Gab with Gaby

An engineer's creative corner studio.

Supplies

I tried the Tombow VIP Box...Here’s What Happened (Update)

Drawing, Supplies, Crafts, ReviewsGabriela SimsComment

Hi everyone, happy New Year! Gaby here with a review of the Tombow VIP box! So I’ll start by saying that I was super excited to get this when I first heard about it, but the box was underwhelming 2 months in a row. That may not sound like much, but at $30 monthly, I could have taken that $60 and gotten something I really wanted.  I figured that Tombow has so many products that I would be likely to get something awesome each month. In December I received many items I already had, but the value was very good and the items were all useful, even as duplicates.

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It included a 6 pack of dual brush tip pens, a grey and black fudenosuke pen pair, an eraser and some cute colored pencils. Not a lot of new items for me, but still useful, so I decided to give January a chance. I wish I had gone with my initial thought to cancel. This box contained a mono 2way corrector, a 4 color pen, a mono twin pen, an adhesive, some small stickers and a Happy Mail calendar that prompts you to write letters.

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This was SUCH a bizarre choice! It also included a certificate for 20 free pictures (to use in your calendar) but nothing really cool.

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I would have preferred a hand lettering workbook, or even some worksheets. To be fair, I’m sure many people liked both months, but I can’t help but think that I could have taken this same money and gotten some Irojiten pencils. I do not regret trying the subscription box, but I did cancel it right after I opened the box for January. This is just my 2 cents and I try to be fair when I review because I never want to bash a product/company. If you tried out the VIP box leave your thoughts below!

****Update**** 

One day after this post I was contacted by the Tombow Team asking for my specific input about what I did not like about the box and what I expected before opening. First, I think it was awesome that anyone cared that a customer was not entirely satisfied, so many companies just keep moving forward, ignoring customers. I was already a Tombow fan (I asked for the Twintone Markers for Christmas!) but knowing that they request feedback from customers makes me love them even more. I hope that input from all customers is evaluated and it results in a better box for subscribers and Tombow! I really appreciated their approach to this whole thing.

Happy crafting! 

-Gaby

Stamp Perfect Positioning Tool Review

Reviews, Tutorial, Color, How to, Diy, Supplies, Stamping, Paper crafting, Crafts, Tools, Hampton ArtGabriela SimsComment

Hi everyone, I am super excited to share this review of the Hampton Art Stamp Perfect Stamp Positioning Tool. I have been wanting a stamp positioning tool, but could not justify the cost of the Misti; We R Memory Keepers makes the Precision Press, but it sold out on HSN the day it launched and I have not seen it for sale anywhere else.  Finally, I found this tool and decided to order it and give it a try and I absolutely love it! It's a nice size, it feels sturdy, and I like the color.  Check out the video below for a review and demonstration.

I will be doing much more with this tool because it makes stamping images so much easier!  It's great for making multiples of images and even for stamping different images at once.  I hope you can find this and you get a chance to up your stamping game.  Until next time, happy crafting.

 

Fuji Instax Mini 8 Review

Scrapbooking, Crafts, Photography, How to, Supplies, Reviews, ShoppingGabriela SimsComment

Hey there everybody! I am writing today about the super cool camera I just got, an instant camera. I have been eyeballing these since they can out but the price tag was a little steep for a purely fun purchase.  However, I found a nice sale at my local Best Buy and decided to take the plunge...and I'm glad I did!

A sweet setup! 

A sweet setup! 

I wasn't sure how much film I needed, so I got 20 regular exposures and 10 rainbow border exposures. I bought more film 3 days later, not because I used it all, but I did go through 10 fairly quickly. The pictures are very cool and they are about the size of a business card. I bought an album that holds 120 photos so that I could snap all of the photos. I'm going to decorate it with some vinyl designs from my Cricut eventually too.

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l really like the case too, I chose the light pink camera because I thought the other colors were heavy and the white was too plain.

The flap of the case snaps on and off. 

The flap of the case snaps on and off. 

You can see some of my first shots below.

Little slices of a weekend. 

Little slices of a weekend. 

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase and I can't wait to scrap these photos. Happy crafting!

Stamp & Scrapbook Expo 2016

Craft Haul, Paper crafting, Scrapbooking, Color, Crafts, Scrapbook Expo, Storage, Quick Quotes, Reviews, Supplies, Shopping, Stamps, CardsGabriela SimsComment

So this was my first year going to Scrapbook Expo and I got my entire life from it! There were so many booths and activities! I had no idea what I was missing but now that I have seen the crafty promised land, I am already excited about next year. There is a Mega Make & Take on Thursday night and then an all day crop on Saturday and Sunday. The shopping floor is also open on Friday & Saturday and classes are offered on those two days as well. 

The break area and the crop.

The break area and the crop.

The side with the vendors/exhibitors had lots of product but also lots of space to move around and be comfortable. 

The shopping floor. 

The shopping floor. 

I went with one of my coworkers and it was also her first time, so we wanted to try everything so we did a Make & Take with Fun Stamper's Journey and Richard Garay was there! We made this super cute Christmas tag and even got a free stamp. 

This is cool and it only took about 15 minutes. 

This is cool and it only took about 15 minutes. 

Cool stamp and it was free. 

Cool stamp and it was free. 

I also spotted Quick Quotes at the expo. 

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I had a fantastic time and bought a bunch of amazing products that you can see in the photo below!

Scrapbook Expo Haul

Scrapbook Expo Haul

Expect to see some videos soon of these amazing products in action. Happy crafting!!!