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stlouiesuz
PeaAddict
PeaNut 291179 - 1/11/2007
Posts: 1649 Layouts: 9
Loc: Pea-ing under the arch! |  Posted: 6/29/2009 8:38:36 AM
After spending $150 (with tax & shipping) to get pages and protectors for my last two CM coversets, I'm thinking about making the switch.
I have used their albums ONLY for the past eleven years. I still think they are great, but am willing to consider something else might be great too.
Since they went to true 12x12, I have been making all of my los that size, so I could put them in any album. I do like how uniform my albums look on the shelf, so whatever I choose would probably be basic but still have some color assortment.
What is the best you've found? Why do you feel that way? Thanks for helping me make up my mind! |
"[I'm] a lover not a fighter, but [I'm] also a fighter--so don't get any ideas..."--The Most Interesting Man in the World
GO CARDS! | |
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atlcarly
PeaNut
PeaNut 421053 - 4/29/2009
Posts: 121 Layouts: 68
Loc: Alpharetta, GA
Count: 3 | Posted: 6/29/2009 8:48:23 AM
I started out with a CM album for my 1st DS. I've spent $25 on the coverset, $40 on 2 sets of pages, and $20 on 2 sets of page protectors. I does seem exorbitant. I also didn't like the strap-hinge binding as much as I thought I would.
I decided to buy an AC 12X12 3 ring album when they were 50% off at HL. The album came with 10 page protectors for $10, and another set of 10 page protectors was $3.50. There are no pages, so you have to back all your LOs w/cardstock or paper. I really like the look of the album and the convenience of sliding the pages in. Some of my stick out a little a the top, and but sliding them in was much easier. I think I'm converted. Good luck! | |
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pennyscraps
PeaAddict
PeaNut 266613 - 6/27/2006
Posts: 1698 Layouts: 47
Loc: Lone Star State
Count: 7 | Posted: 6/29/2009 8:54:18 AM
You may not like my answer....ha, ha!
I used ONLY CM albums for 12 years. Then, in 2006, I was tired of trimming every paper down and wanted to scrap on cardstock and slide them into sleeves.
So, I ventured out. I have tried Making Memories, Pioneer, American Crafts and We R Memory Keepers - different sizes for different projects.
My biggest issue with all of them has been over time the plastic sleeve's ability to hold up UNSCRATCHED. I will admit I am picky and perfectionistic - and I think your preferences will be dictated by your own desires and disposition - but it really perturbed me to see my layouts less than pristine because of a bunch of scratches on the plastic. I don't have young children - this was just normal wear and tear of making the album and then looking through it.... Also, there seemed to be some inconsistencies in how the pages would lay in the album and the sizes of plastic sleeves from one refill to the next. 
In 2008 when CM rolled out the "true 12 x 12" sleeve, I skeptically bought one pack. I have to say I have been VERY pleased and have since bought 2 more and my last Disney album is in CM now. I know they are pricey - but to me, with ALL of the money I spend on ALL of the other stuff, the pages' homes is most important to me. (And these albums and pages are ALL I buy from CM....) So far, they are holding up and they lie flat beautifully.
So - that is MY story - and I'm sticking to it....
Good luck. I think like a lot of things, a little bit of trial and error is involved and it will boil down to what YOU are happy with. |
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Dancingfish
Ancient Ancestor of Pea
PeaNut 51456 - 10/7/2002
Posts: 7788 Layouts: 45
Loc: VA
Count: 1 | Posted: 6/29/2009 2:12:15 PM
After my bookshelf feel down and my random postbound album literally fell apart as they hit the shelf below I went to AC 3 ring albums!! And I love them! I really like being able to open the rings and slide a layout in the right spot without too much hassle! and they look nice on the shelves. |
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stlouiesuz
PeaAddict
PeaNut 291179 - 1/11/2007
Posts: 1649 Layouts: 9
Loc: Pea-ing under the arch! | Posted: 6/30/2009 11:18:24 AM
Thank you peas for your honest answers and thoughtful reasons. I would love to hear more... |
"[I'm] a lover not a fighter, but [I'm] also a fighter--so don't get any ideas..."--The Most Interesting Man in the World
GO CARDS! | |
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KLY310
PeaNut
PeaNut 153315 - 6/21/2004
Posts: 189 Layouts: 0
Loc: East Coast
 | Posted: 6/30/2009 11:33:46 AM
Like other peas, I started out with CM. But what I don't like about the hinge is that you have to put things in order. So I went to the K&Company albums because I liked being able to use coupons, but now I am really liking the 3 ring binders by We R Memory Keepers. I've only been able to find them online and also their refills too. M's and ACM doesn't carry the leather ones. I like that they stand really well too when shelved.
Kris |
Nikon D300
Nikon D50
50mm f/1.8
80-200 f/2.8
24-85 f/2.8
85mm f/1.8 | |
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AngelJunkie
PeaFixture
PeaNut 45810 - 8/16/2002
Posts: 3519 Layouts: 12
Loc: Over the Hill and Enjoying the View
 | Posted: 6/30/2009 11:55:51 AM
I'm not wed to any one particular type - they all seem to have drawbacks and pluses for me.
