Scrapbooking Tips

- Don’t try to save money by using non acid-free paper. Acidic paper will ruin your pictures after a few years and is just not worth the savings.

- Never throw out your scraps. Scraps can always be used on another project.

- Know what you have. You don’t want to run out to the store and pay full price for yellow fibers when you already have some buried in your stash somewhere.

- Avoid lettering only with stickers. Alphabet stickers can be costly. Instead try doing hand lettering or printing out letters from the computer. A one time purchase of letter stencils is also economical in the long run.

- Trade with your friend. What is old for her, will be new to you.

- Make your own embellishments. Serendipity squares, bottle caps, tags and shakers are expensive to buy, but cheap to make.

- Don’t buy to many books and magazines. The internet is full of patterns, how-to’s and inspiration. And, what you can’t find on the internet, is available at the library.

- You don’t need to need to purchase every new supply or tool that hits the market. All you really need is a good pair of scissors, some kind of adhesive, patterned paper, cardstock, templates and a couple of punches. Everything else is gravy.

- Scrap with a friend. This doubles the number of tools available.

- Take a look at your local dollar store. Mine has wonderful, but cheap, packages of vellum, patterned papers, fancy scissors, punches, stickers, rubber stamps and acid-free glue sticks. All of these products would cost at least 50% more in a scrapbooking store.

- Target has very reasonably priced packages of patterned paper and cardstock.

- Consider purchasing from ebay. I frequently by large lots of used products. The pricing is very good and I get a wide mix of stuff. The last lot had fancy scissors, papers, cardstock, letter templates, shape templates and stickers. All for about $16.00 dollars, including shipping.

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Organize Your Craft Supplies

You could easily spend a small fortune organizing your craft supplies. But why bother? For $10.00 – $20.00 you can create your own, highly efficient storage system. It’s simple.

Here’s how:

Purchase clear, stackable storage boxes with lids from the dollar store. Get about ten of these and label them with a permanent marker or a pretty label. These will be the basis of your storage system.

Put small objects of the same type in heavy duty resealable plastic storage bags. Then put the storage bags in the boxes. The types of objects that go in the storage bags are bits of fibers, buttons, small packages of fimo, eyelets, etc.

Use clean tin cans for storing markers, colored pencils, scissors, etc. If your want to, you can make the cans nicer by covering them with patterned scrapbook paper.

Get a couple of brag book type albums from the dollar store. These can be used to store stickers and die cuts.

Supplies that are too large to fit into storage bags or cans can go directly into your plastic boxes.

Anything too large to fit directly into your plastic boxes can go into a cardboard storage box. Just be sure to label the outside.

That’s it. Didn’t I tell you it was simple?

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Interchangeable Patterns

Quick Tip: Did you know that most needlepoint, cross-stitch, plastic canvas and rug hooking pattern are interchangeable? It’s true! Any pattern that is “counted” can be used for each of the three other mediums.

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Sewing Tips

- Scavenge torn or stained clothes for buttons, zippers, decorative trims and shoulder pads. Reuse them on new items.

- Only buy fabric on sale. If you don’t mind waiting a few months, virtually everything in fabric stores is eventually reduced.

- Look on the reduced table of your local fabric store. I always find great bargains there.

- The fabric from out-of-style skirts can be restyled into blouses for adults or play clothes for kids.

- Look for fabric on ebay, flea markets, yard sales and thrift shops. I’ve found some great bargains at “alternative” sources.

- Sheet, tablecloths, and some types of curtains can be restyled as clothing.

- Let your friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives know that you sew. You will be surprised by how many people have leftover fabric from a project that was planned, but never was started.

- There are plenty of free patterns on the internet. Peruse the freebies before you decide to pay for a pattern.

- Patterns should only be purchased on sale. Approximately once a season they go on sale for 80% off.

- Patterns are expensive. Preserve your patterns so that they can be used again and again.

- If you are artistically inclined, consider learning to copy patterns or draft your own patterns. Amazon has several books on the subjects.

- Don’t try to save money buy skimping on thread. It’s one money saver that just isn’t worthwhile.

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Knit and Crochet Tips

- Choose your patterns from the internet or library books. With so many free patterns are available, it doesn’t make sense to pay for one.

- Pick pattern that emphasize your skill, not a beautiful yarn. It’s tempting to go with a quick, simple pattern that gets its glamour from the yarn that is used, but it is also a lot more expensive.

- Make mainly knit and crochet things you really need and would have bought anyway. If you know you will need to give a baby gift or buy a new sweater for December, choose these as your projects. Crocheting another scarf when you already have 6 in your closet, is a waste of time and money.

- Buy your supplies at yard sales, thrift stores, sales or ebay.

- Reuse yarn from garments you no longer enjoy or those bought second hand. There are some great instructions on how to do this available on the internet.

- Feel free to substitute a cheaper type of yarn for a more expensive one. Some free patterns from yarn companies feature their most costly yarns. Often a cheaper yarn will also work with the pattern.

- Knit or crochet with rags and/or plastic bags. A search on Google will provide plenty of patterns for both materials.

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Polymer Clay Tips

- Spend less cash on the supplies themselves. This means that instead of running down to the local craft supply store to stock up whenever you feel like it, wait until the next sale. Or, better yet, see what polymer clay is selling for on Ebay or a craft website and compare prices.

- Don’t buy every polymer clay accessory that comes down the pike. Do you really need a pasta machine for conditioning the clay or can you warm it in your hand? Do you have to buy the set of texture tools or can you find interestingly textured objects around your house? Be selective in what you purchase.

- Save every scrap of clay. You never know when you will need lime green or dusky rose. And if you hate the color, still save it. You can use it for the center of larger projects.

- Avoid projects that require the use of a lot of clay and choose smaller projects instead. Try making polymer clay jewelry, magnets and covered pens; not vases and bowls.

- Polymer clay books, with their full color pictures, cost a fortune. Between the internet and your local library you can find plenty of how-to’s for free.

- Be careful about where you store your clay. Clay left in a hot location (such as a car) may start to “cook” and no longer be usable.

- Avoid projects that require a lot of “extras”. Some polymer clay projects have a list of supplies an inch long. Look for projects that only use clay or supplies that you already own.

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Quilting Tips

- Recycle unwanted clothes to make your quilts. If you can’t find the right color in your own stash, see what’s available at the thrift shop or what your friends no longer need.

- If you decide to purchase new quilting fabric, take a look at the ideas in the Sewing Tips section for frugal shopping ideas.

- There’s no need to buy quilting patterns or books. The internet is overflowing with beautiful patterns. Take a look at the World Wide Quilting Page for tons of great projects.

- An old quilt, in good condition, may be used as the “filling” for your new one.

- Before you purchase a lot of expensive tools such as a cutting board and rotary cutter, make sure quilting is really the hobby for you. You don’t want to get bored with quilting two weeks after you went on a shopping spree.

- A lot of quilting supplies can be made from things you have around the house. For instance, templates can be created from heavy pieces or cardboard.

- Consider creating projects other than large and expensive quilts. Potholders, vests, pillows and lap quilts are all fun and a lot cheaper to make than a queen size quilt.

- If you have access to the Tightwad Gazette books, I strongly recommend reading the sections on quilt making. You will find a lot of inspiration plus some really great tips.

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