Scrapbooking on a Budget: (Pt. 4) The Scrapbooking Scavenger Hunt

Scrapbooking is an expensive hobby…I’ve heard it time and again. I’m as guilty as the next scrapbooker…I go into a craft store, and I see things I just have to have! My scrapbooking fetish is one of the reasons I have a nice balance to pay off on my credit card. But as a “Frugal Bookworm,” I’ve been trying to find ways to cut down on my scrapbooking costs, and if you’re just starting out scrapbooking, or want some ways to cut down on costs, this series should be a great help!

Three goals for scrapbooking on a budget:
1. Use what you have!
I need to concentrate more on using the materials I have on hand rather than buying more. I have stickers coming out of both ears, enough templates to last a lifetime, and a huge collection of paper! I’ve been blessed beyond measure, and I need to use what I have rather than buying more supplies.

2. Be creative with what you have.
When I took a watercolor class, the teacher told us that most artists are packrats. To cut down on scrapbooking costs, I’ve become the same way! I save as much of my “scraps” as possible. Keep a Ziploc bag of ribbons, cardstock pieces, and embroidery thread remnants. You can use these in your scrapbooks!

3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
The “reduce” section of this goal goes very nicely with my first goal, to use what I have in stock and to cut down on how many scrapbooking supplies I use. There’s something new for scrapbooking, a new technique or product, coming out on the market constantly! Instead of buying into every trend, I’m trying to concentrate on developing the skills which I can do the best. And sometimes, simplicity is better than ostentation.

You can “reuse” many of your basic scrapbooking supplies: pencils, rulers, pens, and so forth. If you have the right products, you can also reuse other items, like stickers. I highly recommend the “Undo Scrapper’s Solution.” I first learned about this wonderful product when I worked in a college bookstore. We used it to remove price tags from books before we sent them back to the warehouse. When you use it to remove a sticker, the solution evaporates quickly, and the sticker is still “sticky.”

Recycling fits very nice with my second goal, to “be creative with what you have.” If we get a gift basket from a friend, I save the ribbon. If somebody gives me a stack of papers with an unusual paper clip, I save it. I also save the rest of my floss from cross-stitch kits, brightly colored envelopes from greeting cards (to make pockets in scrapbooks), and old maps (to use as background paper for travel pages).

Today, we’re going to concentrate on these three goals by taking a hard look at what we can find around the house. You’d be surprised at some of the items I’m going to suggest, but it will make a difference…in your scrapbooking, in the environment, and in your pocketbook! Let’s get to our scavenger hunt! Below is a list of items you might find throughout your house. I’ve designed a room-by-room breakdown of what you can look for. Some of the items are a little strange, but remember “reduce, reuse, and recycle”. Many items require no explanation, but I’ll explain some of the more unusual items as we go through the list. As I continue to develop the series, we’ll use many of these items in different ways!

We’re going to start with the home office, or your stash of office supplies. This is where you’ll find many of the basic items you’ll need to get started scrapbooking. I based this list on where we keep items at our house; I know every house is different, but the basic list should help!

Home office:
• Compass (for drawing circles)
• Ruler
• Pencils
• Erasers (rubber, art gum, etc.)
• Pens
• Glue/Adhesives (glue sticks and double-sided tape—check to see if the product is acid free)
• Scissors
• Box cutter or x-acto knife

Bathroom:
• Toilet Paper Roll (with or without toilet paper-- you can use this for a circle template)
• Wipes (to clean your hands after you use glue)
• Bottles: from perfume bottles to bath and body items, you can use different bottles and containers as templates to draw different shapes on your scrapbooking page.

Bedroom:
• Jewelry Box: recycle broken jewelry or that one earring you have left from a pair) in your scrapbook; you can also use your jewelry as an inspiration for doodling on pages
• Emery board: perfect as a mini sander for roughing edges of paper or embellishments.

From the kids or your craft bin:
• Crayons
• Colored pencils
• Glue sticks (check about acidity)
• Stencils (A-B-C and number templates will be great for making titles! You might also find animal templates, etc. for drawing on pages-- I raid my little sister’s for my scrapbooking projects)
• Other arts & crafts supplies: pipe cleaners, pom-pom balls, felt, ribbon etc.
• Stickers

Kitchen:
• Cookie Cutters (to use as templates or make templates from)
• Paper Towel Roll (with or without paper towels--you can use this for a circle template)
• Measuring Cups & Funnels: these are great to give you different sizes of circle templates
• Cups & glasses, containers: again, great for shape templates
• Measuring spoons: depending on how your measuring spoon is made, you can use these for small ovals
• Tins: you can use different sizes of tins as templates for scrapbooking. A tin will give you two sizes of templates, because the lid will be slightly larger than the tin itself

The garage or tool box:
• Washers & Nuts (you can use these to be creative with ribbons in scrapbooking. My dad had a ton of extras that I raided!)
• Drill gauge: my dad got a plastic drill gauge for free from “the Handyman Club” when they were trying to get him to join. Basically, it has 29 circles from 1/16 in. to ½ inch diameter. If you want the perfect dot or small circle on your page, this is for you!
• Sandpaper: you can use sandpaper to rough up your scrapbooking paper or cardstock and make it look aged or rustic.
• Twine

These are just a few ideas of everyday items you can use to help you start scrapbooking! If you can find just half of these items around the house, you will save a lot of money in getting started! When I wrote this list, I thought “If I’d only known then what I know now!”

I’ve made a handy checklist you can use: the scrapbooking supplies treasure map. By the time you get finished with your treasure hunt, you’ll be well on your way to starting scrapbooking! Join me for “Two on a Tuesday” this week. We’ll talk about free scrapbooking supplies with a blogroll, and setting up a budget to go shopping!

Do you have any suggestions? What kind of everyday items do you use in scrapbooking to help cut down on costs? Where do you find free or cheap supplies? Please leave me a comment and let me know! I’d love to hear from you!