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Have you bought anything that you wish you hadn't?
Hi,
I've tried to be more selective in what I purchase. Not only because it is a waste of money, but my crafting space is precious, too!!!! I probably have more than I care to admit as far as "bad idea" stuff!
Let's see. I like everything to a degree, but at one point I went on a glitter binge and bought a bunch. While I like the look, it is messy and I hate dealing with it. I prefer Stickles. It's great and you can get a similar effect, to a degree. When I first started in this hobby, I didn't know the difference in cardstock, and now I have a ton of stuff that is too "flimsy" for actual cards. It is good for other things, but I have a ton, and it takes up a lot of space.
I also went through a spell where I bought those eyelet snap things. I like the look, but I bought too many and I don't like to deal with them.
I think more of my problem is what I prefer to work with. It all looks good. Just wish I knew then what I knew now!
I keep buying new wheels, but I don't really use them. As soon as I figure out that wheel guide that I bought a few months ago, though, I'm sure that I'll love them. haha
Same thing with brass stencils. I'm still buying stuff for those, too. (stencil paste, 3-D paint, etc) But I never take them out of the drawer.
And I could make a huge list of scrapbooking supplies that I had to have but never use....
And I think that I've spent a fortune on magazines that I buy, read once, and forget about. Why do I do that??? Those things aren't cheap!
I regret not doing research before buying some things like my Fiskarsrotary cutter it cost the same as a Carl cutter. The Carl cutter is way better. :(
You name it I have it! Tons of "junk" cardstock, 8.5x11 albums (I like the square ones now!) some stamp sets that were "must haves" at the time eyelets buttons,ribbons etc now I want to trade it all in and get SU stuff!
Cheap Michael's CS (before I was a demo), Fun Foam, Sculpey (multiple colors), clay cutters, rollers etc..., tons of chalk ink pads, dollar store gift boxes to stamp on, paper bags, rolls of white and kraft wrapping paper (I have resigned myself to use it this year!) candles to stamp on, sizzix and dies (they just sit there), sizzlets and small sizzix sidekick (thought I should have both big and small sizzix cutters! What was I thinking!), A few stamp sets I never use - like Wanda's wit and wisdom, some fiskars punches (the hard ones to use), lots of unmounted stamps (before I was a demo) and lots of stamps from Hobby Lobby and Michael's that don't go together, all the decorative edge scissors from Michaels(they were a good deal - although I didn't use many of them even once!), lots of "The Stack" scrapbook papers, 2 12 x 12 albums, the list goes on and on, and on and on and on!
Only about 2 boxes of stuff that's designated for my garage sale. Fiskars Shape Boss, The Shape cutter and templates, Fiskars 3 in corner punches, Border Punches, a whole bunch of VersaMagic ink pads, Brilliance ink pads, and a whole bunch of Scrapbooking stuff, including two CM albums.
After many years of collecting SB'ing stuff and never really scrapping, I've given up. I always thought it was because I could never find my style, until I realized, scrapbooking all together is not my style. Love to look at other people scrapbooks, but I don't want to do my own.
I too have several letter stencils that are too intricate to cut out, and my MIL bought me Pocket Fun last year for Christmas without asking me what I liked. I'm not a big fan of the set and don't use it. I have a bunch of the fiskars decorative scissors too, that I never use.
__________________
"It would be crazy to choose this world over Eternity."
Same thing with brass stencils. I'm still buying stuff for those, too. (stencil paste, 3-D paint, etc) But I never take them out of the drawer.
Janet
If you have access to a sizzix or a sidekick, you can get a plastic file folder that lets you use the brass stencils to emboss.
My sister who had never seen my inventory horde (more buying than doing ;-) did some really creative things this week. She put the "free with order" stencils I'd never touched to good use. I sent her home with all my generic cardstock and she may have the card bug big time. She's broke, but I'm ordering her a couple of sets of spots and she will be on her way.
Tidy Trays - those plastic trays that have a hole at one end so you can use them dump EP or glitter in them and then pour it back into the container. It always sticks and I can never get it out.
Solution - use the cheap coffee filters. Every little bit pours right out
I have a rather sizable investment in sizzix stuff that I wish I hadn't purchased. I hardly ever use it plus it is heavy and takes up a lot of room. I do like the sizzlets and embossing folders though. Again, for the investment, I just don't use them enough.
