Monthly subscription plans or membership clubs have been around forever, covering everything from wine and other fine foods to books, magazines, and paper scrapbooking kits. Did you know that several companies in the digital scrapbooking world also offer subscription-based products? It’s true! And they deliver fresh new goodies to your inbox every month, with options covering everything from templates and kits to tutorials and even commercial-use products.
Why choose a subscription plan, instead of picking and choosing the kits you want, or shopping around at different stores? Convenience and value. You’ll get much more for your money, without the time spent browsing stores and trying to decide between different kits. Typically, digital scrapbooking pros curate the selection of top-quality products so you can enjoy hot new items every month hassle-free.
Each membership club specializes in a different area, so will meet the needs of different scrappers. I’ve rounded up eight plans and compared the pricing, structure, value, and what’s included every month.
Digi Game/Digi Files from The Daily Digi
The Digi Files 40
Possibly the most well-known kit subscription service, The Daily Digi touts itself as “the best deal in digital scrapbooking.” Since January 2009, over 150 designers have contributed to The Digi Files. This plan is an excellent, bargain-priced choice for those who like variety in their scrapping or enjoy discovering new designers.
The Daily Digi’s Digi Game membership includes at least $50 worth of brand-new digital scrapbooking kits each month (usually 7 designers including one template designer), a monthly Playbook (interactive e-book) jammed with tips, tricks, tutorials, and extra layout samples, and extra gifts throughout the month. As a special bonus, every four months you’re subscribed, you receive access to an exclusive, huge collab kit. And don’t forget about The Daily Digi site itself, which posts daily inspiration, tutorials, designer interviews, and much more free for everyone to enjoy.
All of the subscription options are set up as recurring PayPal payments. New content is posted on the first of every month.
The Digi Game Monthly subscription, which includes everything listed above, is $7.50. The Digi Game Annual subscription, which includes everything listed above plus a 13th month free, is $82.50. A Monthly Digi Files-only subscription for $5.00 is also available if you want only the kits each month. This option doesn’t include the Playbook or the exclusive collaboration kits. Learn more and sign up here!
Simple Scrapper Premium Membership
image from SimpleScrapper.com
A unique feature of Simple Scrapper’s Premium Membership is the online classes and e-books included with your subscription. After signing up, you receive access to a huge archive of past freebies, the Finally Get Organized, 5 Simple Truths of Time Management, and Light Your Fire online courses, several e-books, an invite to a private Facebook group, and more. Every month you receive five new sketches/templates, a full-color PDF with design inspiration, papercrafting project tutorials (alternating months), an inspirational PDF worksheet with photo and journaling prompts and album project ideas, and Scrap Habits mini-courses (alternating months).
This membership is perfect for the template scrapper, or if you prefer to choose your own kits but appreciate extra inspiration, ideas, and support. Simple Scrapper’s private Facebook group is designed to be a warm, supportive, helpful community for all types and levels of scrapbookers.
Premium Membership is $28.95 for the first month (a $200+ value), and $8.95 per month after that. Get the full breakdown of what’s included (much more than I listed) and sign up here!
Pixel Club from Gotta Pixel
Since 2007, Gotta Pixel has offered a Pixel Club membership, providing its subscribers at least four new products monthly, with unlimited access to over 700 previously-released exclusive products. If you enjoy their free monthly daily download, as a subscription member you may download the full kit in only one or two files on the first of each month. Designers also gift members with special bonuses throughout the month. This club might be for you if you’re a fan of Gotta Pixel and the designers there. One nice benefit is the access to an archive of over 700 exclusive products, supplying you with an instant digital stash.
Pixel Club Memberships are currently 40% off through July 4, 2012. The Six Months subscription option is on sale for $16.80. Twelve Months and Lifetime memberships are also on sale for $24.60 and $82.80, respectively. Check out a full description and subscribe here.
Club Digital from Digital Scrapbook Place
Digital Scrapbook Place has been around for a long time, at least in digital scrapbooking terms, and their Club Digital offers a great variety of supplies in one monthly subscription.
Every month you’ll receive two page kits, one “plopper” or overlay, a quick click template, one alpha, some word art, one font, and a set of PNG stamps, plus a coupon to Digital Scrapbook Place to pick up anything else you might want. Participate in exclusive members-only contests for a chance to win awesome prizes. If you prefer to scrap in 200 ppi, Club Digital is the only subscription service to offer the choice between 300 and 200ppi resolution.
