frugal scrapbooking

@cher913 (25782)
Canada
November 4, 2008 1:11pm CST
i was at a new Michaels that has opened near me (yay!) and was looking at the scrapbooking stuff and wondered besides the local dollar store, is there any where else that you all go for lower priced scrapbooking supplies? it would be easy to drop about $10-$15 per page at Michaels and i find scrapbooking stores even more expensive and i find that dollar stores dont always have the best selection. (i am in Canada). does anyone ever order scrapbooking supplies off the net? what website do you order from?
3 people like this
12 responses
@Monkeyrose (2840)
• Canada
16 Dec 08
My Stepmother is big into Scrapbooking. She was finding the same thing too. WE are in Canada as well. What she did was buy tons of machines and now she buys bulk from wholesalers. Uses what she needs and sells the rest through an ebay store. I'm not sure what her prices are like comparabily. I can send you the link to her ebay website if you're interested in checking it out.
1 person likes this
@mykmari_08 (2464)
• Philippines
16 Dec 08
Truthfully, I haven't tried doing a scrapbook for myself. I don't know if this counts but my youngest female sibling and her classmates in college was given a task in one particular subject to do a scrapbook on their favorite things and accessories they use, utilizing materials which are normally thrown away; just as the craft's name suggests, 'scrap'. Some of the stuff we used were bought from a local store but they never went beyond 10 dollars. I wish you were near here in our place but unfortunately, Philippines is so far away from Canada. Somehow, I'd consider that project as a labor of love of 3 sisters; since the 3 of us made a concerted effort to finish the book, adding and accessorizing each page here and there. As a result, she got a very high score in the subject for that semester. But I don't think I'm a great scrapbooker myself. Apart from this, I do love watching arts and crafts being featured on cable tv shows particularly in Lifestyle Network. If my memory serves me right, it's shown on Martha Stewart Living's segment, aside from cooking, gardening, and designing which is showcased in her show. Anyway, I do hope that you'll be able to enjoy yourself in your hobby. Happy holidays!
1 person likes this
@mflower2053 (3223)
• United States
5 Nov 08
I miss scrapbooking so much and we keep talking about doing it again but never get around to it. Next year we are putting our house for sale and once we move I won't be able to get together with my little group. I do still collect things. My kids seem to be on the messy side and mess up a bit of their clothes so I take alot of their clothes apart and get things from that. I also use birthday cards and when the kids things fall apart like little hearts from their hair clips or other things. I save them. Once they even took apart a lei I saved the flowers from it. I do have fun collecting things for their scrapbooks.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
11 Dec 08
Check out my blog on my profile called Scrapbook Layout Ideas... I have instructions and ideas and lots of things all from my own personal experience... scrapbooking used to be really expensive but things have dropped considerable in recent years....but back when they were expensive, I learned out of necessity how to find affordable things. I shop the hardware store, my junk drawer at home, various styles of parties, yard sales and the list goes on - for things to use in scrapbooking. You don't have to spend a fortune per page to have wonderful and beautiful layouts.
@SukiSmiles (1991)
• United States
5 Nov 08
Everyone has already given you great advice. I usually get the best deals online - at ebay. Also, when QVC has there crafting/scrapbooking shows you get great ideas and really good prices as well. But it is in bulk, so unless you are sharing with a friend or wanting to build up your personal stock of supplies, you are not really saving money. You can get together with your scrapping friends and do a "swap" where you trade supplies you don't need or want. If you are concerned about your scrapbooks being archival safe, make sure to use Archival Mist or other archival spray to coat items that might react or break down on your pages (i.e. gift wrap, magazine cut outs). I have also ordered from Sticker Planet, they have good deals when items are clearanced out, but I haven't ordered from them in a while. The Oriental Trading Co. (www.orientaltrading.com) also has a lot of supplies, and not just scrapbooking. Great for parties and youth groups/scouting, because they have crafts in packs that usually make 12.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Dec 08
I always keep an eye out for clearance. I shop at Michaels, JoAnns, A.C. Moores, walmart, target and tons of local scrapbooking stores. Sometimes, you can also find supplies from ebay or craigslist.
1 person likes this
@ebsharer (5515)
• United States
4 Nov 08
I understand your pain!! I try to only buy when things are on clearance. If you are a season behind you can do that. Like right now all the stuff from last fall is on clearnace. Come Spring time all the winter stuff will be on clearance. Do you have a JoAnn's they are a little cheaper then Michaels and ALWAYS have clearnace! Try ebay or craigslist. I buy from Walmart too. Also I buy a lot of the "sets" that has paper, stickers, tags in it. Its more expensive in that you are spending say 10 bucks but you get sooo much. Target has in there dollar isle scrapbook stuff. Talk to your scrapbook buddy and see if she/he wants to buy a thing of paper and split it with you.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
5 Nov 08
My daughter in law got some cool deals off ebay...you can also try mycrafts.com they have some stuff....or look around for other ways to embellish your page..if you have one with a little girl on it...I found some cute little clip barretts that made great embellishments.....also pretty paper clips.....I took some wire..strung it across my page and hung little squares with letters in them to name my page.....using the paperclips to hold on the squares....wallpaper books are thrown away at the wallpaper stores but make great backgrounds and also have shapes etc you can cut out and glue. Just some ideas...
@Sillychick (3275)
• United States
5 Nov 08
I keep it low cost by using recycled materials for scrapbooking. Instead of fancy paper, plain paper and use left over wrapping paper or greeting cards to dress it up. You could also use children's artwork, brochures, newspaper or magazine pages. Be creative and come up with something that relates to your theme. For example, I did a page for the day we took my son to a museum, and I used the map they gave us of the museum as the back ground. Then I used our ticket stubs, a couple of pictures and a postcard I bought in the gift shop for 60 cents. So the page was almost free. However, if you are looking for specific things, try discount stores like Kmart and Walmart, where the selections are pretty good, but much cheaper than craft stores.
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jan 09
Have you tried wal mart they have a good selection and are not as expensive as micheals Where abouts in canada I'm in nova scotia!
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
27 Jan 09
yes, walmart is good and i like dollar stores. i am in ontario. my daughters and i have been falling in love with anne of green gables. it makes me want to move out to those parts (i am also reading barometer rising right now). hows the weather out there? cold? i will add you as a friend :-)
1 person likes this
• Canada
27 Jan 09
yes anne of greengables is a great story and character, I have not heard of barometer rising, whats it like.
• Canada
26 Jan 09
Have you tried Wal mart, They aren't as cheap as the dollar store but they are not as expensive at micheals. I think zellers may have some as well. My step daughter and I just went splits on a huge book of scrapbooking paper for 5 bucks, there was a great selection of them as well. Hopefully you will find some Where abouts in canada I'm in nova scotia
@buggles64 (2709)
• United States
6 Feb 11
I have never ordered my scrapbooking supplies off line. I usually go to places like the dollar store, Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, and Hobby Lobby to get my goodies. downloaded stencils from the internet on a few sites...but as far as paper and card stock, it has been bought at the store.