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Are In Color inks & paper a worthwhile investment?
I was a SU! demo for a year or so and then took a stamping hiatus for a couple of years, and I'm just getting back into it now. So while I was not stamping, SU! came out with the In Color thing...when I ordered my starter kit earlier this month I opted to get my 6 ink pads in the In Color line, and now I'm thinking maybe that wasn't such a good idea...I mean, after this summer I won't be able to get any more matching cardstock and a whole new In Color line will be out.
So my questions are, for those of you who have been stamping longer in general (to see trends come and go) and also for those of you who purchased products from the first In Color line and now do not have access to those products anymore, are you still glad you invested in the inks and papers? Do you still use them? Do you find that they still coordinate enough with the stable color families that it's worth having them? (Admittedly, I haven't had much of a chance to really sit down with all my CS and see how well they coordinate; I'm just curious to get the opinions of other stampers.)
I'm approaching this from a strictly crafting POV. I understand how the In Color lines work for demos who are actively building a business, but I'm not one of those! I'm just a hobby demo, in it for the discount, and I'm trying to decide if I should keep investing in that particular line.
I have a love/hate thing going on with In Colors. I always love the new colors and paper and buy them. I hate it when I can not get more paper. I am going to start thinking more carefully about buying them in the future. After all, how may color shades and ink pads do you need and have room to store, especially when you can't get matching paper.
I love the new colors, too. But the ink lasts longer than the paper, then you can't get more paper. I do order extra paper right before it retires, and the inks can also be used for watercoloring even though you may be out of the matching paper.
If you like them I would use them. Once you have no more paper you can make "faux in color" paper! This card was made with all whisper white paper...I colored it with inks.
I was one of those lonely gals who decided that the in-colors were not for me. I love them but for me, there were two factors that kind of nailed the door shut on them. One was the non-availability of the papers after the year was up. Second was that I love the matching markers and they are not available.
I am certainly not against the in -colors and for most, they are great. I do a lot of bulk type projects and if I can't get papers and colors consistantly, I don't want to offer it to my customers, friends or myself!
I did buy the Cool Caribean the first year with an extra refill and 4 packages of paper but use it only sparingly even though I love the color. If I knew I could get more at any time, would probably use it a ton. Now I only regret wasting the money on it. Am even thinking of selling it off.
So I am in the vast minority here but made my choice and hope I don't get any grief over voicing it! I really like the colors, but alas, not for me. I happen to think that SU made a great business decision by offering them though. I even enjoy looking at the new colors when they come out. If they had 150 PERMAMENT colors, I would probably own them all, pads, refills, markers and stock.
I stocked up last year on the cool caribbean- lol i still have 6 packs of paper left and 3 reinkers.. Is that sad.... :P I'll be doing the same with both wild wasabi and the purely pomegranite. I love the option of still using the inks for watercolor too.
I'm only a hobby demo for the discount too. I personally cannot commit to the In Colors for the fact that they won't be around long enough for me. I can get too "attached" to a color. :rolleyes: I made the mistake of buying some Purely Pomegranate and I am SO in love with it that I'm afraid I will either have to spend insane gobs of money on the paper, or just cut all ties with it and get rid of it. ;)
I say if you LOVE a color, then buy it...and lots of it. If you aren't bothered either way, don't invest in them. I'll be stocking up the next few months on my favorite In Colors for this year.
JMO If I was still a SU demo I would NOT buy them. They change every 6 months. WOW! How expensive is that! It's hard enough keeping up with the stamp sets.
The in colors are a very individual thing, LOL! I love the fact that we have new colors every year, but it's depressing when I start to run out of a color and can't get more paper.
I bought four the first year and only regret one (thyme). I have about half a sheet of cranberry and a few sheets of marigold left, and a whole extra pack of cool caribbean--I waited too late to order extra cranberry and marigold.
This time around, I got pomegranite, wasabi, and river rock. I bought an extra pack of pom and wasabi in March because they are such lovely colors. No doubt I'll get a few of the new ones in July.
When the paper is gone, I'll toss the inks or give them to my demo to pass on to someone who wants them.
If you like them I would use them. Once you have no more paper you can make "faux in color" paper! This card was made with all whisper white paper...I colored it with inks.