Subscribe to Club Digital in three-month ($17.97), six -onth ($33.00), or 12-month ($59.88) increments. You receive over $27 in value for as low as $4.99 with the 12-month plan. Learn more and sign up here.
The Fix from DigiScrapAddicts
The Fix June 2012 Designers
You might be familiar with DigiScrapAddicts‘ forum and open gallery, but did you know they also sell a monthly kit club?
There’s no recurring subscription options available, but for $3.00 every month you get four full-size products from a variety of designers and/or stores. If you’re looking for unbeatable bang for your buck, check out The Fix.
Artisan Guild Membership
A little different from other kit clubs, the Artisan Guild publishes an award-winning monthly e-zine called the Artisan Notebook. With your $17.00 three-month subscription, you receive this beautiful digital magazine, which includes extra gifts every month as well as a large collaborative kit, a value of at least $45.50.
If you enjoy browsing magazines for inspiration, reading informative and well-written articles, and receiving a variety of coupons for different designers every month, then the Guild Membership might be a perfect fit.
Scrap Girls Club from ScrapGirls
Another long-time contender in the digital market, Scrap Girls sets themselves apart by offering a CD option for their memberships. The extra cost may be worth it if, like me, you are terrible about remembering to back up your digital kits! This kit club also caters to hybrid scrappers by providing both printable and digital versions of their products. Each monthly club offering includes a Collection Biggie, Paper Super Mini, sheet of word art, Embellishment Set, Assemble Your Own Zoom page set, and bonus designer’s choice item, plus extra content not available in the store. You can see full previews and descriptions here.
Scrap Girls designers take turns designing the club content, assuring you fresh, new goodies awaiting your download folder on the 1st of every month. The Scrap Girls Club is available in one-month ($9.99), six-month ($53.95), and 12-month ($101.90) options without a CD. With CD, the pricing is $14.99/$83.94/$161.88.
ScrapSimple Club from ScrapGirls
This monthly club, also from Scrap Girls, is the only one with a commercial-use option for digital designers. If you’re looking to quickly build your designing stash on a budget, or if you enjoy making your own papers and elements, this membership club might be for you. The ScrapSimple Club includes: 1 ScrapSimple Paper Template, 1 ScrapSimple Embellishment or Word Art template, 1 Brush Set or Dynamic Brush Set, 2 designer choice items, and bonus content not available in the store.
The ScrapSimple personal use one-month membership is $6.99, six months for $38.94, and 12 months for $71.88. If you want a commercial use license, the pricing is $49.99/$269.70/$479.88.
Do you know of or subscribe to a kit club that I haven’t mentioned here? Please link us up in the comments, or share your experiences with a kit club/monthly membership!
I had no idea there were so many club memberships. I’m surprised that DST’s Gold Membership was not mentioned here!! There are always great kits included in it.
I love the Simple Scrapper membership – it’s so much more than a kit club!
What about The Confectionery Club over at MissTiinas?
…and not forgetting Hummie’s World!
small sub each month in return for shed loads of knowledge, classes, instructional videos, feedback, challenges, freebies…the list goes on! x
Another shout out for Hummie’s World!! Fantastic value at $5.50/month!!
Yes, really surprised you didn’t mention Hummie’s World! The best $5.50 a month I’ve ever spent! Lots of classes, great lessons and challenges, and tons of freebies!
Thank you all for sharing the ones I missed!! I don’t know much about Hummies World, but will definitely go check it out now. That’s why I love this community, thanks for filling in my holes!
I love Little Dream Designs. Michelle Coleman is an amazing designer. You get a monthly kit plus 5 or 6 freebies. The freebies might be mini kits, journaling cards, or embellishments. Always great stuff!
Also, thanks for the info on the other plans. I’m off to check them out!
I love the daily digi membership and the templates from Simple Scrapper are awesome. With the two memberships you get everything you could want to scrapbook with in a month.
52 Inspirations at Oscraps has been my favorite since 2009!!! Every week a new mini-kit and each one is like a present to open!
DigitalScrapper.com (formerly Scrappersguide.com) has had a membership program for 8 years called Digital Scrapper Premier. It’s $8.99 a month or 12 months for the price of 10 if you buy a year’s membership.
Every month members receive 4 intermediate to advanced scrapbooking tutorials, a designer kit, and a set of 10 scrapbook templates made from the kit. The templates are available in 12×12 and 8.5×11 sizes, and in layered grayscale as well as fully designed flat PNGs.
Thank you for all the great links! I have a question, does anyone know of any specific clubs? Like one for just templates or one for just word art? That would be great!