CM -
Love the sturdiness of strap hinge
Love the sturdy spine covers
Love how flat they lay when open
Didn't mind wallpapering
Kinda hard to rearrange
Sometimes forgot to shave off 1/2 inch and that was annoying
Now that they are true 12x12 they are too expensive
Post Bound -
Like ability to move pages around
Pretty patterned covers available
Hate the need for separators to keep book flat
Hate adding posts; screws not universal
A lot have paper spine covers that don't expand
I also bought some at CKC/GASC where the page protectors bind together via velcro. The covers tie everything together at the spine. Different and kinda neat. Here is the velcro album |
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Jaymie in MN
PeaNut
PeaNut 19236 - 8/1/2001
Posts: 297 Layouts: 0
 | Posted: 6/30/2009 3:46:44 PM
I have recently converted all of my albums from a mix of CM, MM, Joann's brand, etc. It seemed like every time I found an album that I liked, when I needed a new one, I couldn't find it anywhere, or they stopped making them. (Forever Yours were my favorite, but they went out of business) So I wanted a company that I felt like were going to be around for a long time.
I chose to go with CTMH Albums. I am so happy I did this! I think that the page protectors are top of the line. In fact, after using these, I recently used a CM protector for something and was amazed at how much I didn't like them in comparison to the CTMH. I love their colors and the album is very sturdy.
When I buy an album, I get the album, 1" post and protectors. I put the extenders, protectors and spacers in right away so that I don't have to mess with expanding a half filled album. It's much easier to deal with that way. |
I jumped on the bandwagon too!
visit My Blog | |
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teachNpea
He calls me his future wifPEA
PeaNut 260956 - 5/9/2006
Posts: 7040 Layouts: 413
Loc: Heart of America
 | Posted: 6/30/2009 3:55:00 PM
i really dont know why i do 12x12. i guess because thats what i first started with and thats what a lot of papers come in. |
~"What lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
-Oliver Windell Holmes
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teachNpea
He calls me his future wifPEA
PeaNut 260956 - 5/9/2006
Posts: 7040 Layouts: 413
Loc: Heart of America
| Posted: 6/30/2009 3:56:22 PM
oh and I love AC |
~"What lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
-Oliver Windell Holmes
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onecoppercent
AncestralPea
PeaNut 243594 - 1/16/2006
Posts: 4644 Layouts: 133
Loc: Boca Grande, FL | Posted: 6/30/2009 4:47:42 PM
I use the American Crafts Modern 3-ring binders, because I'm a lumpy scrapper, and I can fit a lot of pages in them. And the page protectors are cut large enough that I can pit two lumpy pages in each one. |
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kellymandoruth
Will I ever get to Buckethead?!
PeaNut 372173 - 4/15/2008
Posts: 400 Layouts: 0
Loc: PA!
 | Posted: 6/30/2009 5:42:37 PM
I just bought a CTMH album for an album I am making for my cousin and I am a convert. I REALLY like them. I will be buying 1 or 2 a month till I have everything switched over (I only have 6 scrapbooks).
I have tried Recollections, AC, Making Memories,CM and K&Co. I like CM's quality but I hate the strap hinge. I put my pages chronologically but dont neccesarily scrap chronologically (KWIM?)so I need to be able to shift things around easily.
I am not a fan of 3 rings. I know alot of people on here like them but it seems like my pages "sag" and the rings always come apart for me or are a little off and never close right. |
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Scrapchick1966
PeaNut
PeaNut 233925 - 11/29/2005
Posts: 85 Layouts: 6
Loc: NJ | Posted: 6/30/2009 6:00:17 PM
I started out using CM albums. Switched to CTMH about 5 years now. Love them and would not use anything else.
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Mom of 3 teens, 19 dd, 17 ds, 15 dd
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flipflopgirl72
PeaNut
PeaNut 421063 - 4/29/2009
Posts: 462 Layouts: 7
Loc: Houston, TX | Posted: 6/30/2009 7:16:07 PM
I use CM albums and love that they have finally gone true 12x12, they are no more expensive than they were before, now you can buy pages and protectors together for $25 and when you bought them before it was the same price, so no difference there.
I personally do not like post or 3 ring, I love how my albums lay flat. I agree with other posters about not being able to move them around but with the new system they have that problem is also eliminated. CM will be around forever I think, I know they have done some restructuring but I think it was for the best. They have an awesome product that will stand the test of time.
Just my 2 cents |
2009 layouts completed: 149
SWAPS I'm in:
NEW CHA lines 12x12 swap (11/01)- POSTAL
Altered paper clip swap hostess (11-01)- SORTING
Photography website: http://www.cherishedartphotography.com | |
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jillmarie7276
PeaNut
PeaNut 248658 - 2/12/2006
Posts: 81 Layouts: 1
Loc: Yankton, SD | Posted: 7/1/2009 7:26:03 PM
I have used A LOT of different albums over the years also...Chatterbox, Colorbok, Pioneer, etc. Just this last year, I converted ALL my albums over to the black Noteworthy Making Memories 3-ring albums and I LOVE them. I always avoided the 3-rings because I thought the gap between the pages would bother me (especially between two-page spreads), but it really doesn't at all. The albums themselves look great on the self and the albums and page protectors are great quality. |
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