Hi

I have not really invested alot into albums with creative memories or anything...i think i do want to start this scrapbooking idea.

But I had a friend who is a invested cm person said she would just go to michaesl with the coupons each week and buy scrapbooking stuff since it all has to be acid free now and not like when she started years ago and you could not find the stuff on the shelves...

but since she has used so much cm products she will continue in it but for me starting out with albums and all she siad she would just go with michaels stuff.

What do you think?

I get my albums at Hobby Lobby. Every few weeks they'll run an "all albums 50% off" special and then I buy packs of three albums (12x12, 8x8, and 6x6) by The Paper Studio for $10 (after discount).

To be quite honest, I never really liked CM. I'm a Stampin' UP! girl myself.

To answer your question, though, it depends on what you buy. The albums I don't mind buying at HL. But my cardstock needs to be SU just b/c I prefer their quality. I only use SU ink b/c every pad I bought at any LSS dried out before I had a chance to use it. Those little embellishments like half-pearls, bling, buttons, brads, chipboard? Definitely come from my local scrapbooking store! HTH

__________________
http://www.thinkingwithink.blogspot.com/

I think it depends on what you are looking for. Michaels has really cute stuff and so do other craft stores. I have no experince with CM so I can't say anything about the quality.

__________________
Check out my blog for great product reviews and giveaways. http://sheilacakes.blogspot.com

I want a hobby lobby!!!!! There was one kinda close to me for years and I only went in there once before I was scrapbooking. I was gonna go a day before I moved but....They were closed cause it was a sunday.

__________________
Check out my blog for great product reviews and giveaways. http://sheilacakes.blogspot.com

I like Colorbox ink! I have some pads that still work and those puppies are at least 15 years old. AT least.

__________________
Check out my blog for great product reviews and giveaways. http://sheilacakes.blogspot.com

To be honest I would stick with Michaels. You can find an occasional item with CM but I did not think that their stuff was the greatest. I have several friends who swear by them though so maybe I am just missing something. And like Jess and Sheila said you can go to the other stores with coupons and get probably a better deal. Good luck! Hope to see you posting things soon!

__________________
~SONJA~
My Crafty Places: www.paperandpaisleys.blogspot.com
http://playingaroundwithmycamera.blogspot.com/

For years I was strictly a CM girl and would not dare go out of the box. They have really good quality albums, page protectors, etc and they stand behind them 100%. I would still be using them but I quit scrappin' in chronological order about a year ago and now it is too hard to "commit" to both sides of a page. Does that make sense? Probably not but what I'm trying to say is that now I need the page protectors that I can just "drop in" the page, change the order later if I need to. I bought my first SU Album last week and I'm looking forward to seeing how I like it. I do buy a lot of stuff from Hobby Lobby, SU (they have the best card stock), Michael's, Walmart, and Joanns. Hope that helps...

I prefer the albums and pages from CM. Also I love their cutting system. It really depends on what you are looking for. I used to be much more into CM but they have really changed their style, I prefer the way they used to be. So now I shop at Michaels, my LSS, Walmart just as much. Paper, adhesive I usually get from Michaels with coupons.

__________________
Laura

I have bought several scrapbooks from CM and i really like them. But everything else i buy from Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Only when it's on sale or clearence!

I buy lots of stuff through CM, I became a consultant to support my CM habbit! I don't do parties or shows though and I do buy my "extras" (embellishments & other items) at various stores, but I love the CM quality of albums and I like all my albums to be the same size and shape so CM really works for me. I think their quality cannot be beat, but I also don't think poorly of other brands...you just have to find what works for you!