Megan Ann's Reviews

I have never written a bad review for anything on scrapbook.com, but Doodlebug really does a questionable thing in offering these items for sale as an essentials kit! (SIDE NOTE: All items are great quality! I LOVE Doodlebug products, including the Monster Mania collection!) First of all, the picture does not match the product received. There are no Chunky Brads in the kit, though they are not listed in the description, just pictured. Secondly, the border stickers pictured are also not included with this kit. But MAINLY, the value of the current kit that you will get if ordered as of 4/24/2012, not how it is pictured on this date, is $14.32!!! So you are paying $19.99 for $14.32 in product if purchased separately (Breakdown of prices: $1.09 per sheet of paper x 4, $3.99 for Icon Stickers x 1, $1.49 for Cut Outs x 1, $1.49 for doodle pop pumpkin x 1, and $2.99 for the spidies braddies x 1=$14.32 for the contents of the kit if purchased separately).

All the products included in the current kit are available for purchase online--all except the spidies braddies are available on sb.com! SO my recommendation: SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! Purchase the items separately!!!

I love these, but when I bought them, I thought I got ripped off....I only had 4! Well, it turns out, I had used all 3 of the hot pink ones as one tab....You have to separate them carefully! lol, The whole stack peels off easily, so make sure to only use one at a time to get your money's worth ;)

These colors are perfect for Halloween! While I LOVE doing Halloween LOs, it is unlikely that I will use 60 YARDS of twine on just Halloween LOs, so it is great that the solid colors can really be used for any theme. I used them on a wedding layout last month. I like the Doodlebug Design brand of twine because it does NOT seem to unravel as easily as other brands I have tried.

Oh my goodness! If I had seen the product picture supplied by sb.com I NEVER would have purchased these! Luckily I received them in a swap and they are GORGEOUS! I posted a picture to my gallery & tagged them in the picture, check it out & I am sure you will agree about how beautiful these 3D flower embellishments are and want to add them to your cart immediately!

One of my favorite scrappy tools is my Sizzix Texture Boutique! I love that it is lightweight & small, so it is easy to store/takes up very little space and easy to move around/take with you. I also LOVE that it is so simple to use! Just place the piece of paper you would like to emboss in the embossing folder, put the folder between the two black plates, put the "sandwich" in the slot and crank the handle of the machine until the embossing folder/plate sandwich comes out the other side! There are only 2 identical black plates and one goes on either side of the embossing folder--no messing around with a bunch of plates and trying to figure out the right shim to use, like you have to do with some manual die cutting/embossing machines. If you are not interested in a manual die cutting machine, but still want the look of dry embossing, Sizzix Texture Boutique is available for less than $30

The Fiskars Cuts and More Scissors are a more industrial scissor. I find that I use them when I need to cut odd items--metal of all sorts including different wires, keys, and tags; rope/string/twine; wood; a 75 page book that was carved into a pumpkin; etc--The Fiskars scissors come to the rescue when normal scissors will not cut it. (ha, pun intended!) I have used them on the oddest of items, and perfectly normal items as well. However, I would not say these are the best "every day" scissors. Of course they cut paper, and even leave a smooth edge (these scissors are VERY, VERY sharp! Accident prone scrapper here and I have cut myself with them a few times.) but they are bulky, not easy to cut out something as simple as a square or circle & almost impossible to use for detail work. With that being said, I still think EVERYONE'S life would be easier with a pair of these in the house. There are many special features to these scissors, and they can be used in ways you would never have thought scissors could be used. If you do not want to ruin a great pair of paper or fabric scissors cutting odd items, then invest in the Fiskars Cuts and More Scissors--they are capable of handling most any material you throw their way and are not easily destroyed like a pair of fabric or paper scissors would be.

A scrappy tool must have is the Scotch ATG Pink Adhesive Applicator Gun. So, so, so many people SWORE that the Scotch ATG was their FAVORITE adhesive applicator. But it was big & red & a little heavy, so I stayed away. Well, when Scotch came out with their slightly less industrial PINK ATG and I found it at a bargain price, I figured I would see what all the fuss was about. THERE IS FUSS FOR GOOD REASON!!! This is THEE VERY BEST adhesive applicator I have ever used! As well as, THEE VERY BEST ADHESIVE I have ever used! 3 major reasons why I love the Scotch Pink ATG & Adhesive: #1: STICKY, STICKY, STICKY--my pages do not fall apart, like they have with other adhesive & the Scotch adhesive for the Pink ATG can adhere to MANY, MANY different surfaces, good for almost any type of sticking you need to do. #2: EASY TO USE APPLICATOR that does not break--to use, pull the trigger and press down & pull towards your body. Simple, right? #3: REFILLS THAT LAST A LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG TIME!! I think this is my favorite, the refills are reasonably priced, do not use a ton of plastic (environmentally friendly!) or take up a ton of space if you like to buy in bulk. AND even if you are an adhesive hog, like me (I have to have adhesive on the perimeter of every piece of everything I put on my pages), they still last a long time. The only complaint I have is that by the time I need to refill the applicator I have forgotten how to do it! Luckily, there are cool little picture diagrams on the inside of the applicator to remind you how to refill :)

