Randi's Review	Kathleen' Review	Rebecca's Review	Karen's Review	Terri's Review

Review by Randi

Legacy Paper Arts provides various creative options for scrapbookers. They create custom titles and die-cuts, page kits, boxed accordian albums, as well as some other goodies. Today's review is of their monthly "club ensemble."

I received the August 2006 Kit titled American Crafts Bookshelf. It sells for $20.00 (in their past month kit sales) plus a flat-rate shipping fee of $3.99. This kit was packed with products! Check out this list:

Legacy Paper Arts Exclusive Embellishments:

1 Passions Quote
1 Friends Tag Quote
1 Colorful U title
1 Summer Title
1 Flower Frame
1 Ring Journal Box
2 Circle Crazy Label Holders
1 Puzzle Journal Box
1 Sendak Tag
5 Flowers

6 Sheets of American Crafts, 1 each of:

Sendak
Suess
Cervantes
Asimov
Wilder
Silverstein

8 Sheets of Bazzill Basics Paper Cardstock, 2 each of:

Magenta
Burningh Ember
Amber
Blue Calypso

Ribbons, 1 yard each of:

Orange Saddle Stitch
Aqua Ribbon
Purple Ribbon
Green/Yellow/Blue Striped

Other Embellishments

1 sheet of alphabet stickers (DCWV)
18" of sequins

Please take special notice of the Legacy Paper Arts Exclusive Embellishments! Apparently Legacy has their own die-cutting set-up, because not only do their kits come with titles and embellishments cut from the precise cardstock included in the kits, the die-cut shapes match amazingly well with those found on the paper! Truly unique in the scrapbooking kit world. As a side note, Legacy Paper Arts also offers custom titles and die-cuts for sale on their website. Most titles run between five and seven dollars. Custom die-cuts vary a LOT. A custom die-cut can cost one to twenty dollars depending on the difficulty.

The exclusive embellishments are a great option for anyone who likes a paper piecing look, but prefer not to do all of the work themselves. The newsletter (included with the kit) gives simple instructions for creating and using these embellishments. The topper on this layout is a good example of what to expect from the exclusive embellishments. The sun is formed with a pre-cut circle and what resembles little paper carrots! The "summer" topper is actually in two pieces that are glued together. The flowers on the bottom right are formed with pinwheels and ribbon.

Summer
All items on layout from kit
Bookshelf paper, American Crafts
Cardstock, Bazzill
Embellishments, (sun, title, flowers) Legacy Paper Arts
Orange Saddle Stitch Ribbon
Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Adhesive Tech

The tag on this layout came with the quote already printed, and was quick and easy to glue together.

Colorful
All items on layout from kit
Bookshelf paper, American Crafts
Cardstock, Bazzill
Embellishments, (tag, title) Legacy Paper Arts
Purple Ribbon
Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Adhesive Tech

I chose to change the design on the topper in my final layout. This, like the others, required some mild paper piecing and gluing. I felt the squiggles that were cut in beside the word "passion" made it hard to read, so I chose to snip them off, and instead put two of the "paint splotches" in its place. Like the tag on the layout above, the words on this topper are pre-printed with what appears to be computer printing.

Paint with Passion
All items (except ink and adhesive) from kit
Bookshelf paper, American Crafts
Cardstock, Bazzill
Embellishments, (title paper piecing) Legacy Paper Arts
Walnut Distress Ink, Ranger
Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Adhesive Tech

It is obvious that MUCH thought went into preparing this kit. The embellishments, paper, and themes are all so August, and the exclusive embellishments match the paper designs perfectly. I was disappointed that a few of the embellishments were not cut completely, and one was even damaged beyond use (a piece was torn/missing from it). Also, one of my ribbons was cut, and a smaller piece was sewn to onto it (possibly happened at the end-of-reel in the factory?) but in spite of these little problems, I would still recommend this kit. If you like a home-made look without all the cutting that paper piecing normally requires, this is the one for you! I would love the chance to review some of Legacy's Paper Art's other options. I feel they are truly unique in this dime-a-dozen monthly club world!