In fact I think most anything that is not SU I hardly use. I hate to admit it but I am afraid it is so. Here is the good thing, where I volunteer they love all of it so it gets used.
Only about 2 boxes of stuff that's designated for my garage sale. Fiskars Shape Boss, The Shape cutter and templates, Fiskars 3 in corner punches, Border Punches, a whole bunch of VersaMagic ink pads, Brilliance ink pads, and a whole bunch of Scrapbooking stuff, including two CM albums.
.
Ooohhhh Oooohhh! I'll buy your CM albums if they're 12x12!
I do way more scrapping than stamping ... this doesn't stop me from buying stamping supplies, however.
I have tons of stuff that I never use either. Some things, like my stampamajig thingy, have never even made it out of the packaging. I have vowed to stop buying so much ... I have a pretty simple style when it comes to scrapping - why do I buy all these stuff???
As for stamping, I need to be a Nike person and Just Do It! I love to buy the stamps .. hardly ever use them to make a card.
I went on a $1 journal buying binge. In my mind I knew I could bring them home and make them look better, but the reality is I can't. They are spiral bound and you can't completely cover them. I have a whole box of things I have bought from the Dollar Spot, Dollar Tree. Like so many others, I buy more than I do.
I also recently bought two stamp sets that I really don't want (Wisecracks and And Everything Nice). I told myself when I started as a demo I would only buy sets I liked and not things that I thought potential customers would like. Well so much for that. Major buyers remorse.
OK. I can beat all of you with the dumbest craft item! When Michael's first opened in Vancouver, they had the 40% off sale coupons. No other craft store in the area had coupons like this - and so lots of people were going to the store. It was a frenzy of buying. I got caught up in the buying and decided I really needed a bottle cutter. It was a first impulse purchase. The plastic contraption hooks around a bottle and is supposed to cut off the top so that you can use the bottom part of the bottle as a glass or vase. I still remember I paid $32 for it after the 40% coupon. I thought I got a deal. Ugh! It totally doesn't work and is so lame. I have moved it from my craft room to the back of the garage because I can't stand looking at it. What was I thinking :confused:
__________________ Join me on a cardmaking cruise US West Coast 2016
Umm lets see, the Fiskars Rotary cutter! I thought I was going to use it for quilting as well as stamping and scrapping, but alas $34 down the drain. A lot of the foam stamps (not the MM ones, the ones from Wal-Mart and Michael's) I think I used them once or twice. Oh the Slab paper! Never again!!! Not that it's horrible paper or anything, it's just that there was way more than I'll ever use and now it's completely out of style! Need to give it all to the local Church or child care center. The Simple Wishes stamp set! A friend was having a party and I felt obligated to buy something, (it was also my second SU stamp set) I think I've used it maybe twice!
DH has decided that I have an even worse craft item than the bottle cutter that I bought years ago from a television shopping channel and have never used. It is called the Bedazzler. He had forgotten about it until it was made (in)famous on an episode of the last season of The Apprentice. One of the Apprentice Wannabees (Tanna) wanted to Bedazzle some T-Shirts but couldn't find one in New YorK. Good Ol' DH says to me "Hey, don't you have one of those?". I said that I wasn't sure. My fingers were crossed behind my back! He runs into my craft room and pulls it out. He was laughing so hard that I owned such a lame gadget. Fortunately, the bottle cutter had already been moved to the garage. I told him that I'm still going to use it some day. He wanted to sell it on Ebay. I said no way. Ugh! I totally have to figure out what I'm going to do with it!
:rolleyes:
__________________ Join me on a cardmaking cruise US West Coast 2016
This post is definitely striking a cord with me!!!
I have gone through the glitter phase and have a ton of it as well! I also love the stickles! I bought about 25 colors of Perfect Pearls and then found out that they rub off and when you try to seal them, they lose all of their color--Pearl-ex is unbeatable!
I searched the internet for weeks before I finally was able to purchase the blade runner that was going to make my life so much easier, lol! It was supposed to make cutting from any stencil as easy as tracing the letter! NOT! I even went to a class with an EK Success demonstrator, but it still didn't work very well!
I won't even mention the two paper/sticker binders full of stickers!!!! I have not used a sticker in at least 3 years in scrapbooks or in cards!!!!!!
