We’re entering the second month of Studio Calico’s Stationery Kit. While I did receive a September kit, I wanted to receive my second kit first just to see if it’s consistent.
7 folded cards with envelopes
3 lunchbox notes
3 white embossed gift tags
Blockwallah wooden stamp
Mini tape dispenser
Veneer coffee cup with twine
Read the rest of my review after the jump!
The first thing I want to mention regarding Studio Calico’s kit is the short amount of time between being billed for the kit and actually receiving it. I’ve mentioned in a previous review for a different kit that I was a little dissatisfied with shipping time, but the SC kit has taken a really short amount of time – while they bill on the 6th of the month and say they’ll ship by the 10th, both times I’ve received the shipping notification by the 8th, and this month I received my kit exactly on the 10th.
First up: the occasional cards. Typically, I like to divide my cards between occasional and blank, and this month’s SC kit had more occasionals. The lower right card looked like a blank when I opened the kit, but it’s actually a thank-you card — the inside simply says THANKS.
This month, I think my least favorite is probably the birthday card on the upper left. Since I myself am 24, it seems sort of… rude to mail a card like that to someone. (Except maybe my dad, who would sort of laugh and shake his head.)
On the other hand, my favorite is the one pictured right below it. The quote on the front says “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor – Hang in there.” The picture is beautiful, and the sentiment is perfect. I think everyone, at every time in their life, knows someone who could use this sort of encouragement.
Next, we’ll look at the blanks. I’m a much bigger fan of blank cards — I’m a letter-writer, and the cards from SC tend to be larger than the ones from ABM Happy Mail, making them more suitable for smaller letters.
By far my favorite this month was the upper left: “I love you more than pumpkin flavored everything.” I’m a notorious hater of all things pumpkin-flavored, except for pumpkin pie, and my brother is notorious for texting me photos of pumpkin-flavored foods. Guess what he got in the mail this month?
I’m really not so sure about the upper right, “World’s Best ____”.
Like ABM’s kit, the SC Stationery sub comes with extras, which SC calls “embellishments.” This month, there were some interesting ones…
First off, in the upper right, there was a small pack of three lunchbag notes. I’m not a mom, so these really didn’t do much for me, but I’ll be able to use at least 2 of them.
There was also a really cool carved wooden stamp from Blockwallah. I’ve never used something like this before, but thankfully those blue and yellow tags hanging off the stamp by a string actually have instructions for use and care of the stamp. (For those of you who also don’t know: you have to dab on paint with a sponge brush!)
On the right side, which is a little hard to see, is a mini tape dispenser, which has colorful polka-dots on white tape. It’s not quite the texture of washi, and it’s a little hard to tear off on the dispenser. The actual tape is pretty cute, though the pattern is really, really small.
Two types of tags were included in this month’s box: a wood veneer tag shaped like a coffee cup that comes with a bit of twine as well as a trio of plain white gift tags. Each one is for a different occasion.
This month’s extras were just okay compared to last month’s. The veneer tag this month was a lot cooler – I already found a use for it! Overall, though, I thought they were a bit specialized for what I normally like. Even the stamp, which was my favorite extra, was a bit on the odd side. Since I live in a small apartment, it’s rare I get a chance to spread out enough to use that sort of thing.
While I thought this month had a bit of an overabundance of specialized items I’m not quite sure how I’ll use, the kit was pretty solid again for me this month. So far, I’ve already used two of the extras — the mini-tape and the veneer coffee cup — and one of the blank cards for a letter.
Compared to last month, I didn’t like the cards and extras quite so much, but I wasn’t turned off so much that I want to end my subscription – I’m hoping there are fewer occasionals next month, though! Based on yesterday’s preview of the November kit, though, next month will be a bit more in line with the sort of things I like.
What did you like about this month’s Studio Calico Stationery Kit? would you recommend this subscription to others?
Feliza Casano 