Today we have a review of the Cosmo Cricket ‘Matilda’ collection. Available in this range is a 6x6 mini deck of patterned papers (MSRP £5.75 or $5.99 in the US), a 6x12 sheet of Ready Set Chip chipboard accents (MSRP £2.95 or $2.99) and a pack of 30 coordinating buttons (MSRP £2.95 or $2.99).
The first thing that appealed to me about the papers, is that although there are plenty of patterns that are most certainly Halloween themed, and the colour palette is what you would expect for the theme, there are a number of patterns that could be used in a variety of other projects after the holiday is over. I like the idea of being able to buy the collection in a 6x6 pad so you can benefit from all the patterns without having to spend a small fortune for a whole range of 12x12 papers. I’d never be able to use up a whole Halloween 12x12 paper collection! That said, I did miss having larger sheets of paper when creating layouts with it.
The chipboard is just plain cute, and is ideal for making pages about kids and their Halloween antics. The main thing to note about the chipboard pieces, in my opinion, was that they actually STICK to your layout, and stay stuck. I’m used to frequently having to add my own adhesive to chipboard embellishments that claim to already be adhesive. I did not need to add extra glue this time, despite some of the pieces being quite chunky. The pumpkin on the bottom left of my page was even repositioned 3 times and did not damage my paper when I peeled it off, or fall off when I stuck it back down! Thank you, Cosmo Cricket, for thinking about real-life scrapbooking!
I also think this collection would make a great kit for scrapbookers and card makers who like to share their crafts with their kids. The collection is versatile enough to be used in a ‘grown up’ way but, likewise, kids would love the cute patterns and characters in the chipboard set. Great for sitting down with your children and making some seasonal cards, creating some home decor items or scrapping and reminiscing about past trick-or-treating escapades! That is, if you can bear to let your kids near your stash ;)
The whole collection can be purchased relatively inexpensively, which makes it a sensible choice for a seasonal line. Cosmo Cricket have thought this through, and it shows.
When I created my sample layout I also used ‘Wackadoo’ Ready Set Chip letters for my title. They coordinate really well with the Matilda line! [layout based on an October sketch by Becky Fleck at Pagemaps.com]
So, overall, ’Matilda’ is a fun, great value product line. Would I change anything? Maybe make a few sheets of 12x12 paper available for larger projects. But then, if they did, I’d probably have a ton of the stuff left next year ;)