Yes I would love info about next year's colors. I love this year's colors but I have been absolutely determined not to buy more than 1 assorted pack of cardstock. But if I don't like next years colors I may just grab a bunch of this year's stuff. I especially like the matching ribbon. Oh, maybe I should just do it and worry about next year, next year. And I know I don't need to buy all the inks anyway because some of the colors were a close enough match to other SU colors, IMO.
__________________ Julie my gallery
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Phillippians 4:13
WOw, I'm sorta suprised at the amount of people who don't buy the in colors! I looove them! I don't really look at it the same as ya'll are though, I look at it like an exciting change of colors each year so I don't get bored with the same ole colors! I've about exhausted my color combinations, I'm ready for some new colors, bring em on!!!
JMO If I was still a SU demo I would NOT buy them. They change every 6 months. WOW! How expensive is that! It's hard enough keeping up with the stamp sets.
Carol
in IN
FYI...It's once a year that they change rather than 6 months.
I love getting new colors. When they go out, I offer what I have left to my customers. It's usually just the inkpads by that time. They're worthwhile to me because I love using them.
I have seen the retired colors go for good money on ebay, so if you find that you no longer have a need for the inks or paper, just sell them on ebay or trade them here on the buy/sell forum.
Joan, thanks for the link. I've checked out her site, but unless I am searching under the wrong thing, I cannot find the new In Colors anywhere else on the net....what am I missing??
:>
Joan, thanks for the link. I've checked out her site, but unless I am searching under the wrong thing, I cannot find the new In Colors anywhere else on the net....what am I missing??
:>
The colors are the 2nd thumbnail on her site.....here's the colors she has listed with the picture....
Pacific Point, Baha Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Red Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette
I'm not sure "investment" is the right word I would use for cardstocks and inks. If you love the colors, yes. Worth the money. You can stock up on lots of paper, one ink pad and a couple of reinkers and be set for literally 5 years.
An ink pad and a couple of reinkers are I think less than $12 total and then the cost of the paper. Not bad if you love the color!! If you don't like the color, then it is a waste of money...
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
I guess in one way we are lucky here in Australia... We have a whole year to stock up on in Colour goodies... But on the other hand, if you're a hobby demo here, the $$$ per 3 months is hard to do if you've run out of things you like LOL!
I tell my customers to buy the colors they are interested in and if they find they are totally in love with them, come June, invest in two or three packs of the paper and buy a reinker and they will be set for a long time.
I did that with Cool Caribbean and Cranberry Crisp last year. I still use both these colors (and occasionally the other In Colors from last year) and haven't even cracked the extra packs yet. As demos, we crank through a lot of cardstock when it is current, but most people do not use it up at the rate we do. Now that I use mine for occasional card-making, it is going to last me a long time.
Yuk! I think I'm going to stock up on this years In Colors even more than I had planned on! I really love this years colors but after hearing everyone say that they never use them after they retire I wasn't going to buy much. Now that I have seen next years I think I'll stock up more!
I think it's worth it if you love the color and get it early in the year. Then you can enjoy it for a year when it's current plus play with it when it's not. I only got Purely Pomegranate this year, because I know I will use it for years to come
I guess in one way we are lucky here in Australia... We have a whole year to stock up on in Colour goodies... But on the other hand, if you're a hobby demo here, the $$$ per 3 months is hard to do if you've run out of things you like LOL!
The InColors in the USA are also good for a year. I am not sure why everyone thinks it's only 6 months.
__________________ Tricia SU Demo since April 2005
i don't get all the colors... just the ones that i think are really different and that i love. I've got Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky. I've purchased combo packs of CS, but will buy additional packs of those colors before they retire to have on hand. I would love it if they would replace garden green with wasabi... it's such a better color imo.
The InColors in the USA are also good for a year. I am not sure why everyone thinks it's only 6 months.
Probably because the catalog changes every six months and they're mistakenly assuming (you know what they say about that, LOL!) that the colors are only good for a single catalog cycle, like they were when we only had one catalog a year.
__________________ 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 don't get all the colors... just the ones that i think are really different and that i love. I've got Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky. I've purchased combo packs of CS, but will buy additional packs of those colors before they retire to have on hand. I would love it if they would replace garden green with wasabi... it's such a better color imo.