I could probably go on for days about this, but (at least)I have learned from my mistakes somewhat :rolleyes: !!!!! :rolleyes:
OK. I can beat all of you with the dumbest craft item! When Michael's first opened in Vancouver, they had the 40% off sale coupons. No other craft store in the area had coupons like this - and so lots of people were going to the store. It was a frenzy of buying. I got caught up in the buying and decided I really needed a bottle cutter. It was a first impulse purchase. The plastic contraption hooks around a bottle and is supposed to cut off the top so that you can use the bottom part of the bottle as a glass or vase. I still remember I paid $32 for it after the 40% coupon. I thought I got a deal. Ugh! It totally doesn't work and is so lame. I have moved it from my craft room to the back of the garage because I can't stand looking at it. What was I thinking :confused:
sorry dude, but this one cracks me up! I was thinking, what the heck is a bottle cutter???
BTW, I am always getting caught up in the hype of buying stuff and buy way too much. Like I have 6 packages of page protectors....why did I need all those now??
I kick myself for buying the tearing edge, why did I pay $20 for a tool, when I am fully able to tear paper on my own!!????:confused: Luckly it has a nice new home with a person who feels tearing challenged
DH has decided that I have an even worse craft item than the bottle cutter that I bought years ago from a television shopping channel and have never used. It is called the Bedazzler. He had forgotten about it until it was made (in)famous on an episode of the last season of The Apprentice. One of the Apprentice Wannabees (Tanna) wanted to Bedazzle some T-Shirts but couldn't find one in New YorK. Good Ol' DH says to me "Hey, don't you have one of those?". I said that I wasn't sure. My fingers were crossed behind my back! He runs into my craft room and pulls it out. He was laughing so hard that I owned such a lame gadget. Fortunately, the bottle cutter had already been moved to the garage. I told him that I'm still going to use it some day. He wanted to sell it on Ebay. I said no way. Ugh! I totally have to figure out what I'm going to do with it!
:rolleyes:
ROTFL!!!! The Bedazzler??? Doesn't that put charms or sequins or studs or something on shirts???
I kick myself for buying the tearing edge, why did I pay $20 for a tool, when I am fully able to tear paper on my own!!????:confused: Luckly it has a nice new home with a person who feels tearing challenged
hey now! I needed the tearing edge because I was tearing challenged. I have since graduated to using my own fingers and traded it to someone else.
Ooohhhh Oooohhh! I'll buy your CM albums if they're 12x12!
I do way more scrapping than stamping ... this doesn't stop me from buying stamping supplies, however.
I have tons of stuff that I never use either. Some things, like my stampamajig thingy, have never even made it out of the packaging. I have vowed to stop buying so much ... I have a pretty simple style when it comes to scrapping - why do I buy all these stuff???
As for stamping, I need to be a Nike person and Just Do It! I love to buy the stamps .. hardly ever use them to make a card.
I have a CM baby 12x12 leather album for sale if you are interested. It has the baby boy border pages in it. I paid like $55 dollars for it but would take much less. PM me if you are interested.
As far as products I don't use I would have to say the Sizzix also. I have quite a few dies, towers, Sizzlets and the Sidekick and I really don't use it enough to have that much money in all of it. I have debated on trying to sale it but the shipping would be so much to try and do it online. But worse than the Sizzix machine and dies is the Sizzix paddle punches and bag. The punches are cute but I just don't use them at all.
__________________ April
All children are gifted...some just open their package sooner than others. Check out my gallery
Tidy Trays - those plastic trays that have a hole at one end so you can use them dump EP or glitter in them and then pour it back into the container. It always sticks and I can never get it out.
Solution - use the cheap coffee filters. Every little bit pours right out
Ugh, I have those too. They suck.
I got this from my upline, but I use cheap ziploc containers. I put all the dd glitter in there with a little spoon. Then I just do all glitter over the container. Easy and not dumping or pouring involved! Works for ep too! I would only do colors that you use a lot though. I use quite a bit of glitter (love those fairies) so it's nice for me!
