As some of you may know I am a Studio Calico subscriber. Studio Calico is a U.S. paper-craft brand that sell their own brand products and the best of other U.S. brands in their online store but they also run a monthly subscription service. Unlike some other monthly 'box' services in which you get a mystery selection of goodies, with Studio Calico you get to see exactly what your getting before it arrives. If you are a subscriber you get a preview or a 'sneak peak' in the middle of the month of what you are going to received, and you get the option to purchase any of the top-up kits 24 hour before any non subscribers. The kits they put together are limited in number, so by subscribing you are guaranteed your kits every month. You can still get some of the past kits in the store but if you don't subscribe you may miss out. I am subscribed to the Scrapbook kit which is $29.50 (£18.50 approx) per month and the Card kit which is also $29.50 (£18.50 approx) per month. obviously Studio Calico are a U.S. based company so you may be wondering about shipping, I have never been charged for shipping because I often end up spending over the $79 minimum (ooppps!), but you can find out about shipping charges here.
I decided to share this month in particular because I ended up ordering all three base kits as well as a couple of the add-ons so I thought it would be a good time to do a comprehensive review for you all.
Their kits are always themed and this months theme was 'Meet me at the ice cream shop' hence the collection name Double Scoop.
This is the scrapbook kit, this month you get...four 12x12 sheets of card-stock, seven double sided printed 12x12 papers, a sheet of alphabet stickers/thickers, photo overlays, star stickers, embellishment stickers, two little tickets, a roll of alphabet washi tape, star sequins, a roller stamp and some gold doilies.
My favourite things in this kit is the triangle roller stamp and the little tickets.
This is the 'Waffle cone' add-on kit which was $29.99 (£18.80 ish) and in this kit you get... 6 double sided sheets of 12x12 pattern card stock, (the kraft sheet you can see at the back is just packaging, but I like to use them, bonus!) a pack of feather die cuts, a set of clear stamps, a length of pink ribbon, a pack of sequins, some label stickers, a handmade paper tag, a set of alphabet thinkers and a set of cork embellishments.
I love the Star light star bright stamp with this set.
This is the Double Scoop main card kit, you get... three A4 sheets of plain yardstick, a pad of 18 single sided 6x6 sheets of card-stock (they are mini printed versions of the card-stock you get in the scrapbook kits) a length of ribbon, three flower cabochons, a set of clear stamps, droplet stickers, a set of gold rub-ons.
My favourites from this kit has to be the Pebbles gold rub-ons.
This is the main Project life kit, subscription price is $19.99 (£12.50 approx) if you don't know too much about Project life, it is a style of 'easy' scrapbooking where you buy pocket pages and insert little cards to build up a page. I have tried it and I like it but it's not my favourite way to scrapbook. I don't normally order this kit monthly, but I fell in love with this kit so I added it this month. In this kit you get... five large PL cards, 23 small PL cards (some of which are double sided) a sheet of velum stickers, droplet stickers, a pack of sequins, some gold rimmed labels, a cute mini envelope, a instagram-esqu wooden embellishment and a Pebbles roller alphabet stamp.
I am looking forward to using this kit, I probably won't use them as Project Life cards, but I will just add them to my layouts and mini books as embellishments.
The main draw for this kit for me was this alphabet stamp, I have a pink handled one which you may have seen in my Top Ten Craft Tools post and I love it. So I was so excited to see one with a different typeface on, I can't wait to use this!
Lastly I ordered the Bubblegum card kit add-on $28.25 (£17.75 ish) In this kit you get: a pad of twelve 6x6 single sided card-stock, a set of clear stamps, some pearl stickers, a sheet of alphabet stickers, a roll of super wide washi tape, a length of ribbon, a length of floral cut out trimming and a tag. It also came in this cute little calico bag, so cute.
I love the clear stamps in this kit!
The thing I love most about Studio Calico is the quality of the products, you get so many great branded ranges included in the kits. They choose from pieces from Dear Lizzy, Amy Tangerine, American crafts, Pebbles, Becky Higgins, Maggie Holmes, Glitz designs, My Minds Eye and so many more. The other thing I like about it is the community that comes along with it. There are member galleries that you can look through for inspiration and forums for you to ask questions and meet like-minded papercrafters.
I hope this was an interesting post if you are thinking about subscribing to Studio Calico or just if you like looking at pretty papercraft products.
Sammy xxx
(Disclaimer : This post is in no way sponsored, I spend my hard earned money on these subscriptions every month of my own choosing. I LOVE Studio Calico products and their service is brilliant. I just thought it would be interesting to show you what you actually get for your subscription)