One side of this paper is GREAT for doing your journaling on. It has a distressed look and lines :) I also love the other side as an accent paper on my favorite Halloween layouts!

I have been giving these gift certificates out forever (at least a year) as prizes for my challenge (Anything Goes Challenge--THE BEST CHALLENGE EVER!!!) and everyone loves to get them! You can choose whatever you would like to buy!

This is really white! So be warned when you spray it on your page it will leave white flecks on the picture unlike the Pearl Glimmer Mist which is more clear.

I love Basic Grey, I love Halloween, so put the two together and I'm really in LOVE! These are some super cute stickers to accent your page and adorable (and scary!) borders.

This isn't my favorite color of glimmer mist, but it is an essential color. You have to have the neutrals--tans, browns, whites, navys. This is the navy with a bit of shimmer to it!

I love the multitude of colors available from Tim Holtz distress inks! I like this one in particular because of the brighter color!

I bought a few stickles to start and I got the disease...I had to order all 35 colors because who knows when you will need a certain color? I love the bling it adds to a page and a nice sparkle. Stickles ROCK!!!

I love the Heidi Swapp sandpaper. It is so nice to have a fresh sheet on hand for any distressing I want to do! I love the look of white core cardstock when it is sanded down so the white shows through the color so I go through this quickly. This is my 2nd one--a must have for any distresser!

This is a great color. It really turns out as black as it looks, but still has that stickles sparkle!

The DCWV Luxary Stack is amazing! I love the silky feel of the papers. These are not just cheesy papers either--this is high quality cardstock that holds up very well over time. The prints in this stack are fabulous and wonderful for any elegant pages you are creating. I used these for some wedding pages I did and they turned out great. I would also think the papers are great for any formal evert. The Luxury Stack is ver elegant! Love it!

I love DCWV paper stacks, but more than that I am falling in love with their textured cardstock. It is so reasonably priced and a great quality! I mean, I love Bazzill too, but there is no way you could get this range of colors and this quanity for 20 bucks from Bazzill. The colors in this pad are more muted (duh, neutrals), but still make an impact. There are so many colors, that you are bound to find the perfect one to use for any LO!

This set of stickers by Jolee's are so cute, especially if you like to scrap your little poochie. My dog is my favorite scrapping subject, so I am always keeping my eyes peeled for new and different embellishments--so many of the dog themed things are almost identical. For one, this is a different texture all together (the leather) and while the bones are a little cliche, they have the chains which are a nice touch and that collar is worth the whole purchase! I love it!

I love that you get so many colors with this set, and the colors are complementary, so you can easily blend and shade. the tool to hold the little puffs is east to use and the little puffs come in 3 different sizes and every set of colors has its own set of puffs. I have had these chalks for a LONG time. They are almost 2 years old, and I have never had a problem with them breaking apart or the colors bleeding together. Overall, a great product! Buy it if you like chalks--these are the highest quality!

I love to use these pens on my LOs! Anytime I have to write or doodle something, I pull out these pens. I almost always use them to do my journaling. And there are so many colors that they can match just about every LO. The texture the pens add is also great, but isn't super puffy.

This is one of my many favorites in the DCWV cardstock collection. The mini scalloped paper is so cute! I love to use it to mat pictures or as the whole background! It is also a great product to use for cards. But, FYI, it is not close to true 12x12. It is more 11 1/2x11 1/2, so if you are putting it into a 12x12 page protector it will move around a lot, you might want to consider putting the scalloped paper on true 12x12 cardstock.

I L-O-V-E, LOVE, DCWV products, and this rubons kit did not disappoint me! They are great rubons, cool designs, and wonderful alphas! The rubons look just like real stitching! I even fooled a few people who thought I had sewn on my layout--so if you like the look of stitching, but are like me and don't have the patience (or the tools) to sew, use these cute rubons instead!

If you like to have a wide variety of letters, this kit is for you! The kit comes with 8 different colors of letters. They are velvet-like so they add a little dimension and texture to your project. The style is kind of funky and fun, and the alphas are a GREAT quality, especially for such a low price!

