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Another money saver is to buy those cheap bunches of artificial flowers and pull them apart for your embellishments. You can get some great colours and different sizes.
I had a heap of all these ideas I used to use then I realised what a major hassle and false economy some of them were. Bear with me and read until the end of my post for my money saving ideas.
Glycerine for Versamark was one of the things I tried and never again! While it looks the same there's definitely something different about it as I found my image was never as crisp as real Versamark and you could really tell when you used it with chalks to do chalk popping. I ended up ruining my Versamark (had to use a tonne of paper towels to soak up the glycerine and then reink) - when I could have just bought the reinker which lasts many many years anyway.
Excess foam from rubber off-cuts is another disaster - it doesn't hold as well. I realised this after some cards that I received from a friend fell apart by using these instead of proper foam dots/Stampin' Dimensionals/whatever brand you like.
Early on in my cardmaking I would buy cheap cardstock and I thought it was odd that anyone would be buying 'cardmaking' cardstock as I felt it was too expensive. I could never understand why my cards still didn't look as nice as I thought they should... fast forward to buying good quality cardstock and my cardmaking improved incredibly.
One thing that I think is easy and doable is to have some punches handy to punch out the middle of cardstock that you are about to layer on. You can't see the inside as it'll be covered up so punch away.
My opinion is to make more use out of the products you have - find different ways of using them and challenge yourself to be more creative.
* Use up every little bit of ribbon you have, e.g. like this card I made: scrap ribbon card
* Challenge yourself to use that rarely used stamp(s) using 5 different techniques/styles
* punch out little flowers from the smallest scraps of patterned paper and keep them in a little bowl on your desk for a quick and free (because you would have thrown the scrap out anyway) embellishment.
* Challenge yourself to use up items that aren't your favourites anymore such as crimping, sanding down or stamping over patterned paper.
* Use your inkpads to watercolour with - it's another great use for your inkpads and getting double-use out of something is stretching your dollar further.
Another money saver is to buy those cheap bunches of artificial flowers and pull them apart for your embellishments. You can get some great colours and different sizes.
I have been doing that now. I found some really cute daisies the other day a big bunch for a dollar, but I havent used it yet.
I had a heap of all these ideas I used to use then I realised what a major hassle and false economy some of them were. Bear with me and read until the end of my post for my money saving ideas.
Glycerine for Versamark was one of the things I tried and never again! While it looks the same there's definitely something different about it as I found my image was never as crisp as real Versamark and you could really tell when you used it with chalks to do chalk popping. I ended up ruining my Versamark (had to use a tonne of paper towels to soak up the glycerine and then reink) - when I could have just bought the reinker which lasts many many years anyway.
Excess foam from rubber off-cuts is another disaster - it doesn't hold as well. I realised this after some cards that I received from a friend fell apart by using these instead of proper foam dots/Stampin' Dimensionals/whatever brand you like.
Early on in my cardmaking I would buy cheap cardstock and I thought it was odd that anyone would be buying 'cardmaking' cardstock as I felt it was too expensive. I could never understand why my cards still didn't look as nice as I thought they should... fast forward to buying good quality cardstock and my cardmaking improved incredibly.
One thing that I think is easy and doable is to have some punches handy to punch out the middle of cardstock that you are about to layer on. You can't see the inside as it'll be covered up so punch away.
My opinion is to make more use out of the products you have - find different ways of using them and challenge yourself to be more creative.
* Use up every little bit of ribbon you have, e.g. like this card I made: scrap ribbon card
* Challenge yourself to use that rarely used stamp(s) using 5 different techniques/styles
* punch out little flowers from the smallest scraps of patterned paper and keep them in a little bowl on your desk for a quick and free (because you would have thrown the scrap out anyway) embellishment.
* Challenge yourself to use up items that aren't your favourites anymore such as crimping, sanding down or stamping over patterned paper.
* Use your inkpads to watercolour with - it's another great use for your inkpads and getting double-use out of something is stretching your dollar further.
I would like to hear what the rest of you do to save money on supplies. Here are some of my ideas:
I save the left over bits of rubber/foam after I cut stamps and use instead of pop dots and for shaker frames.
I make my own ink pads by buying the old SU style blank pads and filling with SU reinkers. (ATRS has pads in their dollar store called Comotion that are identical to the old SU pads for $1 each).
I mix SU mist cleaner 1 part to 5 parts water in my spray bottle (50 cents at Wal-mart in the travel cosmetic area) and it cleans just as good.
I buy paint trimmer pads to use as stamp scrubbers. Added bonus: They don't shed.
I also buy photo foam mounting tape instead of pop dots.
I buy dry wall tape at Walmart instead of Magic Mesh. You can emboss it, brayer it and it runs about $2.50 for enough to last a lifetime.
I buy cosmetic sponges and cut them up for sponging.
