I am frugal by nature so I am always looking for ways to cut costs for my paper crafting supplies. This allows me to get more supplies or even have the joy of spending money on other things that are more important. I love saving money, so here are some quick tips to help you save money too.
Card stock is paper and paper is inexpensive compared to other craft supplies. White paper is cheaper than colored paper, so use your colored card stock sparingly. Use white or ivory card stock on every project to reduce cost.
Layering paper makes everything look more expensive so alternate colors with white or ivory. By using ink and other techniques you can even make it look like you layered card stock on the project without layers.
Card stock is cheaper than other embellishments, so embellish with paper too. People spend a LOT of money on embellishments like stickers, metal tags, and page pebbles. You can recreate most of these embellishments with paper so they are cheaper.
Share tools, stamps, and other non-consumables with local friends. Be sure you plan to replace them if you break them or damage them. Share the purchase of things you will both use or take turns making purchases of things you will both use. Tools like decorative scissors, paper cutters, die-cut machines, and circle cutters can be used for many years by multiple users without being damaged. You will just need to replace blades or do some basic upkeep to keep them working.
Buy unmounted stamps to save money. Good quality rubber stamps mounted on wood are the premium for stamps and I love them. Unmounted rubber stamps are cost-effective while still offering excellent images and long-term usefulness. Rubber lasts a long time without degrading. Other materials will degrade with time. However, I also can admit that unmounted stamps made from other materials can be good for a one-time project. Most people do not intend for their stamps to be long-term investments so enjoy your unmounted, inexpensive stamps until they don't make good impressions and then get rid of them.
This tip is good for lots of crafts and even for buying clothes and shoes. Buy seasonal, after the season ends, for next year and save a BUNDLE! (50-90% off) One example is that tissue paper goes on sale after every holiday. Buy red, white and green after Christmas to use for Valentine's day and St. Patrick's day. You can buy your clothes at the end of the season for the following year and save more money to spend on craft supplies.
Buying craft supplies because they are on sale is not always a good bargain. Be SURE you are going to use them. If you are looking at sale merchandise, buy for the projects you are doing now and buy basic supplies that you use all the time. Do not buy something that you are not sure what it is just because it has a 90% off sticker.
Clean out your stash at least once a year and if you have not used it during the year, sell it or give it away. This keeps things fresh in your memory so you don't over buy or duplicate purchases and encourages you use what you buy. It also keeps your craft space neat and usable. Selling your extras is a great way to save some of the money you invested in those things to begin with.
Keep your scraps. You may not want tiny scraps, but keep reasonable sized ones for layering images on your projects. However, if you do any paper mosaics, tiny scraps are fair game as well. Look in your scrap collection before you EVER cut a new piece of card stock. Organize your scraps by color. This will make them much more manageable. Even your printed paper scraps should be sorted by their main color family. When you want a scrap layer you will be trying to match the color of your project so storing the scraps in color groupings will make that easier. Finally, if your scrap collection gets too big, thin it out by giving a collection of pieces to the kids or to a friend. Sometimes we can not use all the scraps we create so be generous.
I enjoy saving money on my paper crafting supplies so that I can buy more things. If you have a limited family budget, these tips will help you maximize your family budget while still allowing some enjoyable craft-supply shopping. Craft on!
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Carol Oswald is a frugal crafter who enjoys shopping and saving money. She can be found at http://www.blessedonthenet.blogspot.com I am always having fun being frugal while enjoying being creative and crafty at the same time.
Article Source: Frugal Paper Crafting Tips
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