Scrapbooking Kits.. Are They Worth It?

Memory Works Express February 2013 Kit

Studio Calico April 2013 Kit

This week, I thought I would talk a bit about scrapbooking kits, and how I use them.  I'm a big fan of Monthly Kits.  Up until last year, I subscribed to both the Memory Works kit and the Studio Calico kit.  Last year, when JoJo fell out of the shopping cart and we had tons of hospital bills, I had to eliminate one of the monthly subscriptions.  I decided to keep my Studio Calico Kit.  I love the Memory Works kits.  I think they are great, I just like how the Studio Calico kits are more general.  By that I mean there isn't a Christmas Kit or Valentines Day kit.  If you like to have holiday kits when the holidays come up, then Memory Works is the way to go.  

• Monthly Kits help you add variety to your Scrapbooking Stash:  I like that kits come with things I might not purchase at a local store or online.  It's something that is chosen for you.  This way, you don't get stuck in a rut.  You have new, fresh supplies coming each month.  The vendor you choose your kit from usually has ideas on how to use it.  They also have designers that design really nice pages you could scraplift if you choose to.    
• Monthly kits coordinate:  There is no guesswork.  Every supply in your kit will match...stickers, embellishments, and papers.  There is no digging through stacks of paper trying to match your papers and embellishments together.
• Monthly kits help me be more organized:  I am a piler.  That means I throw things into piles and that is how I organize them.  Having a kit with everything altogether in a little package is a piler's dream.  All of the supplies are "piled" together.  I don't have to put stickers in a place, brads in another, chipboard in another...etc.  It's all together in a nice little pile/package.
• Monthly kits save money:  What's that you say?  Yes, I said they save money.  People look at the cost of a monthly kit and think, "I can't afford that each month."  The truth is if you do a lot of scrapbooking you have probably spent way more in a year at your local craft store then you would have on a monthly subscription.  Back in the day...I bought tons of scrapbook supplies.  I would go a few months without buying anything and then Hobby Lobby would have a 50% off of stickers sale or papers, or whatever...and I would go crazy.  I would spend tons of money on things, I never even used.  With a monthly kit, I have the $35 set aside in my budget each month.  I don't buy any supplies outside of that unless it's adhesive or page protecters.  I also don't have tons of things lying around that I will never use...oh wait, it's because I purged them.  I really purged hundreds of dollars worth of supplies that I wouldn't use when I cleaned out my office.  None of those items were scrapbooking kits.  Also, don't forget, that companies offer discounts for subscribers on their kits.
• You don't have to leave your house to get them:  The kits show up without fail each and every month.  I don't have to drag my children to Hobby Lobby, which surprisingly they love, but act like animals at.  No yelling:  stop running, be quiet, while you are trying to decide on a paperstack or sticker package.  They arrive conveniently at your home.  Also, it's like getting a little present each month.  You're not exactly sure whats in it (Sneak Peeks don't show everything) and you get to open it up.  My kids even get excited about this and want to see what's inside the box.  (I am aware they will some day hate me for sharing this.)

That's all I have today on kits.  They are the best value, I feel anyhow, for getting supplies for your scrapbooking needs.