Vendor Spotlight : Kitschy Digitals - Cut Out Sheets

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Here's some more information about the creative mind behind Kitchy Digitals: Danielle Thompson

Danielle Thompson is a mom to two little boys, a graphic designer, a photographer, a lover of all things vintage, and a Blythe doll enthusiast. :-) She lives in Atlanta, Georgia where she has a part-time graphic design job, but spends the better portion of her work week designing digital kits for her small business, Kitschy Digitals. Her digital kits can be used by scrapbookers and crafters alike, and she also sells printed goods of her designs in her Kitschy Digitals {Goods} shop, along with other fun things like embroidery patterns. She also sells a menagerie of goods in her Etsy shop, Tiny Bazaar, like photo prints, paper goods, and soon-to-come wall decals! When she's not working on things for her shops, or dreaming up new ideas, she loves to play with her photos in Photoshop, craft, blog, decorate her home, play with her boys, travel (or dream about traveling) and putter around the internet.

Here's a review of her Cut Out Sheets
Reported By Jessica Ripley

Do you absolutely love the adorable digital designs from Kitschy Digitals by Danielle Thompson but aren't necessarily a digital scrapbooker? Or what if you are, but have some hybrid projects in mind, and your printer ink leaves much to be desired when it comes to quality?

Then your problems are completely solved with these fabulous pre-printed cut out sheets. What a wonderful option to be offered for those of us who may fall into one of the two categories above. These individual 8 1/2" x 11" sheets each contain coordinating elements from some of the Kitschy Digitals kit themes such as: Olivia, Kawaii Cute Fruits, and Woodland. Though not all digital products are available in this pre-printed format, I was pleased to find favorites such as the Thrift-Store Chic Frames, Vintage Flowers, and Feathers are, and snatched them right up for some creating.

Each cut out sheet is described as "professionally printed on 80# matte cover stock," and when I received my well-packaged order in the mail (they also have lighting fast shipping by the way), I was extremely pleased with the quality of the paper itself. While I'm not expert enough to confirm it is 80#, the thickness of the paper is comparable to a sturdy card stock. Thick enough to take some manipulation such as bending or distressing, but thin enough to easily be trimmed with scissors. The print quality is also superb. It indeed does look professional, with bright uniform color. The images have a nice finish too, with a very light sheen. I also admit I tested accidentally spilling a bit of my beverage on a little gnome to see if his color streaked, but it didn't at all and he dried out just fine.

The actual images themselves are really cute and fun. My favorite theme just might be Woodland, which I used in the layout below:

(Other supplies used include patterned paper from Sassafras Lass and Making Memories, and Thickers from American Crafts)

In this layout I used Diamond Glaze on a few of the mushrooms, and once again the colors held up fine and did not run.

You do have some work ahead of you with these sheets of course, since just as the name implies you must cut out the elements prior to working with them. Some are quicker to cut out than others due to the amount of detail, however these elements look just as cute with a bit of the white card stock left around the edges to make the process easy. Use of a regular paper trimmer made cutting out the inside of the square frames a breeze, so by all means don't be intimidated by the elements not being pre-cut.

The most realistic elements of those available in the cut out sheets are the feathers and flowers, which are just beautiful. The depth they have achieved with a flat printed image is fantastic!

(Other Supplies used in this layout include cardstock by Bazzill, patterned paper from Hambly Studios, and Thickers from American Crafts)

Adding pop dots or other 3D adhesives gives them even more dimension.

Of course a major advantage to using printed versions of digital supplies, is that you can use the elements in altered projects or crafts rather than being limited to layouts. For example, I used the adorable Kawaii Cute Fruits and Olivia elements to create a mini recipe book:

I also up-cycled here a bit and used a Making Memories journaling tag book as my album. As I find recipes I enjoy I can simply write them in.

I also loved the variety of frames which come in great colors and styles. I used them to create another project which I'll call a "photo bouquet" by framing copies of heritage photos, attaching green floral wire, and inserting into an arrangement. Just a fun spring-time display.

I have so many other ideas in mind and can't wait to continue to play with these. Be sure to also check out the Kitschy Digitals Blog for some amazing inspiration from Danielle and her fabulously talented Creative Team. (Talk about talent and inspiration!)

I very much enjoyed working with these cut-out sheets. The designs are fresh and fun. Should you have a good quality printer at home, you can certainly achieve many of the same hybrid projects by printing the elements yourself from a digital kit, however once again, these pre-printed sheets are a great option for those that don't.

Pros:

• A great option for those who wish to create with these cute designs but aren't necessarily digital-savvy, or do not have a good printer at home.


• The paper and print quality are both superb and have a professional look and feel.


• A variety of some of the more popular Kitschy elements are available, and you receive many on one sheet that coordinate.

Cons:

• You do have some work to cut out the elements by hand.


• Once you use the pre-printed element on a project, it is used up. Unlike their digital counterparts which are able to be used again and again.


• A few of the elements are more difficult to cut out than others.

These pre-printed sheets are available at a cost of $2.50 each in the Kitschy Digitals store, and through Danielle Thompson's Etsy Shop Tiny Bazaar. You can also find her digital and printable kits at Two Peas in a Bucket. I consider the price to be pretty fair for the quality of printing of the images, as well as the amount included on each sheet. For what these are meant to be, they get a 10 overall from me. The quality, fun designs, and inspirational value all factor into that too.

Let us know what you think as well. Does the fact that the elements need to be cut deter you at all? What about having the pre-printed versions vs. the digital which you can keep forever... do you lean toward one more than the other? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Giveaway Time!!! Danielle has generously donated prizes for 2 winners. One winner will get digital kits and one will win print kits/embroidery patterns. All you have to do is leave your comments letting us know what you love about Kitschy Digitals on any of the Kitschy Digitals posts. You have until Friday at Midnight to enter and the winners will be announced on Saturday!