Economizing Measures ~ Finding Craft Supplies for Less

Most people have hobbies even if it is just watching their favorite TV

program. Some hobbies can be quite expensive like scuba diving for

instance, but most only get costly when you need to replenish your

crafting supplies. If you have kids you may go through a lot of

supplies. Here are some ways to save money and even get supplies

for free.

Watch the papers and flyers for sales at your favorite craft stores, some have sign up lists and you'll get an email or a flyer in the mail.  Hobby Lobby, Michael's and Joann's Fabrics are just a couple of these stores and when they have markdowns after a holiday I like to snatch up items that are up to 80% off. Always check online for coupons for your favorite stores too.  One thing to remember is to only buy items you know you will use otherwise you are wasting your hard earned money. Also check out the dollar type stores in your area, you

may be surprised at what you will find.

Once again, remember to look through your local charity shops.  Many times I have found sewing, embroidery and knitting supplies as well as glue, paint, Sculpey clay, glitter, wood, beads and so on.  Check out the office supply area for paper, binders, acetate sheets

and look over the frames with or without pictures or glass. Lots of folks will buy old paintings on canvas and gesso over them to paint what they want at a much reduced price from retail on a new canvas. See if the old wallpaper rolls will suit for a project other than your

walls like scrapbooking, collage or decoupage. I remember my favorite coloring book as a child was an old wallpaper sample book, which you can still get for free from most wallpaper stores.

Making your own supplies. If you do a Google search you'll find articles on how to make your own Playdough, salt dough and so on. You can make clay items without buying anything if you live in an area that has natural clay. Mostly in the southern US you'll find red clay or gray colored 'gumbo clay'. Just dig some up, add water, knead it for a while and you can sculpt to your heart's content. Sun dry or bake in the oven and it will last for quite a while, it's how the Native Americans did it.

Go to yard sales, estate sales, auctions and resale stores. Try freecycle in your local area. I see lots of people offering all types of craft supplies and others asking for certain items. It never hurts to ask. Craigslist and your local facebook buy-sell pages are good places to look as well.

Think outside the box. Before you put that cereal box in the recycling bin, could it be cut up and used for crafting? How about old magazines, newspapers, paper sacks, glass jars and so on? Look up tutorials on making yarn out of plastic grocery sacks, or fusing them into thicker plastic for other crafts. Braid bread bags to make rugs for the porch. So much of what we throw away can be reused for crafting purposes. Pinterest and Youtube are full of ideas and tutorials for you. Even your junk mail and envelopes can be made into collages or junk journals and are quite fun to make!