Crafting on a budget

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. Save the buttons from clothing that literally wears out and can’t be donated or passed on.

A baby scrapbook that features a garden of flowers with button centers reinforces the notion that babies really are cute as a button.

“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.

“Another inexpensive binding involves a colored hair band and a wooden measuring spoon. 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.

“Postage stamps are also fun to recycle. I like to send myself a postcard from the places I visit, which results in cancelled stamps from every 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 favorites. I’m sure if you look around you’ll see that your home is filled with great craft potential.