The retired hostess set "What Could Be Better?" that I just bought off eBay last week. There are other retired sets that I want SOOO much more. At least I didn't pay an arm and a leg for it -- less than $20 including priority mail shipping. :rolleyes:
__________________ Rachel Proud SU! demo and Sci-Fi Geek!
My Stampin' Up! blog "I'm a time traveler -- I point and laugh at archaeologists." 10th Doctor, "Silence in the Library"
I am pretty sure something like this is what gave Granny Hawkins the idea of the Goodie Box Swap. I think most of us are guilty of falling for the "hype" some products portray. I will buy something I've seen demostrated on TV & then just find it collecting dust. At least I don't have over 5K in hamm operator equipment up in the atic like dh has! And don't even get me started on fishing stuff! LOL!
OMG!! serious flashback when the bottle cutter was mentioned. Just more proof that what-goes-around-comes-around -- mine hit a garage sale about 15 years ago (from a much earlier time).
Went crazy with pearl-ex & have 24 colors - rarely used - can't seem to get the hang of using them & don't give me much of a look.
Tray-thing for embossing pwdr - hate it - EP just sticks to it & I have better luck just keeping paper under what I'm working on (but like the coffee filter idea). Plus, when I use it with beads they just jump over the edge when I'm pouring them back into the container.
A lot of single stamps bought at Michael's when I jumped into stamping 4 years ago & before I found SU. Most don't work well together & a lot have never been used. A handful of SU sets that were impulse purchases that I'm not crazy about (eg. Bug Builders).
Sheer ribbon - bought a ton when ACMoore was moving to a new location. Thought it was such a good deal but when I use ribbon it's usually not sheer & the color is never 'right' - & I use more fibers than ribbon. Plus I have some of each of the SU wide sheers.
Fiskar's rotary cutter - hate it! It doesn't cut multiple sheets without putting a lot of pressure on the cutter part & then it leaves a bit of a crease. The 1st Fiskar's cutter I bought ($10) works better.
Chalk pencils - 2 boxes with a few pencils used to try them out & not used since. Use the SU chalks or the set of artists chalks.
I keep thinking I'll get around to SB'ing one of these days so I've collected a lot of 12x12 paper & am not sure this is the size now that I'll want to do - but paper can always be cut down.
My problem is that I want to have at hand the 'right stuff' that I might need to make the 'perfect' card. Like some of you I'm running out of room so I've been forcing myself to put stuff back on the shelf unless I know I need it or have a project it will be used on. Those 'terrible' coupons are sometimes used up on things that need to be replaced such as adhesives, brads, ...
Oh the trials & tribulations of those addicted to the world of stamping...hahahahhahahhahahhah!!!!
SantaKitty
(picked up cs today for my xmas cards - but it was on clearance!)
why is it that everytime i enter a craft store i buy a million rolls of ribbon, yes they're cool and fun styles, but why do i buy so many? i'm creative but not enough to use the abundance of ribbon i now own. sheesh.
__________________ ;) peace , love , and jelly beans...
I love this thread: The first big mistake was buying when I was new to stamping and had no clue. Bought truly beautiful background papers, markers, inks, embossing powders, radient pearls, tons and tons of cards, stencils, stamps, the whole thing with no real idea on how to use any of it. I'm just not too artistic and I need samples or someone to show me what to do. So, I have been slowly selling off most of my non su stuff.
Also -- bought the carl rotary cutter with all the matching blades but hated it because it takes forever to change the blade -- gave that away.
Sizzix and dies -- like it but never really use it. Just sold them.
embossing gun -- i have like the one SU sells. Ranger Heat It tool is SOOO much better. It is literally so quiet you can barely hear it. Want to get it but will not pay for it, so going on my Christmas list!
glaze gel pens -- nice, but never use them
a bunch of cardboard die cuts that I never use.
oh, the list is just too long!!!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
:cool: I have the Bedazzler too...had to have it, way to many years ago. Did a few things with it then. Oh my God, I forgot I had it, but there it was in a shoebox with all the little dazzly things rolling around. What will I do with that. But seriously, I have a ton of stamp sets that I see one card made with and love but then can't think up anymore to do. That is why SCS is so great, it gives me ideas for all those sets.
Wendy
hey now! I needed the tearing edge because I was tearing challenged. I have since graduated to using my own fingers and traded it to someone else.
NO no, i'm not saying anything bad about people who feel they are tearing challenged. I thought I was too, I tried the tool & realized i do better with out it.. It has a wonderful, loving, new home... ;)
I also hate my powder pals, there have been several occasions where I thought they were all cleaned out LOOKED clean, and than much to my supprise I get black powder in my white or clear powder!! AAARG yea I use a scrap piece of paper now
This is striking a cord with me too. I hate glitter, everyone on my son's school yard used to kill themselves laughing because I used to turn up at school sparkling away, it would take days of showers to get the blinking stuff off.