I use Walmart red glue roller tape and Walmart Crystal 3-D effects ($1.50 a bottle).
I made my own wheel guide by using pop dots under a ruler.
I use Walmart Georgia Pacific cardstock. It is fantastic, thick and very white.
I buy Perfect Ink Refresher all the time instead of reinking pads and pens. It will extend the life of your inkpad about 4 times longer instead of reinking all the time.
ATRS is Addicted to Rubber Stamps, I believe. They are a sponsor site to SCS now I think.
Thank you for that info. May I ask then what the dollar store Commotion is? I don't live in the US but am coming down for a few days next month so wanted to check this out. Thanks again.
I always check out my Dollar Tree when I'm in. I browse through every single aisle. I've seen quite a few name-brand items that have made their way there, for a huge cost savings. Not all Dollar Trees are the same, though. I have about 4 within quick driving distance, and only one gets the really good shipments.
One thing I picked up when I was in two days ago was their beading charms. They are their brand, so I doubt they're as fancy as anything you'd get with the Swarovski name on them. But I'm making cards, not the queen's crown jewels, so they're good enough for me. I found 4-5 varieties of charms, about 3/4" each. They came in a pack of 6-8 of each design. I haven't made any cards with them yet, but I might get a chance yet tonight.
I can't believe all the great ideas! I am going to recheck this thread often. It is difficult to digest all of it at once. I am off to search for some perfect ink spray.
__________________ Carmellia "There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Gandhi
I love this thread, gonna go to dollar tree tomorrow.
I have found some cute embellishments and wood embellishments too. my daughter painted some wood flowers and made a card for grandma for mothers day, it came out really nice.
I save money in OTHER areas of my life so I have more money for stamping/scrapping:mrgreen::
1. I groom my two schnauzers ($60 every 6-8 weeks!)
2. I do lots of baking and cooking, we rarely eat expensive instant foods (my husband's co-workers think he's totally spoiled when they see his lunches!)
3. I buy almost all our groceries/household stuff on sale (e.g. paper towels), plus I USE those spend $40 and get $5 off your order at the grocery store coupons, plus many other coupons!
4. I color my own hair ($45 at a salon vs. $8 for hair color)
5. I cut my husband's hair ($15 a month)
so, I rarely feel guilty for buying quality cs or dp from SU or even stamp sets from CTMH, and my DH knows I do everything I can to save us money!
I've founds lots of cheaper stamp sets just don't have the crisp images of the better companies, so I stick to quality!
I rarely buy anything at Mike's or JoAnn's without a coupon!
Another money saver is to buy those cheap bunches of artificial flowers and pull them apart for your embellishments. You can get some great colours and different sizes.
[QUOTE=dot2dot;411674]I would like to hear what the rest of you do to save money on supplies. Here are some of my ideas:
I make my own ink pads by buying the old SU style blank pads and filling with SU reinkers. (ATRS has pads in their dollar store called Comotion that are identical to the old SU pads for $1 each).
Would you provide me with a direct link for the blank ink pads.
I searched on the addicted to Rubber stamps site and could not
find them.
I found the Perfect Ink Refresher online at Addicted to Rubberstamps. Was 10% off with special shipping rate over memorial day. They often have specials on line so i always check the site out every week or so.
My tip to save money is to try digital stamps. I seem to be on a kick with these and am loving them. The cost is significantly lower than 'real' stamps (often free!) and there's no need to buy storage for them! I really think they are the future in paper-crafting. I will still buy Penny Black critters and any other stamp that catches my eye, but, if I can get an image I want in a digital format, I will.
__________________ "Life is much too important to be taken seriously." Oscar Wilde Proud to be a member of Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge DT! My BlogMy Gallery
My tip to save money is to try digital stamps. I seem to be on a kick with these and am loving them. The cost is significantly lower than 'real' stamps (often free!) and there's no need to buy storage for them! I really think they are the future in paper-crafting. I will still buy Penny Black critters and any other stamp that catches my eye, but, if I can get an image I want in a digital format, I will.
Where do you look for something like that. I have to admit I did not know there was such a thing as digital stamps. You just run them out on your printer? Sounds good to me. I would love to have a nice selection of images I do not have to store and clean.
__________________ Carmellia "There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Gandhi
I bought a box of transparencies at the office supply store...but every time I try to use them, they end up with some many finger prints on them...they are ugly. Do the SU window sheets get as dirty when you work with them?
This might sound funny, but when my kid's hair jewelry breaks or just isn't good for hair any more, I use parts of it. For example, there were some glittery butterflies on her old hair ties, and some of the old barrettes had some great bling... it is rather like taking apart costume jewelry that we find at consignment shops and thrift stores and such... I am getting very into recycling. It saves a ton of money, and is rather fun and entertaining.