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Review by Kathleen

I received a monthly kit from Legacy Paper Arts, an online business that delivers very cool monthly kits. The kit I received, July 2006, was full of paper and embellishments. While each monthly kit will vary, my kit contained the following:

6 sheets of Paper Salon patterned paper
8 sheets (2 of each color) of Bazzill Basics Paper cardstock
1 yard each of five different ribbons
1 sheet of alphabet stickers
9 different Legacy Paper Arts exclusive embellishments, including two 12-inch die-cut titles 16 assorted, coordinating brads
1 color printed sheet of instructions for assembling the exclusive embellishments

I was really impressed by the quality of product the kit contained. The patterned paper from Paper Salon was fun to work with and I like it when a kit contains current hot products. I also felt that all the other embellishments included were abundant enough to create several layouts and projects.

While the theme of this particular kit was geared towards Independence Day and the father/son relationship, I decided to take a different approach with my projects. My first project, titled “Buddies” features my two children. I used the 12-inch die-cut title to emphasize their important relationship.

“Buddies”
Products used:
Legacy Paper Arts: July 2006 monthly kit (patterned papers, ribbon, die-cut title, cardstock, letter stickers)
ColorBox: fluid chalk ink
Adhesive Tech: Glue Runner

For my second project, I took the 12-inch die-cut title “Independence” and created a page about my daughter’s first day at school. I used the flower tag, which is an exclusive Legacy Paper Arts embellishment, for my journaling. I used the other flower from that packet as a photo corner for my main photo.

“Independence”
Products used:
Legacy Paper Arts: July 2006 monthly kit (patterned papers, flower tag and extra flower, die-cut title, cardstock)
ColorBox: fluid chalk ink
Micron: black pen
Adhesive Tech: Glue Runner, 3D design blocks

In summary, this kit was very cool to work with. I enjoyed the different patterned papers and embellishments. Normally I have a difficult time incorporating die-cut embellishments into my projects, but this kit provided a good variety to work with. Realistically I will not use the entire kit, but there is enough product to create several more layouts including some patriotic ones if I desire.

Legacy Paper Arts is a monthly kit club. There is no minimum requirement for your subscription. This is nice for someone who may not want to subscribe for a full six months or a year. The kits cost $23.00 per month plus shipping and tax where applicable.

If you are looking for a kit that provides quality product at a reasonable price, you will be pleased with Legacy Paper Arts.

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Review by Rebecca

Isn't the thought of having a personal shopper appealing? Wouldn't it be nice to sometimes have somebody else select and coordinate scrapbook products for you so you could spend more time making wonderful memories with your family? Well, Legacy Paper Arts is the answer you have been waiting for.

Legacy Paper Arts is a scrapbooking monthly club filled with papers, embellishments and exclusive products. I received the September 2006 Cherry Arte, East of India kit for my review. This particular kit includes:

• 6 sheets of Cherry Arte, East of India, 12" X 12" patterned paper
• 8 sheets of Bazzill Basics 12" x 12" cardstock
• 1 Bazzill Basics Mini Album
• 1 yard each of 5 different ribbons
• 10 Legacy Paper Arts Exclusive Embellishments
• Instruction sheet

When I first opened the kit I noticed how well all of the items coordinated. The colors and designs of the exclusive embellishments were almost identical to the patterned paper. The ribbons were a great variety and ranged from 3/8-inch to 1-inch in width. The exclusive embellishments in the kit consisted of: a flower box, a fan, a journal box, four photo corners, one tag, one matchbox, two label holders, two titles and two photo clips. The exclusive embellishments were die cuts made from the same Bazzill cardstock that was included with the kit.

For my first layout I grabbed the "Wonderful" title and decided that I would work around that. I loved the font that was used for the title. The photo corners were die cut with a beautiful pattern. When I was removing the cut out portion I did have some detailed parts get bent. Though the design did not rip it would have been nice if those intricate cuts were cut out completely so I did not have to worry about tearing them.