My mistakes are things like peel offs and rub ons, never use them
Also, the stamps that are the most readily available are Whispers and Anitas. It was all I bought at first and now I hate them, my tastes have changed so much since I have actually learned about stamping.
I must confess to liking my shapecutter, but I seem to be the only one of my friends who has actually mastered it.
I have never used my crystal lacquer or jelly roll pens, the colors are too bright.
I have just bought the Quickutz, love it, it is so light and portable. Hate my sizzix, too heavy and cumbersome to drag it out, cut out one shape and put it back. I am not a production line card maker. I can't make a load of things, put them away and then turn them into a card later on. I have to visualise the card and make it from start to finish.
For the person who hates perfect pearls, spray the finished piece with really cheap hairspray and that will fix it.
My Xyron 510 has never been out of the box, I use the X-shaped one.
I hsve spent a fortune on embossing powders when all I really use is ink and clear embossing powder. That would probably be my best buy, heat gun and clear embossing powder.
I paid $40 for my light box but I am never happy with the result of dry embossing.
I can't even count it all on two hands! I have been infamous for buying sets that everyone is oooing and aaahing over and then I don't even like it or use it. I have several of those and it is hard to get rid of them sometimes. Then there was the scrapbook expo I went to last year and bought all those darn Twinkling H2O things...I haven't even opened them yet. Too many tags and scrappin kits. My goal now is to use what I have before I buy something else. As for those H2Os...I keep thinking about opening them......
__________________ Michelle Thomas Craft Well, Wrap Often, Stamp Much!! I FiNallY DiD iT - TAC AnGeL #2645
Don't we all have stuff we never wished we bought? I've been crafting every since I can remember, and this weekend I decided to start cleaning out just a LITTLE bit of my accumulation. I found cow iron-ons from about 15 years ago (I think I was planning to make a matching T-Shirt/Short set, gag!!), some stuffed animal sewing kits, and about 10 boxes of different Rit dyes that I was going to use to tie dye the world, I guess. I also have a whole pile of goodies from the Dollar store that I'm planning to stamp up, and have recently gone on a self-imposed buying moratorium until I use the vast majority of it. Guess I need to get started on making my Christmas gifts!
I participated in a "Trash to Treasure" swap on another board. We all filled one of the new standard Priority mail boxes with junk we just had to have but haven't touched since, then traded with someone else. It was pretty fun!
And a quick tip for all you glitter haters - swiffers are a fabulous way to clean up! I've been using them ever since they came out, and they REALLY do help!!
I jumped head first on the prismacolor and gamsol wagon. I tried and tried but I just can't get the technique. Only wasted about $75 on that one.
Twinkling h2os, pearl ex, non SU chalk stamps...I think I have it all. Never use any of them. I always end up migrating back to my SU ink pads and matching card stock.
__________________ Kealie
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then go find someone whose life gives them vodka and have a party!
Brilliance Pads...bought because a stamper I admired and respected was raving about them. Figured if I had some I could do wonderful things like her. WRONG!! LOL
Colored embossing powders. Specifically: Enamelware Blue and Enamelware Burgandy, (never used); Really Red and Bon Bon Brown, (only used a couple times each); and Pretty Pearl, (used once).
Stampin Flock in white and brown (used the white once...didn't turn out well, never used any of the flock again!)
A small stack of die-cuts in various shapes that I thought I'd use, but never have.
An assortment of stickers...which I may eventually use, but haven't so far.
Too many decorative edged scissors to mention. Bought a bunch when they were all the rage. Now I've only got mini pinking, mini scallop, lace and deckle edges.
*sigh* When I think of the money wasted....
BUT then I remind myself that most of my unused/unloved treasures have been given away to other crafters who didn't have the $$ to buy some of those things and are now using them well. ;)
I also appreciate the lesson I've learned: Think carefully before I purchase. I have a lot less 'clutter' nowadays, and a lot less $$ being wasted.
__________________ ~Sheri
"I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to."
"When we forgive, we free ourselves from the bitter ties that bind us to the one who hurt us."
Have you bought anything that you wish you hadn't?
