Wednesday Sponsor Giveaways : Paper Relics, Shabby Chic Crafts, & Scrap Etc. Events

Well for me, it's hard to throw away scraps. So I store them by color. I find myself pulling my scraps out for inspiration for a page or to help add an accent to a page. Let me tell you it's hard to throw away unless I know I can not use it again.

I love creating mini albums from office file folders and childrens board books. I also love incorporating clothing tags, reciepts, and food packaging on LO's! Doesn't get much cheaper than that!

I save all my scrap paper. I use it for cutting out bits and pieces, for borders, for punching. It makes it easy for me to give my 4 yr old some paper to craft with too, if I can give him a BIG scrap instead of a whole sheet of paper.

My Frugal Tip: I'm holding off on buying the Threading Water Border Punch. For now I'm just using my scallop-edged scissors, coupled with the single hole punch. I have two sizes of scissors and hole punches, which gives me more variety than Threading Water (although I will probably make that purchase sooner or later).

1. Stick to one sheet of cardstock and then use some scraps.
2. Use your favorite greeting cards.
3. Go on a shopping freeze 'til you've used up some supplies.
Peace!
Artful Yogi

I reuse wrapping paper as it provides some great backgrounds or if i don't like it very much I can paint over it and use it as texture

Hannah's idea is so, so cool! Can I join?
Anyway, I have recently been trying to purge the excess from my home and I have stumbled across boxes of old letters from high school and college friends. I have been using these letters as embellishments (punching shapes from them, or using larger portions as patterned paper) for pages about my high school and college days. I love the results.
Kelly V

I have several frugal tips: (1) For me handwritten journalling is the most precious and inexpensive embelishment I can put on your page and I realized this and started journalling so much more after I found a bunch of my mother's and grandmother's old memorabilia and my favorite thing is to see stuff written in their hand. (2) I cut big square adhesive tabs in half. (3) Computer generated symbols and wingdings are awesome. (4) Save every bit of scrap paper to use in later layouts-there are so many times that I want just a square punch of pattern paper and I always find just enough in my scrap bin. I even put scrap pieces of gift wrap or notebook paper etc that I like in the bin!
Enjoy and hopefully this helps.

My best scrapbooking tip is this (and I've been actually practicing it) - go on a PURCHASE FREEZE! If you are anything like me you have LOADS of stuff stuffed invarious corners going unused. Make it your personal MISSION to STOP buying and dig into what you have. I haven't purchased any scrap supplies (except a few digi goodies) for 3 months! It really works AND it inspires creativity.
As for the Atlanta event - OF COURSE i could make it if chosen :)) A great chance for me to see old friends in my old city.

I would love to go to ScrapEtc!
My frugal item is the investment I made into my paper cutter. As long as I have it, I can scrap all day.
I also love ink, paint, and digital scrapbooking to save money.
Oh and Big Lots and ebay!

I save all my decent size scraps to use for accents or cards. I'm pretty good about using my supplies frugally, now if I could just make my shopping habits frugal!

side note: Allie, I don't know if you read all of these comments... I've noticed that your "Wednesday Giveaways" image hasn't appeared on the Wednesday posts in quite a while, there's just an outline of it. I'm guessing it's supposed to be a title... Of course, this might just be my own computer that doesn't like it.

My frugal tip is to use your scraps.
I would soooo love to go the Scrap Etc. Workshop.
My sister-in-law lives near Atlanta so I would have a place to stay. I can drive to GA, so please pick me. I would love to take classes with these talented scrappers. I am a stay at home mom so this would be a special treat! I think it would be an incredible experience. Your give-aways rock:)
Jess S.

I live in Florida and have family in the Atlanta area... I'm sure if I won the getaway, I would find a way to get there!
A frugal scrapbooking tip: don't throw away those scraps from your layouts. After a LO is complete (or altering project) I store all of the scraps together in cropper hopper vertical paper holders with dividers... I've already spent the time putting together all of my patterned papers, cardstocks, & embellishments and maybe even some things that I tried out but just didn't quite make the page... so why take them all apart again to hopefully use again in the future? When I need to do a small altering project, card, or small layout I already have everything ready to go together.
Another tip: When I buy something at a clothing store I ask if I can have a box for it (depending on the quality of the box, I use it to store numerous craft items) or sometimes just the ribbon that they tie it with. I love ribbon on my layouts and altering projects and this is a great way to get quality ribbon for nothing!!!

Definitely shop your stash. And, when you are shopping at home and see something you know you will never use, give it to a local charity that can use it. Everyone feels good and you have more room!
I would not be able to go to Georgia :(.

I keep my old Cricut mats and use them when I need some "temporary stick" for lining things up. They work especially well for keeping things in place when embossing with the Wizard. Just use it as the bottom layer of your stack. Everything stays in place! The grid lines also make it easy to line things up neatly and they can be cut to any size. The mats also work well for "fussy cutting" by hand - just enough stick left to keep things from shifting.

I have been using what I have, making my own cards and trying to scrap some of the MANY photos I already have on hand to be frugal. Scrapping just makes me so happy that it would be hard to totally give it up!!
HOLLY

My frugal scrapping tip is to use my paper scraps, all of them. Also, I use things that may even be "dated", but in a new way.

My daughter will be attending college next fall and she has received tons of look books from universities across the country. such cool designs on the pages that i have been saving them and using them in layouts, for matting and in art journal stuff.

stacking paper circles and then punching holes to make my own buttons! esp nice with some glossy accents on top...