P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Freebie Friday! It seems like the economy is affecting everyone these days. My dear, sweet mom lost her job this week. A job she called home for the last six years (I know many of you can relate). While the shock of it is still settling in, she’s preparing herself for leaner days ahead.
And though her bank account won’t be as full, she’s looking forward to a little down time until that next job presents itself.
With her days now free, I suggested she take up card making (something I wish I had more time to do!). Her first response was, “Isn’t that expensive?” I replied, “You haven’t seen our July/August issue!” And it’s so true. Card making doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need some inspiration to point you in the right direction! Enter our July/August issue:
Our “Eco” issue is packed with 100+ projects geared towards saving you money and the environment. Take Alisa’s blog this week on rubbing flower petals onto cardstock. Who knew you could achieve so many brilliant colors? What a beautiful backdrop! Throw in a few miscellaneous supplies and voila! – you have a gorgeous card that cost next to nothing to create.
Alisa Bangerter's Enjoy and Thanks cards from our July/August issue.
Here’s two more eco-conscious cards from Alisa’s Paper Crafts 101 column (July/August issue). In her Enjoy card, she created her own patterned paper by rubbing leaves in a circular motion. In her Thanks card, she used a fern leaf as a mask to create a striking focal point. Make sure you ”leaf” through the magazine and look at her nine out-of-the-box technique squares. You’ll also want to check out our “5 cards, 5 occasions, 5 dollars” feature. If you need some eco-inspiration, you’ll find it here.
To aid in your quest to paper craft more economically, today I’m giving away papers from Tinkering Ink’s “Becoming Green” collection, as well as Unity Stamp Company’s “Growing in Unity” stamp set. So many of you said that your favorite things in nature are flowers and trees. Well, here’s some more!
Two lucky winners will each receive this nature-loving prize package!
Leave a comment telling me ways you’re trimming your paper crafting costs. All comments must be received by midnight on Sunday, June 14. I’ll announce the two winners on Monday’s blog.
Here’s to being green (and liking it!)
Kelly
P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Alisa’s Natural Color post. Here they are in no particular order:
1. noa d (June 10, 7:32 a.m.)
2. Sara (June 11, 9:38 a.m.)
3. Sara-Jane (June 10, 6:18 p.m.)
Congrats, winners! Each of you will receive a copy of our July/August issue and Kelly Panacci’s Funtastik Flowers stamp set. I’ll be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!
I have cut down on buying embelishments. I recently purchased a cricut and instead of buying embelishments I can make them. The cartridges are pricey but you get a lot for your money. In addition to myself several of my fellow scrappers have cricuts so we borrow cartridges from each other. Also, once a month we have a crop so I get to use someone elses stamps etc. I stamp out ones I like on plain cardstock and cut them out at home as I have a use for them. I also never throw anything away that I might be able to reuse in my crafting. Even if I can’t use it my kids will. They love mommys scrap bin:) My most recent scrap use that I love? Bookmarks! Almost entirely from scrap in most cases and so far a huge hit from everyone who has received them.
To cut sown on the amount of paper I throw out, I organized all of my scraps by color. Now, it’s not difficult to find the right scrap for a project. In fact, I recently made a card using only scraps! Thanks for a great giveaway!
I’ve always been very thrifty with my cardmaking. I think the biggest thing I do just plain and simple price shopping. I get Cricut cardtridges online for $60 of retail, I also get discounted embellies online and I seldom by anything over $10 without it being on sale or a $40 off coupon from the craft stores.
Blessings,
Christine
I love to repurpose packaging to make gift wrapping to say money instead of buying gift wrap or gift bags.
I have challenged myself this year to make all my Christmas tags with the paper scraps that I have in my folder, and not use a new piece. I make only five of each style as so I will not get bored and can make several different ones
repurpose and utilizing scraps. i’ve restricted new purchases only to the necessities (glue, album pages, etc)
I try (and fail) to win as many contests as I can, LOL! Just kidding! I horde all kinds of little packages to recreate into little gift-holders. Paper-crafting was the best invention ever!
The easiest way is that I’m forcing myself to just use what I have and to trim it down significantly before I buy more.
The best way for me to trim my papercrafting budget is to begin using all the supplies I already own. I own more than enough supplies to keep me working on great projects for many years to come. I have become a supply collector instead of user!
in order to buy more i have to create something…
Before I buy something I should be sure that I really need it… And I don’t by expensive stuff….
