Two questions for you!!
 

When shopping for a kit....what's the first thing that catches your eye and makes you think "I gotta have that!"? Colors used? Previews? Creative Team layouts? A favorite designer?

With that in mind (and thinking about how much use you will get from it)...do you look for kits that are overflowing with papers and elements or mini kits with 6 - 8 unique papers and 20 - 30 unique elements?

Can't wait to see the responses!!

This will be very useful for me too.
For me the most important things are: the color scheme, the theme and of course the preview and the CT pages. I guess everything is important :rolleyes1:

For me, the first thing is the elements. And, as I just love to cluster... I like it when there's plenty of spiky things and greenery to go with the flowers. I also like it when there are small elements to scatter in the clusters.

Like Patty, I looove to cluster, so I tend to look for kits with lots of elements, particularly lots of different flowers and leaves. I also like to have a large variety of papers so I can use the kit over and over again. I look at the theme of the kit first, then the colour scheme and last but by no means least I look at the CT layouts.

My answer is a little different and maybe not helpful, but, I am always struck by the preview. If it intrigues me, or makes me want to make something, I look further. I don't care too much about size, big or small. I do care about variety and uniqueness. I don't like kits that have things so similar to kits I already have. Using it more than twice is not an issue, as many people I think have too many kits already, lol!! If I am not sure about purchasing a kit, I definitely look at the layouts!!

First, colors catch my eye and then the preview. I don't care for a kit that has the same exact element in 3-5 colors. I do like a variety of elements in a kit. I love to look at layouts. I love when the layouts with a kit are shown with the kit preview.

Color is always first to catch my eye, especially if I'm reading a newsletter with a lot of little previews. I just skim through till a color scheme catches my eye. or a particular preview stands out, then I look further. When browsing a store, though, I do look at the overall style of the kit, and the elements it has. I love plenty of stuff to work with in clustering.

A pretty or unique color scheme catches my eye initially ... but ultimately it's something unique about the kit that will drive me to make the purchase. It doesn't necessarily have to be a unique element ... but maybe a pretty pattern on a paper or element that I haven't seen before or that will work with something that I need to scrap. I love beautiful papers! I like a kit that coordinates a beautiful pattern of paper with a solid. I love to cluster, too ... so I love curly strings, ribbons, leaves and flowers. This might just be me, but if a designer combines two elements to make one ... say a button with a bow on it ... I like to have the button plain, too (I like to do my own combining). Recently, I have grown to love plump alphas that coordinate with the kit, too. When I am in doubt based on the preview of the kit, I like to look at layout examples using it ...

First thing is the price (don't even give more than a glance to small kits priced in the $5+ range).
Second thing is the feel (somber, bright, calm, energetic, etc.). Although color ties into this
Third is the elements.

I prefer big kits and bundles. Use to buy kits for a single element (I had to have) but got burned too many times.

I always look for layouts using a particular kit - to see how well the papers and elements can be used. I also prefer a kit where there is a variety of papers, and papers that are not all patterned.
Next I look at the elements, and the preview is always helpful for that.