|
|
Crafting On a Budget
|
 Sandi Genovese - DIY Network
Hand made doesn't necessarily mean inexpensive. A quick walk through a craft store reveals beautifully embossed papers, three dimensional stickers, gorgeous glass beads, leather bound albums and tools that do everything from setting eyelets to embossing thin metal sheets. It's easy to spend a bundle but there are a number of ways to stay within a budget if you just plan ahead.
It isn't necessary to break the bank to make wonderfully creative craft projects. Whether you're crafting scrapbooks, greeting cards, jewelry or other hand made products there is money to be saved by putting ordinary household items to good use in the craft room.
Buttons have made their way out of the sewing aisle and into fabric-less craft projects so it's no surprise that you can buy them by the bag or by the strip, but if you need a lot of them the cost can build up. When you have clothing that literally wears out and can't be donated or passed on, save the buttons before tossing them out. A baby scrapbook that features a garden of flowers with button centers reinforces the notion that babies really are cute as a button. And it's even more nostalgic when the buttons are recycled from the baby's favorite dress.
Patterned paper can set you back a pretty penny but you can rubber stamp your own and save a ton. Trouble is, the rubber stamp is not cheap and there is the price of the ink to consider as well. Create your own polka dot paper for pennies with dots that are stamped with a new pencil eraser that can be used as a writing tool whenever you're not stamping.
Ribbon is one of my favorite embellishments so I'm always looking for a ribbon sale or a discount ribbon store but if you save ribbon from your favorite gift wrap you can recycle even the smallest scraps to create the binding on a special scrapbook. With a ribbon binding, it is important to thread it through the holes and tie a knot, leaving a fairly large loop. This will ensure that the pages lie flat when the book is opened all the way.
Another inexpensive binding involves a colored hair band and a wooden measuring spoon that I used to bind a scrapbook of my family's favorite recipes. Punch two holes in the pages and covers and stretch the hair band between the holes on the back, poking the ends through each hole until they are visible on the front. Slide the spoon handle through the loops to complete a unique, inexpensive binding for the book.
Other embellishments I like to recycle are postage stamps. They are wonderfully artful in their own right but also offer an unusual way to remember a trip to a foreign country. I like to send myself a postcard from the places I visit, which results in cancelled stamps from every exotic destination. A stamp from Mexico is an excellent embellishment I used to decorate the window in the cover of a vacation scrapbook from a trip across the border.
These are just a few examples of some of my favorite cost cutting craft tools and embellishments. I'm sure if you look around you'll see that your home is filled with great craft potential.
(Sandi Genovese hosts "Scrapbooking" on the DIY - Do It Yourself Network. For more information visit www.diynet.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Bill & Amy's Question of the Week |
|
|
|
|
|
