December: Creating My Own Kit

I'm sure it's no surprise for me to say, I LOVE scrapbooking kit clubs. I haven't tried them all, but I have been a member of many -- and I have loved each of them. It seems like I always a kit club membership going.

But, like many of you, I have a HUGE scrapbooking stash. Even when I pare down and get rid of what I no longer love, I still have more scrapbooking supplies than I could ever use up. And that's okay -- I love to feed my creativity. But I would like to use more of my stash, instead of continually adding to it.

So, I was all set to get a new Christmas-themed kit for December when I realized that I have several Christmas collections that I haven't even broken open yet. And with the holidays nearly upon us, I didn't want to spend my scrapbooking budget when I have so much I could use, right here on hand. So, I challenged myself to create my own December kit by shopping my own stash, and then I'll use that kit all month long, as if I've just received it from a monthly kit club membership.

My kit will have all the elements I would expect from a monthly kit, but it will come from supplies I already have. And, to make sure I would have plenty of inspiration to create lots of layouts, I'll make sure it's a jumbo kit. :)

After going through my stash, I settled on a collection of papers from Authentique -- the Festive collection. It's a beautiful set of papers and embellishments with a vintage Christmas theme. I then added in coordinating pattern papers, cardstock, embellishments, alphas, and more -- all to create one big, happy kit.

Full kit contents:

• 6 Festive collection 12x12 pattern papers by Authentique
• 8 12x12 pattern papers from my stash
• 8 sheets cardstock -- 4 kraft, 4 vanilla
• Festive collection 12x12 sticker sheet by Authentique 
• 4 packages of dimensional alpha stickers (Thickers, Recollection, Making Memories)
• 6 sheets of flat alpha stickers my stash (Jenni Bowlin, October Afternoon, BasicGrey)
• 2 mistable die-cut border strips
• 1 red shipping tag
• 4 journaling tags
• 1 sheet Apothecary labels in black from Jenni Bowlin Studio
• 1 mistable tag and 1 mistable file folder from Heidi Swapp
• 1 package poinsettia flowers from Recollections
• 1 red and black jewel swirl by Prima
• 3 Charmed Frames by Making Memories
• 2 mistable stars
• 4 green foil chipboard tags
• Red felt die-cut flowers
• Distress Stickles in Clear Rock Candy
• Smooch Spritz in Berry Ice
• Miscellaneous ribbons
• Miscellaneous small embellishments: red sequins, green and red buttons, tiny green brads, metal word, Christmas fabric tag

That's a big kit! As I went through my stash looking for items to coordinate with that original set of papers, I was so surprised by all the items I found. It was actually a lot of fun. My only concession -- I plan to add cardstock as needed as I'm creating my projects during December.

I also knew I would want a couple of new things to supplement my kit, so I gave myself a $15 budget to add in a few new items. I reasoned that $15 is a lot less than I would have spent on a monthly kit and an add-on and a stamp set and who knows what else. :) So I added in these:

I needed some red cardstock to match the papers in the kit -- the reds I had on hand weren't quite what I was looking for. And I had to grab a couple of new embellishments from this year's collections. Here's what I spent:

• Cardstock: $3.40 (10 sheets from Hobby Lobby, on sale 50% off for $0.34 each)
• Echo Park layered chipboard stickers from the Reflections of Christmas collection: $3.49 (from Create4Less.com)
• Making Memories felt stickers from the Mistletoe collection: $4.19 (from Create4Less.com)
• Echo Park decorative brads from the 'Tis the Season collection: $3.99 (from Scrapbook.Steals.com)

Grand total: $15.07

So I went over my budget a little bit. :) I'm okay with that.

I'm so excited to get started creating with my kit! I'll be using it during December as if it has just arrived in the mail to my house, just like a scrapbooking kit club. I'll be posting my projects all  month long as well. This kit has really put me in the Christmas mood.

I challenge you to shop your own stash and create a kit for yourself. I was very surprised at what I had on hand to put into my kit, and it's made me excited about my supplies again. I know you'll feel the same. Create your kit and share it here -- I would love to see it!