Where do you look for something like that. I have to admit I did not know there was such a thing as digital stamps. You just run them out on your printer? Sounds good to me. I would love to have a nice selection of images I do not have to store and clean.
If you do a Google search for 'digital stamps' or 'free digital stamps', you should find a lot. There are also threads in the forums that list several sites.
__________________ "Life is much too important to be taken seriously." Oscar Wilde Proud to be a member of Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge DT! My BlogMy Gallery
I bought a box of transparencies at the office supply store...but every time I try to use them, they end up with some many finger prints on them...they are ugly. Do the SU window sheets get as dirty when you work with them?
I have not tried using transparencies. I have used some acetate page protectors we have had laying around the office for years. I did not notice that fingerprints were a problem. I have not used the SU sheets, just the page protectors.
__________________ Carmellia "There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Gandhi
I would like to hear what the rest of you do to save money on supplies. Here are some of my ideas:
I make my own ink pads by buying the old SU style blank pads and filling with SU reinkers. (ATRS has pads in their dollar store called Comotion that are identical to the old SU pads for $1 each).
Would you provide me with a direct link for the blank ink pads.
I searched on the addicted to Rubber stamps site and could not
find them.
Thanks
Susan
YES!!! Link PLEASE!!!!! Their site is HUGE>>>!!! And their search box kinda sucks.....
SU white cardstock over W@lmart cardstock
Do this simple test:
stamp an image on SU white and then on W@lmart white. Compare the two images. The ink soaks into SU white so much better giving you a more crisp/solid image. Even with the very fine detailed stamps. Almost like it was printed rather than stamped.
I am all about saving $$ but I also take great pride in my stamp work so sometimes you have to spend a little more to get a better end result.
I kind of agree with this. So what I do instead is, I use the Walmart paper where it is not seen much, like if I want to use a white mat, then instead of using my precious SU or PTI White paper, I use the walmart paper. or if I am punching out a circle to mat and sometimes when I make the card out of a darker card base, I like to put a white mat inside so that it is easier to write and for that also I use walmart paper. So you can save money and still use quality products if you just plan a little ahead for your project.
Instead of just starting off on a project by starting to cut a new sheet of CS, I first look through my scraps to see if there is something that I can use. I have a drawer for for the CS that I cut out for card base and have one left over.
So, my thought is that you can save as much money by reusing, using your supplies well as you would by buying slightly cheaper products. Anyways just my two cents on this subject.
Oh i use walmart cardstock all the time, I love it!
and digi stamps Im usign more and more these days, they are so much fun!
I do have my collection of rubberstamps too ;)
oh and the way im doing too, I dont cut into any new paper until I finish my scraps too. Its helped me alot to save on paper. Im surprised on how many cards you can really do with scraps
I didn't think I had any tips to add, but the most recent posts about making good use of all our paper, scraps and all, made me think of an ATC I have recently made.
I stamped the parachute for this card on the cover of a Time magazine. It showed a full-face view of a tiger. I stamped the parachute on the bridge of the tiger's nose. Look close. You can see the hairs.
I intend to keep my eye out for interesting colors and patterns on other magazines. Particularly, I am on the lookout for a deep scarlet red that I can use for stamping poinsettias for Christmas cards. So look at those old magazine covers with a making use of the paper in mind.
Here is the parachuting kitty, I hope. I have trouble attaching things. If this does not work, you can also see the parachuting kitty in my gallery.
__________________ Carmellia "There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Gandhi
I save the clear acetate packaging from things like Cuttlebug folders, Cricut Carts, etc instead of buying it for shaker cards. I have also found that lots of kids toys have this plastic.
I skipped several pages so maybe this has already been posted - but -- cereal boxes can be used as chipboard and/or cut in the Big Shot.
I made my own 3-ring binder with magnetic strips for my nesties.
My tip for using cardstock, I always cut my 8 1/2 x 11 in half. I put one half in a container for card bases and use the other half for mats, punches, Cricut cuts, etc. I have a seperate container for scrap pieces large enough for a mat. Anything smaller, I punch right away with one of my SU! Scallop punches if it is dark cs and an oval, circle or square punch if it is light colored cs. I throw the unuasable bits in the recycle bin. I also punch the leftover cardstock from my Cricut cuts. It is rarely usable for anything else. When I have built up a stash of punched shapes, I donate colors I probably won't use to my daughter's school's art department. They love to see me coming!!
I use the 3 inch wide double-sided carpet tape when I make boxes or notepads. I also use it if I am making a card that I know won't be saved since it is not acid-free. You get a HUGE roll for like $4 - a great deal and it lasts forever. It really comes in handy for gift tags, and if I'm making special packaging for little treats for the kids to take to school.
__________________ -Krissy www.paperinkspirations.blogspot.com Daily creativity keeps a Mommy sane!