Wonderful
Products used:
Patterned Paper (Paisley Rouge and Sari Dreams by Cherry Arte)
Kit Exclusive Embellishments (Flourish Journal Box, Wonderful Title, Henna Photo Corner)
Ribbon (Gold Sheer)
Cardstock (Malt by Bazzill Basics)
Pen (Millennium by Zig)
Ink (Black by Around the Block)
Rub-ons (Metallic and Luster by Craf-T)
Adhesive (Permanent Glue Runner and A Fine Line...PVA Glue by Adhesive Tech)

For my second layout I used "friends" from the second title. I inked the edges of the fan pieces and placed it in the corner of my layout. I also used the beautiful green ribbon, photo corners and the photo clips. I used the instruction sheet to assist me in putting together the photo clips and the fan. It was convenient to have the directions and photos of the exclusive embellishment included with the kit.

Siblings 'n Friends
Products used:
Patterned Paper (Henna, Delhi Blooms, Bombay and Sari Dreams by Cherry Arte)
Kit Exclusive Embellishments (Friends Title, Henna Photo Corner, Fan and Photo Clips)
Ribbon (Green Ballet)
Cardstock (Mocha and Juneberry by Bazzill Basics)
Letters (Making Memories, Heidi Swapp and Scenic Route Paper Co.)
Ink (Black by Around the Block)
Rub-ons (Metallic and Luster by Craf-T)
Adhesive (Permanent Glue Runner and A Fine Line...PVA Glue by Adhesive Tech)

In addition to these two layouts, I also completed two cards and a mini album page that can be found in the Legacy Paper Arts gallery. After all of these projects I still have many pieces of the kit remaining. The only items I added to my projects were alphabets and some glitter for my mini album. All the other elements of my projects are items included in the kit.

For only $27.00 (and $3.99 shipping in the U.S.) you can recieve the Legacy Paper Arts Monthly kit and complete as many projects as I was able to with the September 2006 kit. Legacy Paper Arts also offers subscriptions which means you can receive the kit at a reduced price of only $23.00.

Monthly kits are popular in scrapbooking. Legacy Paper Arts stands apart from the competition by offering creative exclusive items. Scrapbookers who value quality papers and coordinated items will appreciate the well designed kits offered by Legacy Paper Arts.

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Review by Karen

For this review I received the October 2006 Monthly Ensemble kit featuring the Prima Marketing Erie Collection. This kit was themed for Fall or Autumn pages. Included in the package I received was one sheet each of six patterned papers from the Erie Collection, two sheets each of four different colors of Bazzil Basic papers, five yards of ribbon, plus ten different ready to assemble embellishment pieces. The kit is packaged in a clear bag with a set of color instructions for completing the ready to assemble pieces.

The kit can be purchased as a one time purchase for $27.00 plus shipping and handling or with a monthly subscription for $23.00, plus shipping and handling, per kit. What makes this kit so different is the ready to assemble pieces, which are exclusive to the kit, and add pizzazz to the kit that you won’t find anywhere else.

For my first project I used one of the ready to assemble pieces and created a card. The directions were SO easy to follow. There was even a diagram to help me identify what piece was what.

Title: Poem Card
Products used:
Items from Legacy Paper Arts kit
Exclusive poem and flower piece
Patterned Paper: Prima Marketing Erie Collection
Items not in kit:
Fabulous Foil! by Crafta Frame
Pen: American Crafts
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I was drawn to the Bliss tag but wasn’t sure if I liked the idea of a butterfly on a Fall page. I typically think of butterflies as summer or spring embellishments. However, I knew that I wanted to use that piece, so I created a page that wasn’t Fall at all! I used the Bliss tag to create my title, “Breakfast Bliss”. I love how the tag came with the writing already on it! No worrying about my handwriting being off.