That is such an awesome color... I'm new to SU, and all other stamping for that matter... but I have not found a green (Wild Wasabi, that is )that I like better than that. It is just yummmy. I find myself reaching for it all the time, when I need a green... I will be stocking up on that one.
Should we petition headquarters for that change?
__________________ ~~@Marcia Luisa@~~ Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance. -Bruce Barton
If I were a demo still, I think I would appreciate that SU! has done away with re-vamping the core color families every year or two, in favor of the In Color concept. It's hard to sell a new, spendy set of markers when the packaging and colors inside are constantly changing. I could never keep up, that's for sure!
As far as the In Colors go, I buy the ones I like - last year it was Cranberry, Thyme and Violet...this year it was Wasabi and River Rock, but I just added Soft Sky and the other blue.
If I died at age 150, I would still have enough cardstock to make 10,000 cards - and this is not becuase I have 50 packs of every color! I'm not worried about running out...and, if *you* do, just hope SCS is still around so you can arrange a trade
I've been yearning for a softer pink and it looks like SU! has delivered for the next round of In Colors with the Pink Pirouette - a really good move on their part, and, in my book, the only of the new colors that I'll just *have* to have.
Just checked out the new colors and my dd is in love. She loves the darker of the blues. It is a younger pallette than the others that is for sure. Is baha breeze that different from sky? They look the same to me. I wish they would sell a set of the in colors in spots. They make them for the Simply sent kits so why won't they sell them by themselves?
The only one of any of the in colors that I have bought is Cool Caribbean from last year. I may be buying the new ones but only for dd!
Just checked out the new colors and my dd is in love. She loves the darker of the blues. It is a younger pallette than the others that is for sure. Is baha breeze that different from sky? They look the same to me. I wish they would sell a set of the in colors in spots. They make them for the Simply sent kits so why won't they sell them by themselves?
The only one of any of the in colors that I have bought is Cool Caribbean from last year. I may be buying the new ones but only for dd!
Pamela
That's a good idea Pamela.... make the new in colors in your own spots and a set of inkers. And a set just for the DDs so they don't wreck yours! LOL! That would certainly take up less space on the stamping desk! You can get blank spots from a company too. check on the SCS forums.
I think if it's colors you love then use'em to your hearts content. Who cares if it's retired or not. just stock on your favs.;)
Somewhere on SCS you can make your own set of markers with inkers and blender pens. something else on my list to do!:mrgreen:
I love the IN-Colors! I didn't stock up as much as I wanted to for the 1st year's, so this year I made myself order an assorted pack every month with my once a month stamp club order. Ok, I missed a couple months, but I am building up a stock pile in a less painful way, I think I have 7 unopened packs of 12x12, thats 28 sheets of each color!. As for the markers, I made my own with blender pens and reinkers and they work great. If you want more intense color, you can use the aquapens/blender pens and reinkers or squeeze a closed ink pad and pick up ink off the lid.
The in colors also coordinate well with the core family groups also, which is part of their appeal. I am so sad to see this year's go, but I have the stash and I am sure I will love the new ones, once I get over the loss of this years. I have several months yet before that happens!
Now that I've seen last year's In-colors, this year's In-colors, and next season's In-colors (thanks to the link posted above ), I may just need some of this year's colors that go well with lots of colors. Then there are colors from TAC, Palette, Bazzill, Papertrey, Basic Grey, . . . . . . .and didn't I read about some new paper from the creator of the Bellas? Ah, the list (and therefore the availability) is endless. . . . .
I have to admit that the first year's in colors did nothing for me. This year was a lot different. If you like the colors and actually use them then to me its worth it. The great thing about the in colors other than offering a refreshing change in color scheme is that they compliment each other as well as the current cardstocks.
As for lasting only a year at least you know the deadline for ordering additional supplies. There are many scrapbook and card making trends out there that just disappear without a moments notice. I have plenty of things that I thought I had to have at the time. Also if you do run out there is usually someone out there willing to sell or trade what they have. All in all, have fun with them, order extra before they are gone and if you are done with them all together post what you have in the trade/sell forum. Someone is usually on the lookout for them.
__________________ Design Team Member: Digital Tuesday Challenge, The Cutting Cafe, The Townscrapper, Pixie Dust Studio, Some Odd Girl, Fred She Said
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Are In Color inks & paper a worthwhile investment?
