Creative Memories vs Fiskars (or other cheaper brands)

19 years ago

Is Creative Memories worth it? I have the CM album, although I'm not really happy with how flimsy the tape-bound staples are. Most of my other supplies are from AC Moore - Fiskar's scissors, Zig pens, Zig or Elmer's glue (the archival stuff), 3M tape runner, whatever the photo adhesives in the little blue box are....

My question is - is the Creative Memories stuff worth it? Are they much better? Have there been tests done that compare the archival qualities of these products?

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Comments (4)

stephmc72
19 years ago
I definitely think for some stuff; it's worth it. I absolutely love their cutting system. IMO, it doesn't even compare to any others out there. I have one of their totes (nice and sturdy, but not too many compartments), their tape runners (I do prefer these over others), their deco file organizer (I have found nothing comparable), their albums (strap albums with much nicer page protectors than you find in the stores). I love it all. But I definitely think their cutting system takes the lead as my favorite CM product.

As far as stickers, paper, that type of stuff is concerned...it's the same as any out there.
jewels_ks
19 years ago
I am a big CM fan also. I moslty only buy CM products. I like to buy CM paper because I know I will always have a match if it is needed again. I love all their adhesives and bags. Sometimes I have to buy stickers elsewhere, depending on the subject of the pics.
Jewels
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Have we priced ourselves out of creativity?
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Satisfaction. Why is that such a hard thing to acheive? I have a giant debt of gratitude to my husband and my maker that I had the opportunity, even if just once, to do exactly as I pleased in a space, and if I think about it long enough, I'm humbled that I get to focus on something that can be argued to be so frivolous in the grand scheme of things. I can only say that because I'm probably the worst offender of the question you asked. I fretted so much during the process that I finally had a friend order me to "STOP LOOKING" at all design publications, online or otherwise. I'm a creative producer by trade, so it was hard for me to separate the need to be cutting edge vs. the need to make this something I could love for 20 years if need be. Did I make some choices I regret? Yep. I'm already wondering if my exterior countertops are too "of the moment grey" and the implication of what that will mean with the passing of the grey renaissance in approximately 5-7 years. I also am certain antique brass hardware is going to be the rage in 2-3 years. If I let myself go there, I'll be practically paralyzed. So, I'm just going to QUIT LOOKING and be satisfied. Yep, I went into safetymode on some things... but luckily for me, in the Deep South, some of my more cutting edge flirtations were so out of the norm, they were price prohibitive. And the more I think of it, I'm glad my current kitchen was price prohibitive for me 10 years ago... otherwise it would have been a giant concrete block with no grace but lots of street cred ;)
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heather_on
19 years ago
I'm not a big CM fan. Their paper cutter is too small and doesn't cut the 12 by 12 pages. Mine also cuts a ragged edge from the start it never did cut well. Their circle and oval cutters are the best that I have ever found. Why anyone would spend mega bucks on things like their square punches is beyond me when it is so simple to take an ordinary cutter and cut a square. I love the Friskars type cutter because it is a cinch to make a frame using this type of cutter.

Many of the girls at our local scrapbooking store started with the CM albums and are getting very bored with the white pages and end up covering them with the fancy papers. Their albums are expensive but the quality is better than some of the cheaper albums out there. The best albums I have found are from a company called Fraser-Grimm. It's a small company that I believe operates out of Windsor Ontario but my local scrapbooking store sells their albums. They are durably made and covered with fabric and they have quite a selection. I bought some special fabric and had them make me an individual album and they did a beautiful job.

I'm not big on stickers. I make most of my own embellishments so I can't comment on those since I don't use them.
MIStepMom
19 years ago
I started out with CM products, but have branched out to all the other wonderful products on the market. Like Heather ON, I also get bored with the white pages, so I use my own ideas and most of the time cover the white with fancy paper. I know this isn't the CM way, but they are my memories and I want to memorialize them as I choose. I do however, think their cutting products are the best on the market. I have tried Fiskers and never could get that cutter to work right. Their punches although a little pricey are of great quality and sure make creating embellishments easier and quicker. Their idea books have helped me alot as well.

CM's claim to fame is that they conduct extensive studies on the archival safety of their products and my CM representative swears that her scrapbooks will last over 100 years because of this testing process and the fact that she does not use anything but CM products.

While this may be true, I believe that these other companies have conducted satisfactory tests or they would not be as popular as they are. Of course, I guess my ancestors will find out for sure in 100 years.

Creative Memories vs Fiskars (or other cheaper brands)

Comments (4)

stephmc72

jewels_ks

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heather_on

MIStepMom

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