And I Thought I'd Always Be A Bazzill Girl

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach!

Yesterday I handed over 23 of the 26 Christmas Kits to the USPS Carrier & so they are {almost!} all gone! Those were for everyone who has paid their final balances & all kits have been invoiced, so things are almost back to normal around here. Not that I was ever really normal, but you know what I mean ~ normal for me. Which is most likely certifiably insane to the rest of the world.

So, the other night we were all chatting over on The Beach about the "new" American Crafts cardstock, as my friend Jenn sells some in her online shop and over at the Beach Boutique. Right now she has the 60 sheet box of black textured cardstock for $15.00 ~ it normally retails for $19.99, so that's a great deal! She also has some Thickers for super cheap as well! I bought a bunch from her & they will be making an appearance as part of the 12 Months of Christmas. Maybe. Could be. It's a secret.

I got some questions about the AC cardstock ~ specifically how it compares to Bazzill cardstock ~ since I had used it in my Countdown to Christmas Kits. And prior to using it in the Christmas Countdown Kits, I had been exclusively using Bazzill cardstock. And I still have a ton of it, so I will probably be using it for quite a while, BUT I will be buying AC cardstock going forward.

I thought I would do a blog post about it, too, to answer the questions from the other night & basically to just ramble on like I normally do.

1. Price: The prices are pretty comparable, although the AC cardstock has a slightly cheaper MSRP than the Bazzill, at $0.50/sheet vs. Bazzill's $0.60/sheet.

2. Texture & Finishes: Both AC and Bazzill come in a variety of finishes and textures. AC has some really cool ones, though. I am particularly fond of the Damask and the Alligator {it's a pearlized alligator skin finish and it rocks!}. They also have foil, glitter and pearl finishes, as well as weave, tweed and linen textures.

3. Weight: Same. AC cardstock and Bazzill cardstock are both 80 lb. cover weight cardstock.

4. Color Variety and Saturation: Both have really good, rich color saturation. Each layer of cardstock is deeply dyed, both with the AC cardstock and the Bazzill CS. As for variety, I didn't look this up {so sue me, I'm lazy} but I am looking at the AC catalog now and my guess is that Bazzill probably has more colors. However, AC has a ton of colors that are much more ME ~ bright, vibrant, etc. They have plenty of lovely neutrals and earthtones, too, but they seem to have more brights and bolds and that is great for me.

5. Scoring, Folding, Cracking & Splitting: I have had more luck scoring and folding the AC cardstock. It could just be me, but I seem to work with it better than with the Bazzill. I have less splitting and cracking when folding pockets and cards and envelopes.

So, there you have it! Just my opinion on cardstock, which, along with $5.95, will get you a Venti Frappaccino.

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.