Title: Breakfast Bliss
Products used:
Legacy Paper Art kit:
Patterned Paper: Prima Marketing Erie Collection
Cardstock: Bazzil Basics Paper
Bliss tag
Items not in kit:
Flowers: American Crafts Felt Flowers
Letter stickers: American Crafts
Foil: Fabulous Foil! Crafta Frame
Brads: American Crafts
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I struggled with this kit, even though I like my completed projects. The cardstock choices in the kit were not always colors that I would have picked to showcase the patterned paper. That is one of the difficult parts of a monthly kit club, finding one where the “I love this item” outweighs the “not my favorite thing”. I like the idea of the exclusive pieces, but in looking at past kits I fear that many of them would sit being unused, if I were a subscriber. I can see the value of the kit, especially if you are not sure what goes with what, or if you struggle coming up with ideas for pages.

It’s hard for me to use monthly kits, and that was part of the reason that I was excited to have this challenge. All said, I do like the offerings in this kit. I feel that you get your money’s worth and aren’t gouged on shipping, which is $3.99. I think that this is one of the better monthly kits out there, and one that should be looked into when considering a monthly club.

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Review by Terri

Legacy Paper Arts offers a variety of kits including monthly kits, specialty kits, boardbook kits (for mini books), page kits and kits that allow to you create beautiful boxed accordion albums. I love the ease of using kits, as well as the fun, so I was excited to review the December 2006 monthly kit from Legacy Paper Arts.

I received six sheets of the new KI Memories release called Alpine, eight sheets of Bazzill Basics cardstock (two pieces each of four colors), one yard each of five different ribbons, and many, many embellishments! As I mentioned, this kit features a new release from KI. This winter themed collection was a perfect choice for a winter kit, and it looks like the rest of the kit was planned around this paper. This paper is double-sided which provides a lot of design options. In addition, one of the papers was frosted. The Bazzil cardstock matched the paper perfectly, and the ribbons were a nice variety of widths and textures.

One of the highlights of this kit was the great embellishments, and the instructions for using them. The embellishments included buttons and brads and some amazing die cuts! There is a die cut “winter” title, die cuts spelling “sparkle” on circles, die cut letters for the word joy, as well as a tag, rolodex card, label holder, pocket and wonderful snowflake photo turns. This kit even provided two different quotes which are great for journaling. The instructions (with specific steps and photos of completed projects) provide clever ways of using combinations of these embellishments. For example, the instructions demonstrate how you can combine the rolodex card, die cuts, ribbon and a quote to create a snowman quote. This was super cute and just one of the projects featured on the instructions.

For my first page, I wanted to use the large die cut title in the kit as well as the matching photo turn. I used a picture of my son playing in the snow. I also used two pieces of the KI Memories paper, and was pleased with how well they matched the cardstock. I used several of the embellishments in the kit to give the page a winter feel.

Title: Winter
Products used:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics from the Legacy Paper Arts kit
Patterned Paper: KI Memories from the Legacy Paper Arts kit
Ribbon: Legacy Paper Arts kit
Die Cuts: Legacy Paper Arts kit
Brad: Legacy Paper Arts kit
Marker: Uni-Ball Signo
Adhesive: Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner

My next page includes some silly photos of my husband and I. I combined three of the KI Memories patterned papers from the kit, with cardstock and embellishments. I used one of the ribbons to form the word joy. I really liked that the Legacy Paper Arts kit provided some quotes since I sometimes struggle with journaling.

Title: Joy
Products used:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics from the Legacy Paper Arts kit
Patterned Paper: KI Memories from the Legacy Paper Arts kit
Ribbon: Legacy Paper Arts kit
Die Cuts: Legacy Paper Arts kit
Brad: Legacy Paper Arts kit
Button: Legacy Paper Arts kit
Adhesive: Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner

This Legacy Paper Arts monthly kit reminded me why I love kits. This kit contained a new release, perfectly coordinated papers and cardstock, fun embellishments and wonderful ideas. Another thing I like about this kit is that it provides two pieces of each color cardstock so that you can create two page layouts if you want. Looking at past kits, it appears that Legacy Paper Arts monthly kits always try to offer something new, as well as something appropriate for the month. I loved the ideas on the instruction sheet, and I also liked that the kit contained a list of the contents. This really helps if you want to, for example, purchase an additional sheet of a particular paper. If you have been looking for an easy to use kit that is carefully prepared with classic and fun elements, this is it!

For more information visit Legacy Paper Arts