Belts are tightening everywhere. Unfortunately, paper crafty supplies aren't really considered "household necessities". Today's question is this: What are your best money-saving tips to keep you crafting?
Gini: I think one of the best money saving tips I can give is to keep your eyes open. At the craft store, don't just look at the scrapbook aisle - You can find great savings sometimes on things that were not intended for scrapping. Also, look at the things that you throw away - corrugated cardboard, clear plastic casing (like what a Cricut cartridge comes in) - You can re-purpose many things.
Jamie: If only I could stop shopping for scrapping supplies, I would save a lot of money! But I'm addicted!:):) A few ways I can think of to try and save though are:
• Share with friends-- if you find a good deal, but don't want to have a big package of something, split it with someone else.
• I love things that come in coordinated kits; I get several of these a month from different places and then I spend way less time browsing scrapbook stores and just picking up random things I think are cute but don't really know what I am going to do with them.
• Look everywhere! Even dollar stores sometimes have good scrapbook stuff, plus I love the dollar items at Michaels, JoAnn's and Target. Use items that aren't normally thought of for scrapping -- the packaging of embellishments or tags from clothing are often really cute.
• Organize your stuff and go through it often! This keeps me from buying similar things that I forgot I had!
• Share with friends-- if you find a good deal, but don't want to have a big package of something, split it with someone else.
• I love things that come in coordinated kits; I get several of these a month from different places and then I spend way less time browsing scrapbook stores and just picking up random things I think are cute but don't really know what I am going to do with them.
• Look everywhere! Even dollar stores sometimes have good scrapbook stuff, plus I love the dollar items at Michaels, JoAnn's and Target. Use items that aren't normally thought of for scrapping -- the packaging of embellishments or tags from clothing are often really cute.
• Organize your stuff and go through it often! This keeps me from buying similar things that I forgot I had!
Patricia: Other than using coupons and waiting for sales, I also like to save on pre-order specials. Another thing I do when I need to make something more solid (like if I'm making an album cover and want the paper more solid), I use the back covers of my paper pads. They work great in making the covers more heavier. One other fun thing I like to do is pull apart the sticker sets and use one sticker for two projects. For example, If you look at Jolee's Rock Star Stickers, I will take the angel wings off for my bears and use the guitar for another bear. It really makes you look at things more when you know you can pull them apart and see what else you can use them for.
Susan: I'm a big scrap saver. If a scrap of paper is big enough to use for a punch, I'll keep it. [Now organized by color thanks to Jamie's suggestion, and MUCH easier to use!] If I need to run to Michael's I'll hunt down a 40% coupon online and generally try to stick to a specific *need* list. However... I will always check out the clearance sections. I recently found a $15 reindeer pendant marked down to $1.99. At that price, I couldn't pass it up! It'll be frolicking on a Christmas card soon.
When I use Pop-Dots, I cut the outer edges for straight lines and use the holey parts (after the Pop-Dots are used) to reinforce the center of a raised element on a card.
I think my best money saving advice is to keep your mind open. Think around, under and through things before you throw them out. Like Patricia's stickers, you never know what you can come up with until you think around it!
Susan: I'm a big scrap saver. If a scrap of paper is big enough to use for a punch, I'll keep it. [Now organized by color thanks to Jamie's suggestion, and MUCH easier to use!] If I need to run to Michael's I'll hunt down a 40% coupon online and generally try to stick to a specific *need* list. However... I will always check out the clearance sections. I recently found a $15 reindeer pendant marked down to $1.99. At that price, I couldn't pass it up! It'll be frolicking on a Christmas card soon.
When I use Pop-Dots, I cut the outer edges for straight lines and use the holey parts (after the Pop-Dots are used) to reinforce the center of a raised element on a card.
I think my best money saving advice is to keep your mind open. Think around, under and through things before you throw them out. Like Patricia's stickers, you never know what you can come up with until you think around it!
Now friends, it's your turn - What are your best money saving tips?
Thanks for your support - we love getting your questions! Please join in and Ask the Designers!
Cheers,
The Beary Scrappy Girls
About Ask the Designers
Crafting is creativity - some of it comes from within and some is learned. We're here to help you learn techniques, make your crafting life easier with product experiences, give advice and generally inspire your inner muse.
We will collect emails and comment questions, and post answers each Sunday. You can ask general questions to the design team or specific ones to any of us. If you want more info about something you've see out there in blogland or any product the has you curious, email or leave a comment and we will share our experiences and opinions. We're not here to sell you specific products from The Beary Scrap online store, although we hope you will visit for your crafty needs. Our goal is to share our knowledge and experiences, with the hope that we can help make your crafty life easier.
No comments:
Post a Comment