheets of cardstock (one piece was kraft with large gold dots this month) and lots of bits and pieces.  Each month the kits also include  a 6x12 sheet of exclusive cut aparts that coordinate with the papers and an exclusive stamp.

I used the kit to create a title page for my daughter's 7th grade album.  I was using a school picture and I thought the kit offered lots of bits to use to dress up that boring school picture.  Here's what I came up with.

 One of my favorite things about this kit was that it inspired me to use techniques that I don't often take time for.  I pulled out my watercolors to personalize the white foam die cut leaves and word "love."  And I used my silhouette to cut that big number 7.  I love the look I got (accidentally on purpose) by using the center of the bull's eye paper.  And I took that adorable red and white clothespin apart - both so it was less bulky and so I would be able to use it again.  The only thing I used here that wasn't is the paper tape on the bottom of the layout (my desk was so messy that I thought it was part of the kit - ha!)

So I loved the Felicity Jane kit.  It was such a unique combination of colors, patterns and embellishments (gold polka dot "sequins"?!).  I already have my eye on the July kit.  But they've been selling out so I better make up my mind quickly.

So I am still working on this series - still to come are Studio Calico, Scrapbook Circle, Scraptastic and Paper Camellia.  I also have my eye on Gossamer Blue, Cocoa Daisy and Clique Kits.  Are there any others I am missing?

And if you missed them and are interested, here are links to the first two installments:

• Citrus Twist Kits
• Hip Kit Club

Thanks for stopping by!

Kit Review: Hip Kit Club

This is the second post in my weekly kit review series.  Last week I looked at the June Citrus Twist Kit Club scrapbook kit.  This week I'm focusing on Hip Kit Club.  I had the May scrapbook kit to play with.

The kit was a great mix of products and colors from Dear Lizzy, Pink Paislee, and Chickaniddy Crafts. I especially liked the addition of the Chickaniddy Crafts papers and embellishments, because it is a line that I rarely purchase.  Its always fun to play with something knew.    The kit came with two alphas - both a package of Thickers and a Pebbles mini alpha.  Since I am something of an alpha addict, I loved that.  And this kit also included Evalicious puffy stickers and wood veneer phrases.  I'm a huge fan of including small business products in kits and Evalicious is a favorite of mine.  This kit did not include a stamp (not a big deal for me but something to consider if you really love stamping.)

So the test - could I make a layout.  Here is what I came up with using only the main kit. 

design inspired by sketch at My Creative Sketches

The mix of papers, Citrus Bliss die cut pack, and the Evalicious wood veneer pieces worked perfectly with this picture of a favorite piece of beach glass (a heart made from a beer bottle - too cool right?).  I used pop dots and inked the edges of some of the die cuts to help create interest.  The layout came together quickly and I have lots of  supplies leftover.

The kit is $29.95 for subscribers and $34.95 for non-subscribers. Subscribers get a 15% discount on add-ons which is a great perk.  If you subscribe, the initial commitment is for 3 months (which is probably the right amount of time to decide if a kit subscription is working for you).  After the first 3 months, you can cancel at any time with 30 days notice.

Hip Kit Club offers a number of add-ons each month.  There is an embellishment kit that can really stretch your kit, a patterned paper kit which provides an extra sheet of the paper in the main kit and a cardstock add-on.  (The main kit doesn't include cardstock but I rarely use cardstock so that's a win from my perspective.)  They also offer a "Color Kit" which would be a great way to experiment with multi-media products and techniques and a project life style kit.

The kit was bright and fun.  I had a great time experimenting and the pieces I didn't use moved right into my stash.  The products were things that were versatile and that I would use.  It is definitely a great kit option, especially since you only need to make a 3 month commitment to get the lower price. 

I still have Studio Calico, Scrapbook Circle and Felicity Jane kits sitting here to review.  I am also looking at adding others to my list.  I love the suggestions you all have made.  Keep 'em coming. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Kit Review: Citrus Twist Kits

Note:  This series was in the works before the recently announced changes at Studio Calico.  

I celebrated my three year anniversary as a Studio Calico Subscriber this month.  In addition, the 36 main scrapbook kits, I've purchased tons of add-ons, card kits, and project life kits over that time.  I still remember how excited I was when that first kit showed up on my front step (it was So Cal).  And I still get that same thrill each month.  But it seems like there are many more kit choices these days.  And I have to admit to being curious about the choices out there - is Studio Calico still the best fit for me?  So I am beginning a weekly series where I will look at one of the kit offerings each Monday. This week I am focusing on the June offerings from Citrus Twist kits.

In an effort to make fair comparisons, I am going to focus on the main kit each week.  The June kit from Citrus Twist is just lovely!  The colors are bright and fresh and its a great mix of manufacturers/  There were patterned papers from Pink Paislee, Amy Tangerine, SevenPaper, and Crate Paper.  The mix of embellishments is great too - I especially loved the Evalicious puffy stickers and the frames (a partial pack from Crate Paper).  They also include exclusive wood veneer pieces and an exclusive stamp in their kits. 

For me the ultimate test of a kit is whether it is easy to work with.  Now I struggle with limiting myself to a single kit when I scrap, but I am making a real effort for this series.  Here's the layout I made - I added a piece of vellum from my stash but the rest of the supplies were from the Citrus Twist Scrapbook kit.

The kits was super easy to play with and lots of fun to work with.  And check out the glittery pink and orange stars.  They were such a fun touch!  I had tons of product left after I finished this layout too.

The pricing structure is based on different commitment levels ranging from $26 for a six month commitment to $32 for a one time purchase. Shipping is additional.

And while I'm focusing on main scrapbook kits (mostly) in this series, I wanted to mention the add-ons here.  I really loved the different kinds of add-ons and the choices it provides.  There is one traditional add-on, two different patterned paper add-ons (which I love since I am a bit obsessed with pretty paper), an embellishment add-on, a "sprinkles" add-on which is a mix of bits and pieces (often partial packs), a stamp add-on, and a couple of cardstock add-on choices.  I love that I could pick the kinds of products that would really help me stretch my kit within my style.  ( I got the traditional add-on, the sprinkles add-on, the embellishment add-on and both patterned paper add-ons).  But I rarely use cardstock or stamps, so I left those there.  Citrus Twist kits also offers a project life style kit.  (Yesterday I shared a layout mixing products from my entire CTK haul)

So I loved my Citrus Twist kits and actually made a 3 month commitment.  And I'm thinking about switching to a 6 month commitment.  Oh - and I should add - your 13th kit is free!

So I have stashed away kits from Felicity Jane, Hip Kit Club and Scrapbook Circle already.  And of course I will be reviewing a Studio Calico Kit.  But what others are you interested in or do you think I should try? There are just so many choices.  I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Thanks for stopping by.