10 Tips for Scrapbooking on a Budget

 

It can be easy to be overwhelmed by the huge number of available scrapbooking materials and to spend a huge amount of money. Here are some ways that I avoid breaking the bank on scrapbooking supplies:

 1. Research materials before you purchase them:

When I started scrapbooking I was unfamiliar with scrapbooking products. A lot of blogs and websites speak about scrapbooking tools like embossing folders as though everybody should know what they are. I found it helpful to go to a specialist scrapbook store Scrapadoodles, although they have an extensive online store I found this a bit overwhelming and wanted to see the products. The best part of this trip was that the woman in the shop was incredibly friendly and helpful about explaining how to use any tool that I mentioned

I also found watching online tutorials and reading posts on tips for beginners really helpful. This particularly applies to stamps and stamp ink. From one tutorial I learnt that certain inks hold more colour and are better for scrapbooking. I now understood why my dandelion stamp was producing faint images. I found this really helpful and also this tutorial on clear stamps.

2. Plan
Have an idea of the overall feel and theme of your whole album before you start. This way you are less likely to unnecessarily spend on items that you will not end up using. Planning your pages also means that you can use your supplies wisely. I've found these page maps very helpful for this.

3. Look at the same product at different stores for price comparison:

This seems obvious but is quite important. I was shopping for washi tape the other day and the same pack of 3 was R30 more expensive at Cardies than CNA.

4. The first time that you buy a brand of product only buy one:

On the above mentioned shopping trip I purchased a pretty Washi Tape at CNA. This washi tape doesn't adhere properly and I have to stick double sided tape to it whenever I want to use it. Trial and error is a necessary part of scrapbooking but keeping costs down is good too.

5. The craft store is not the only place to buy scrapbooking materials

More and more stores are stocking scrapbooking materials or materials that can be used for scrapbooking. Often these stores can be a little cheaper than the traditional craft store. For example, at Typo recently there was a 10 cardstock for R20 deal (that's about $1.60), there wasn't a huge variety but I stocked up on some of the nicest designs.

 

Takealot.com which basically sells everything, don't have a huge variety of supplies but they keep plain American Crafts cardstock which you can buy cheaply in packs of ten. As you can see, buying in bulk definitely pays off.

 

 

6. Dress up plain cardstocks rather than buying expensive ones:

Plain coloured cardstock are significantly cheaper than the fancy, decorated ones. You will need to acquire some tools for doing this such as stamps, washi tape (click here for some ideas about designing backgrounds using washi tape) and distress ink.

7. Wrapping paper is your friend:

Wrapping paper is a cheap way to buy lots of pretty paper. It's thinner than cardstock but you do get a large amount for your money. This is very useful for dressing up plain cardstocks and for adding embellishments and layers to your projects.

8. Make your own embellishments:

Embellishments can easily eat a huge portion of your scrapbooking budget. Making your own is generally easy and fun. See my previous post here. I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to this.

9. Use Free Printables

Free printables are the best. You can search for the perfect one and customize their size. All you pay for is the colour printing.

10. Recycle
If you see a pretty picture in a magazine, keep it. I have a whole file-box filled with images from magazines that I use for scrapbooking and other craft projects. If you happen to buy or be given a product with pretty packaging, save it for a scrapbooking project. Below is a card a made using a soap box and a champagne box:

 

From Glow-in-the-Dark Stars to Scrapbooking Embellishments

I keep finding different things to upcycle! I came across two different sets of glow-in-the-dark stars this week and thought about ways to use them. I needed to cover them with something pretty, especially as some had an unattractive yellowy sheen. I decided to cover them with some pretty toile tissue paper that I had lying around. Now I have a great new set of embellishments.

Tools needed:

Glow in the dark stars

Scissors

Pretty Tissue Paper

Glue

 

How to:

 

First you need to clean the stars, mine were covered in dust and prestik. Then place your star on the tissue paper and cut a circle (a square or blob-like shape will also do) around it. Leave plenty of space around the sides of the star

 

Then cover the front of the star with a thin film of glue. Gently place your circle of tissue paper on the star. Move this around until you can see that the part of the paper you want displayed is stuck to the front side of the star. Press down and wait for this to dry.

 

Then trim away the excess paper from the outer sides of your star, the only paper left should be between the points of the star.  Then cut a slit between 2 points of the star and trim away excess paper to make a flap.

 

Then turn the star over. Cover the flaps in glue and press down, repeat this for all five points of the star. Leave to dry and then you should have something like this:

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Introduction

This is my space for blogging about all things crafty and craft related. There are some crafty things, like decoupage, that I have been doing for years and others like scrapbooking/journaling that I have started very recently. I have found that there are lots of fantastic blogs and websites by people in the USA but very few by South Africans (this may be because I haven't looked in the right places). It's useful to know where to buy things from at home.

I can never resist a pun and therefore the title is a play on words with the author H.P Lovecraft's name (I love books) and loving to craft.