I’ve been smitten with kits and subscriptions series lately. I love getting a “surprise” in the mail (even if I’ve had a sneak peek of what’s coming” and the idea of a little dose of creativity is just about what I need these days. Kits can push you out of your comfort zone, introduce you to products you might otherwise not try, and give you a creative jumpstart. Today I’m looking over the Paper Pumpkin Kit from Stampin’ UP, October 2014 version.
Here’s how it’s described on the website:
There are options for one month ($19.95), three months ($59.85), six months ($113.70) and a year ($215.40.) You can see that you really only get a price break if you pre-pay for a whole year. But that’s OK with me, because these kits are really geared towards new crafters, as gift subscriptions, or for folks who aren’t looking to “build their stash” but rather use the kit ingredients all up in one go. (You can see some of the past kits here.)
So! Let’s take a look!
Here’s another look at my card and gift bag.
As I mentioned in the video, you can make 6 gift bags but have another 6 layer gift tags left over…and also lots of stickers and of course you can save the stamps to use for next year. So in my opinion, you could really see this as enough materials to make 12 items- and for $20 bucks, that’s pretty good. I think this will really appeal to folks who want to dabble in crafting but don’t want to have to collect buy ALL the things. But it appeals to me, too (a self-confessed craft addict) because I like the “gift in the mail” aspect as well as the push to try some new things.
Would you use this kind of kit? What is a reasonable price point for you? I’d love to hear what kits you’ve tried (and how much you spend) and which ones you LOVE! Tell me all about it….
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Mmmmm… I think is the first product by We R Memory Keepers that doesn’t make me want to buy it… which is strange, because everything I see by WRMK are beautiful things that excite me and I always want to have, but I think this is a bit poor… 20 dollars for some burlap bags, a set of precut tags and small stamps… I don’t think it is worth the money, even though they look pretty.
It’s actually not from WMRK- it’s from Stampin’ UP. And remember you are also cooking in the cost of shipping.
Oh, my, thanks for pointing that out, why did I think they were from We R Memory keepers?… that is interesting… maybe because of the color of the paper wrapping it inside the box which is like the corporative WRMK colors… I wonder if that is what confused me because you point out really clearly that they are from Stampin’ up… I guess I am getting old!
For me, this wasn’t a good example because I’m not really into Halloween now that my kids are grown up. However, I like the idea of kits, just not ones that you have to subscribe to. I get one time only kits from Paper Wishes when they go on sale. And I am always very pleased with them. They give you lots and lots of goodies, along with some good instructions. In a way they are good stash builders if you are a paper crafter. Loved the video, though. And I am rarely able to find the thumbs up buttom. Sometimes I can and sometimes I cannot see the thing. Thank you!
I make a lot of cards, and Paper Pumpkin kits are very overpriced for what you get. You can buy a lot of stamps, stamp pads, paper, etc., for $215.40, and you can get ideas for making cards on Splitcoaststampers, Pinterest, etc. These Paper Pumpkin kits are only good if they include something you actually want to make and can use.
I don’t feel Paper Pumpkins is worth the cost. Some are good, others not so much. My distributor showed me several and I felt they were inconsistent. I love surprises, but do not celebrate Halloween so this one would be wasted. The Gina K Designs kits tempt me, but are costly so I haven’t bought one.
I tried two of the PP kits but really didn’t care for them- they definitely weren’t my style and I thought 4 cards for $20, even with a few leftovers and small stamps, was not worth it. If I were just starting out or didn’t want to collect much, maybe worth it, but not under the circumstances.
Paper Pumpkin had a little bit of a rough start but has been improved and the value is much better going into it’s second year. If you tried it during it’s first year you may want to give it another go. This September 2014 kit may not have been a great one to review as Halloween is not celebrated with gusto by everyone. I did have some die hard fans of Halloween subscribe just for these sweet little bags, we had gotten one a convention so I had showed it around. The nice thing is you can skip a month if you aren’t going to be home or don’t think you will like the kit. As in you don’t like Halloween so Skip September. You don’t usually know what the kits will be, however this one those demonstrators that went to convention had a sneak peek. I was able to warn my customers and only one chose to skip Halloween. Stampin’ Up also makes the past kits available so if you skip one and then see it was sooo cute you can sometimes go back and buy it. The August kit was to die for cute and the July kit was a fantastic value as you got cards and gift boxes and tons of tags. The June kit was pin wheels and you could make something like 24 4 inch across pin wheels.
I tried Paper Pumpkin last year – the kit that made me quit was a piece of cardboard, a roll of paper and a rubber band to attach the 2 together. That was enough to make me never want to go back.
This is my first subscription to PP and I won’t do it again (started a 6-mo subscription in August). The kits are very over priced, and so far I haven’t liked anything. The finished items look too commercial for one thing, and the October pie boxes were just useless to me. The November box is for BLUE Christmas cards!! Red and green are Christmas colors to me and I would never use these turquoise blue cards, so I’ll be returning this box. I would rather use the money for supplies I want and will use.