Can we talk about kits??

[howdyheidi]

Hey, we were talking about Paper Pumpkin (by Stampin Up) on the Christmas all year thread, and I wondered what kits people have signed up for and what your experience was?.

Ones I have been interested in were the
Technique Tuesday GreenHouse Society Stamps (1 stamp per month at $9.99  +$2shipping)
or
Unity Stamps of the Week (1 stamp per week at $5.79 a week, includes shipping)

Surprises could be fun and it would be neat to get something new on a regular basis, but then again, you would be alloting that much of your craft budget to something you don't know 100% sure you will like.

Anyone want to share their thoughts or experiences?

[Yankee]

I love to do kits. But I don't do the sign up ones, I know I would get bored.
I pick a kit that is totally different then my style, follow the directions, to force me out of my comfort zone.
I have done several of the kits at Paper Wishes, good quality of the price.
I have gotten lots of kits that were over priced or just junky at  other places.
See if you can just do one kit before you make a commitment for a longer time frame.

[SWLady]

I do like the Paper Pumpkin kits. this months is shaker cards. I would never have bought all the stuff to do these but now I can. And you don't have to make all the cards in the kit so you can use the pieces for other projects.

There have been 2 kits so far I may never use, that's one with pinwheels and the thanksgiving one with pie shaped boxes. I may use those one day, who knows.

The cost is only 19.95 shipping included. I purchased a year at a time and also got $30 in credit to use for other Stampinup stuff.

[Looser]

Kits--depending on how 'good' they are--can be a way to test the water for some things.

Chances of me getting into buying them are slim to none, but you never know. If the right one were to present itself, I wouldn't automatically say 'no'.

Good topic, Heidi!

[Far North]

I bought one surprise box of embellishments many years ago from a quality online company.  It was not described as such but products in my box were mainly for scrapping. I still have many unused items.   I decided it is not a bargain for me to buy unknown items for the surprise factor if it leaves me with lots of unused items and results  in me not buying things I would really use.

Heidi, you are considering 2 great companies.  For me when I look at Technique Tuesday flower stamps from last year I only see 3 I would have really bought.  Three others look like exact designs I previously purchased from Blockhead stamps (no longer in business).  I bought them as part of a full sized rubber sheet set with many variations of the featured flower. I do not need to add to those collections. 

I also love Unity’s style but many of their stamps are Project Life /graphic directed.  Wonder if those types of stamp are sold as part of the stamp club weekly stamps.

I must say I was shocked to see the kits in Jennifer’s favorites that ran close to $100/month.  I had no idea!

[lovepug2]

I did the SSS Kit for about 6 months to see if I like it. I enjoyed getting it in the mail and really liked the stamps but didn't find all of the PP and such I would use a ton. I've had my eye on the technique Tuesday botanical society. I think the price is good and I love the images.

[SWLady]

OOoo, I checked out the Technique Tuesday Greenhouse thingie. It looks like it might be awesome. I joined their newsletter to watch it for a while before I decide. hehehe..... talk about enabling!

Oh, and I too have bought 'surprize' boxes from companies. I've never gotten one that I would use everything. That said, I ordered another one, LOL. Christmas stuff and it was only 9.99. I haven't gotten it yet so we shall see.

[howdyheidi]

Okay, I missed the things in Jennifers list that were 100 a month! WHAT!???  Way out of my budget.

I did look through the botannical stamps and the Unity ones and most of the stamps I really like.  I am such a sucker for flowers stamps, I really like flowers! 

However, yes there are other options for flowers (such as IBFS) or purchasing just the ones you want. 

LeighAnn, I like the SSS kits too, but opposite of you, I didn't love a lot of the stamp sets that were just words.  It seems like they used to have more images in them and now they have mostly handwritten words.  Maybe just my perception though.

Kathy, let us know about your surprise box!!!

[CarefreeSadie]

I got the Freckled Fawn embellishment monthly kit for a few months.  I liked the things they sent but then it all started to look alike.  It was too much of the same stuff just different colors.  I do not like having that much of the same stuff.  Most of it worked well on cards as well as scrapbooking.  Then I tried the gossimer blue dialy life monthly kit.  I did not like that one either.  The cards didn't fit the pages quite right so I always needed to cut them down and you got themes, like in February I got a Valentine's kit......I like Valentines but I don't do pages and pages of Valentines.  So I only got that one for a couple months and cancelled.  I haven't bothered trying any other kit since so that is my only experiences......It was ok but not something I am going to rush to do again.

[Iring]

Good topic Heidi.

I've been getting Paper Pumpkin for about a year now and was thinking about trying something different.

[howdyheidi]

One kit that I sometimes buy, but is only shipped when you order it is the StampTV kit from Gina K.  The next one comes out Thursday.  It is about $50, has two stamp sets (usually), cardstock, patterned paper and usually some embellishments like ribbon or brads or something.  I think it is a good value if you like the stamps.  Not exactly a kit like the others, but I think it might be worth mentioning.