When I make a page. I use the scraps to make cards.
When my visiting son commented that my stash has grown large enough to open my own store I knew it was time to stop buying and start using what I have. Some of the papers make me wonder what I was thinking!
I am trying to use up my endless supply of embellies & patterned paper before buying more. It’s amazing how you can come up with new ideas using old supplies. Challenging but kinda fun, too.
I keep most my pages and cards pretty simple and only use a couple of embellishments and try to make the ones I do use. I also like to use found items.
I just went through every thing in my studio and organized it got rid of tons of stuff that I was finished with. My niece is just starting out in scrapbooking and stamping and paper crafting so I gave her hoards of stuff. She was so thrilled. Now I know what I have and exactly where everything is. I think I will do this at least once a year.
Here’s a novel idea – use my stash!
Even though I’d love to go out and buy all of the new lines out now, I’m trying to use what I’ve already got (and absolutely had to have a few months ago).
Hi Kelly,
I’ve been making my own bg papers and stamping my own ribbon to coordinate with projects too ….I’m doing what I can…hope others are too!
I’m doing a couple things to help reduce, reuse and recycle! First, I’ve learned how to make some of my own embellishments – Mish Mash blog has a great set of ideas! 2nd, I re-use cardboard tags, and cords that are holding tags on clothing and incorporate them into my designs for cards- it’s fun and good for the earth!!
I am resisting buying new paper and embellisment by using up the stash I have. At least to reduce them by 50%. It is really hard. So many beautifully paper and embellisment out there. But I am seeing myself spend less.
i am being frugal by buying digital stamps cause i can get it and use it more by resizing it and it cheaper i also have joined a kit of the month so i am getting new stamps and not buying a bunch of them over the month. I also am buying my cardstock in bulk instead of just a few here and there. I am also waiting for sales to get things. I alos trying to take advatage of thin gs my friend have and using them before buying it just to have it myself.
Well, I guess the way I am saving is buying alot of the specials the different stamp~paper companys offer, stamp bundles, free shipping, percents off, it makes it hard for me to pass up!! I am probably not saving much, as I am buying more with the offers, but its the thought that counts, right???
I’ve begun to use more of what I’ve hoarded for the past several years & am “recylcling” old/seldom-used product to my DD and her roommate who have no crafting money. The idea occurred to me when our DD was unemployed & “bored to tears”. They just received a 10-lb box of goodies & were “thrilled”! Fun for me to send; fun for them to receive!!!
The way I am saving money is buying old things and looking at them in new and different ways. Looking for items that are recyclable. I am so interested that I have started a recycling blog. You should check it out! http://recyclelanteigne.blogspot.com/
A lot of paper crafter get a tendency to buy more(and MORE) stuff – just because they’re so beautiful – instead of using it. Well, I’m watching myself to not BE.
I have been GREEN since I was teen. So it couldn’t be different to deal w/ my lovely SCRAP stuff.
I’m finding ways to use – reuse – tri”use” my paper stash in so many ways. It’s not often to find pieces but tiny scraps on my trash bin that I haven’t double checked it before throwing in there. EVerything us reusable. I make tags, borders, buttons, flowers, punchies, paper ribbons, small accents. Whatever comes to my matching ideas. But it’s fun. And NO WASTING at all.
Have a great day!
I am only using what I have already!! Even my scraps!!!! I really already do, but now that my DHs business is REAL SLOW, I’ll HAVE TO. It’s all good, I don’t mind.
One of my new year’s resolutions in January was to use up things I had and stop buying new products! haha I’m also really into using things I find around the house to scrap with. trash is a remarkable thing. <333
I like to reuse items. Packaging to cut embelishments out of, glass jars to decorate and fill with goodies, and cut cereal boxes into flowers or stars to make excellent templates.
I have to come to accept and embrace the fact that I’m a paper “enthusiast” and if there’s a cute patterned paper out there (esp. Cosmocricket, Basic Grey or Jillibean) and it isn’t moving, I will buy it. So I’m economizing in other ways. I’ve started creating my own 3D embellishments and chipboard embellishments using stamps and stickers, gluing them to chipboard lying around my house (i.e., cereal boxes) and using pop dots. I’m also starting to use coloring materials I bought long ago and not necessarily in vogue, but that are still perfectly good.
i am trying to not hoard my papers! so trying to use those up before buying more.
i am also looking at all kinds of packaging in a different light. many can be reused & repurposed into cards of scrap LO’s. i save all sorts of packaging that i may be able to use one day. i also save pretty ribbons from gifts.
good luck to your mom and i hope she enjoys a little time to relax til her next venture.