I recently heard about adhesive erasers, but never thought that it would really take off adhesive. I just bought this EK Success Adhesive Remover and have all ready used it on a bunch of things! I used it to erase Tombow Mono Permanent Adhesive, Sticky Dots, the gummy stuff left on a plastic album cover (from when I removed the sticker) and the most impressive--it removed a rubon that had come out poorly on an otherwise fabulous page! Literally, this adhesive remover saved hours of work! I prefer this because there are no messy liquids to deal with. AN ESSENTIAL SCRAPBOOKING TOOL!!!

I looked everywhere to find the perfect crown for a layout about my little prince, and found a few possibilities, but when I saw these Heidi Swapp crowns I KNEW they would be perfect. The bling crowns add a nice touch of bling to a rather bling-less LO or stand out in an all bling LO! The only thing to be aware of is that they are not big crowns--MAYBE 1" if that. And most of the crowns seem to be designed for girls rather than boys.

The Nana's Kids Sack is a great investment. The quality (like most DCWV Stacks) is awesome. It comes with some plain pages, some embossed pages, and some glitter pages. It has a wonderful assortment of colors and boy/girl/unisex themed papers. I have used a few pages and none were actually for children's layouts! It is that versatile. My favorite thing about this pad is the dry embossed effect. I hope DCWV will do more stacks with embossing!

This is a fabulous investment! Since I bought it I have used it on 75% of my layouts. I'm sure I will not use it as much as time goes on, but it still adds the perfect touch to certain layouts! I have not yet used it as the full background, I think that it is a little too much metallic to do that. But I love to use it to mat pictures and have cut accents out of it as well. This coordinates very well with the DCWV Luxury Stack and the 2 together are great for wedding layouts! Buy this if you are at all interested in metallic! It was a great investment!

I got these stickers as a part of the DCWV Christmas Sticker Stack, and was very excited because they look so pretty. However, when I tried to use them they literally broke into pieces as I tried to peel them off! And I don't think it was the particular sheet I was using because I accidentally bought a second of the same sticker stack (got to love clearance!) and the same thing happened on both.

If you are a scrapper (like me) who loves to mat his/her pics, then this is a must have. I have used up most of the first one I bought and have had to buy a second because I ran out of several of the colors. You can either use it just with a 4x6 picture, or (as I like to do) double mat the pic with a DCWV 4.5x6.5 mat and then use the 5x7 mat. It is a great way to draw attention to one 4x6 pic when you are doing a layout with multiple 4x6s. It also works well with one pic layouts because it make the picture stand out and not get lost in all that space on a 12x12 page.

I would 100% recommend this to anyone who likes to mat their pics (or anything else)!!!

I bought these stampls individually because they were reasonably priced. I have used them on a few layouts, but I find that when working with a 12x12 page, the journaling spots kind of get lost on the bigger pages. I think they are great if you just want to put a sentence describing an event or picture, but I feel limited by the size because I tend to like a few sentences or more when I journal.

CONCLUSION: If you only want to write a few words or short sentences, these journaling spots are incredibly cute and would be perfect for you. If you like more detailed journaling, these probably will not suit your needs.

This size package is really not really reasonable for the average scrapbooker. It is more of a display that you would find at a scrapbooking store. The quality of the ribbon is great and there is an awesome assortment of colors, patters, and ribbon with words (like the Spring, Spring, Spring one). I only purchased 3 spools of ribbon from someone who had the whole box, because like I said, unless all of your layout are about spring or pastel colors, it will take YEARS to use up all the ribbon that comes in this box!

This pad offers a great assortment, like paper, cardstock, vellum, and punch outs. The quality of the paper is good and the pad includes coordinating cardstock. One downside is that the color scheme really lends itself to a male dog scrapbook more that a female dog scrapbook. Overall, I was happy with this product and would recommend it to anyone who is just staring a dog scrapbook, or someone who only does the occasional dog layout.

I love Heidi Swapp, and this Alpha-Mania Kit did not disappoint me! There were plastic letters (that are also self-adhesive), letter masks, rubons, chipboard-raw and colored, ghost letters, and more! So many things for such a reasonable price. I bought a second, it was such a great deal!!! If you like letters at all, this kit is a great investment.

I really am enjoying using clear stamps, so it was finally time to invest in some clear acrylic blocks. The Technique Tuesday variety pack provides a great assortment at a reasonable price. The long block is especially useful for lettering.
I only wish that the largest block was larger. I have a few really big clear stamps that will not quite fit on it. But overall, a great essential tool for stampers!