Simon Says Stamp Crafty Mystery Box

This past November I decided to take the plunge and buy a mystery crafting box from Simon Says Stamp. This was a first for me and I based my decision on some of the unboxing videos I had seen from years prior. There seemed to be a lot of good things in them and for $69, it felt like a good deal. In addition, Simon Says Stamp promised a Stamptember release in each box. That did worry me a little bit since I had purchased a few of the limited edition Stamptember sets, but I thought it would be worth it for the other items the box would include.

I was not disappointed. All of the dies, stamps, punches, and other bits I received were worth well over $69 and a few of them were pieces I had considered getting, but didn’t take the plunge. I suspect some are discontinued, so I’ll go with the closest item to estimate price. Below is a break down of what items I got and their retail prices.

Let’s start with Sizzix Tim Holtz

1. Sizzix Alterations #660167 Tim Holtz Oak Leaf found on Etsy for $7.19. There is a maple leaf punch on Scrapbook.com listed at $9.49, but I’m going to go with the less expensive exact match.
2. Sizzix Alterations 3-D Impresslits #662768 Tim Holtz Mini Provincial Cut & Emboss. Listed regularly at $12.00 on Scrapbook.com but currently 5% off, so $11.39.
3. Sizzix Alterations #656931 Tim Holtz Paper Rosettes die. Another one found on Etsy for $12. This one confused me when I looked at it and I’ll probably have to watch a YouTube video on how to use it.
4. Sizzix Thinlits #661601 Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Words #2. On Amazon for $11.37 with Prime shipping and all that.
5. Sizzix Thinlits #663102 Tim Holtz Whimsy Décor. I found them on Etsy for $16.00. The next lowest price was $14.99 on eBay. Sizzix still has them listed on their site (for $19.99), but they are marked as discontinued.
6. Sizzix Thinlits #667227 Tim Holtz Fanciful Snowflakes. $11.49 on the Create for Less website. This was really the only bummer since Simon Says Stamp did include this die set in their limited edition Christmas Card kit and I got that, but It’s one small thing and I can easily pass it along to either my local crafting recycling shop or another crafter who may like it. SUBTOTAL FOR ALL TIM HOLTZ SIZZIX ITEMS: $69.44

Let’s move on to Simon Says Stamp.

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1. From left to right. The first is a die called Big Picture Book Otter and was released in 2018. It’s no longer on the website, and the other Big Picture Book dies vary in price from $12.99 to $18.99. I decided to fall somewhere in the middle and settled on $14.99 for a price. Simon Says Stamp started selling the Big Picture Book animal faces separately from bodies and because of that, it makes it difficult to compare.
2. The second die is Peeking Talking Frog, released in 2019. No longer available. The closest is the Peeking Frog die. All the Peeking animal dies are priced at $9.99.
3. Next up is a 2015 stamp set called Artful Flowers. As you may have guessed, it is no longer available. I decided to focus on the size of the stamp. This one is 4″x5.75″. The closest approximation I found without spending an hour looking at all available “Flower” stamps by SSS, is this one at $15.99. It’s an 1/8″ bigger, but it seems similar enough.
4. Simon Says Stamp School Bus Messages. This stamp no longer exists on the Simon Says Stamp website. This stamp was released in 2018 and is another a 4×5.75″ set. Based on this set with a similar theme and size, I’m going to estimate it at $13.99. There is only one main image in the set, which will drop the price a little.
5. Finally, the best piece. It’s the collaboration with Mama Elephant for Stamptember and includes the dies! I contemplated getting this set and finally decided to give it a pass. I was so happy that I got this and it wasn’t a repeat of another set I bought. Price is an estimate. Looking at other combo sets I bought in September, I’d guess this stamp and die set is probably about $35. SUBTOTAL FOR ALL SIMON SAYS STAMP ITEMS: $89.96

Miscellaneous Stamps & Die

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1. Again, from left to right starting with Trinity Stamps Hello Sweet Friend. It is discontinued but is most similar to the Puddlejumpers stamp set. One large image with several smaller images and buildable sentiments. Price is $15.99 for their 4″x6″ stamp sets.
2. The second set is a red rubber set from a company in France called Carabelle Studio. It’s called Du fils et des idées and sells for 16 Euro, which is about $19.44 at current exchange rates. Link here.
3. Simple Stories Oh Happy Day! – Be You 4×6 stamp set. Normally sells for $15.00 but was recently on sale for half off at $7.50.
4. Picket Fence Lovely Foiling and Cutting die on sale for $7.99. I am not currently doing any foiling so I was happy this die also cut.
5. Neat & Tangled Triangle Pattern Builder released in 2016. On sale for $5.00. This will be a good one for making geometric backgrounds. SUBTOTAL FOR MISCELLANEOUS STAMPS & DIE: $63.42

Embellishments

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1. Kelly Purkey Label stickers and Number stickers. These are 6×12 sticker sheets. Not bad. I can probably find a use for them in my card making. Simon Says Stamp prices most of their 6×12 stickers at $3.99, but the designs are usually more elaborate than these. I’m going to price both sheets at $2 each for a total of $4.
2. What looks like patterned paper is actually four 6×6 sheets of punch out tags, borders, and sentiments. I have no idea what company it comes from. I’ll say $2.99.
3. A 2.75×6.25 sheet of Sticko Tiny Dog stickers. Simon Says Stamp lists them at $1.99. EMBELLISHMENT SUBTOTAL: $8.98

Grand (estimated) total of all items that came in the Simon Says Stamp 2020 Crafty Mystery Box: $231.80

This feels worth it. Even if I over estimated in some areas, that’s still a significant value in product for $69.00. I would definitely do this again!

Thank you for slogging through this incredibly long post! I have an upcoming post about a new collab I’m participating in and I can’t wait to share it!