Much to my embarassment, I think I’ve bought pretty much everything that’s been out in the market for the last 10 years so needless to say, my stash is HUGE! I organize, organize, organize so I have a pretty good idea where everything is when it’s needed. I’m altering the dated stuff to make them look fresh and modern. Basically, I’m “shopping my craft stash”.
I’m super thrifty with my crafting after years of accumulating TONS of stuff that just sits and sits and then gets tossed or sold in a yard sale. So… now I only buy something if I have a specific project in mind.
My mother was in to paper crafting for 10+ years before taking up a different hobby, so when I started making cards she gave me her stash of stamps, punches, markers, paper, etc…. I have hundreds of 2nd hand stamps and supplies in my collection, which is fine…they are new to me!! I didn’t have to spend a dime building up my collection!
Reusing and recycling! Also…swapping with friends! PLUS, my latest issue of Paper Crafts hasgiven me some WONDERFUL inspiration!
~Heather
I have been using my old stash and mixing it with the new. No more hoarding!! Goodness knows I have enough paper and embellies to last me a couple years. And I’ve always used found items in my crafting, so I guess I’ve always been a little “green”.
I just need to work with what I have! sometimes that ishar when you see all the cutepaper and it comes at you so fast!I cant catch up!
This has to be one of the best issues. I live in the UK and recycling is quite big here. I really liked the 5 cards, 5occasions 5dollars article & would like to see it most months. It really gets you thinking about how to use papers to get the very most out of them.
Hi Instead of buying flowers i use my flower stamps and stamp on patterned paper saves buying flowers. Also use lint sheets for flowers the recycled ones
I can’t afford very many stamps or supplies right now so every time I see something new that I like, I go back through what I already have and see if I have anything similar, or if I can recreate it. I’ve also been shopping my stash and using paper and embellishments that I had collected earlier. Quite a few things that I had set aside as “not wanting” are turning out to be perfect for the little projects I’m doing now. And I also make wishlists of things I’d really want … that way I can think things over before really committing … and oftentimes when I go back through my wishlist I discover I don’t really want that many things anymore!
I’ve been making a lot of my own embellishments. I’ve been trying to use my stash more, so my most recent purchases have been items I can reuse over and over, such as stamps.
I’m on a buying freeze. It’s been great because I’m finally digging into my stash (it’s amazing all the cool stuff I’ve purchased that’s been just sitting there!) and using my scraps. I keep ribbons, fibers, buttons from packaging and discard-able clothes. I’ve also been making a real effort to use my stamps in different ways to justify those purchases. You all know what I’m talking about….
I’ve stopped subscribing to monthly scrapbook kits and pulled out all the old kits that I’ve collected and started “finishing” all my old projects. Also looking on llne for inspiration and free downloads to get my “shop till you drop” fun time…you spend time a home in a comfortable chair w’my epc and don’t waste gas as well…cool beans.
The best way I have for trimming my stamping budget is to use what I have as much as possible.
I LOVE this issue! So many great tips and sampes! Right now I am trying not to buy too many stamps… I’ve been doing image swap… and having my mom crochete some flowers.
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I now make a point of mixing some of my old stuff with a little new…as long as it works, it doesn’t matter which year it first came out!
trying to use things I already have and stop shopping so much – I’m only doing so-so though!
Today I organized all of my crafting supplies…ALL of them. Now I have all of my scraps of paper in a hat box next to me and that is where I am going to start when I create from here on in. And tonight while I was watching a couple of old movies I took my paper punches and the smallest scraps and punched out lots of flowers, butterflies, and such so that I have some “new” embellishments ready to use.
Everything looks great now…so clean, so organized and so handy and ready to use.
I’m going into my huge basket of scraps more often before cutting into or buying new paper. I’m working on sorting my scraps by color….HELP!
I am trying to trim costs by making a lot of my own embellishments. I have enough product to be creative, and the results have been fun.
I try to use a lot of found objects in my house. I also always take apart gift bags and use the ribbon and cut shapes from the actual bag. So fun!
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