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

Take 5 minutes at the end of your projects to make sure the caps are on your pens, glue lids on tight, etc.- I've saved a lot of items from drying out overnight by checking them.

frugal tip: USE YOUR STASH! seriously, we all have so much and most of us have stuff to make hundreds of pages...why spend more?
I so wish I could be in the drawing for Scrap ETC. event but it just isn't realistic due to the timing. I can't get childcare/airfare/hotel in a few weeks. :( I would love to go someday though!

My frugal tip is using recycled supplies. I save cardboard boxes (like cereal and mailing boxes), bottle caps, wrapping paper, ribbons, etc. My husband usually laughs at some of the things I will save. I also like to collect old used poetry and music books. They are usually $1 at a second hand store and I can use all the pages inside and most of the time the cover too! Thanks for the giveaway

I've started using a new adhesive from Wal-Mart (don't know that it's a new product, but it's new to me!) The brand is Ad tech and for a package of 2 permanent glue runner refills the price is 2.27 (i think). Let me tell you, it is the stickiest adhesive i've used--much better than those expensive ones that don't even really stick!
Thanks for all the giveaways! Take my name out of the Scrap Etc. event--no way I could go to that, unfortunately!

Hi there, frugal, well since starting scrapbooking/card making I am getting better at that. I have begun to save my scraps in ziplocs and colour code them. That way if I am working with a certain colour and need smaller pieces I can check to see if I already have them without having to cut more! Works for me. Thanks!

I like doing a basic layout of a page and color scheme and then leaving them out to collect bits of natural ephemera as life happens. They become works in progress, get pieces of our personality and life added to them and it takes the stress of having it completed perfectly off my shoulders.

Rather than tossing scraps after finishing a new scrapbook page, I try to use those leftover pieces for handmade cards -- it's always nice to have original cards on-hand. Your giveaways are always great!

Hi Ali! I would love to go the the Scrap Etc event. It is actually being held less than 3 miles from my house. That paper relics stuff is super cute as well.
My frugal tip is to recycle as much packaging as you can. I like to take the fancy cardboard/chipboard that is found in most packages and make it into frames for pictures on layouts. It is usually printed with some type of design that can work really well on layouts. I find it a challenge to recycle as much as I can.

My attempt at being frugal is that when I create a layout, I immediately use the scraps and make as many cards as I can. That way I have some cards ready to go when I need them and don't have to file the scraps . . . or throw them away.
Jenell

paint can be your best friend at midnight. i was scrapbooking late, and i didn't have any letter stickers in the color that i wanted, so i painted some that i already had...oh, and i needed an O, but didn't have any left, so i cut a P into an O. whew!!! layout done.

My tip: I punch pieces out of paper before I use it to mat photos; the visible edges remain, but you aren't wasting all that paper behind the photo itself. Great question today! I've loved reading the responses.

My frugal tip is to use what you already have. I think that most of us get caught up in the "must have the new thing" trend and we don't even realize what we already have. I know I'm guilty of buying the same paper more than once - and not on purpose! =] Thanks for all the offers of the great goodies.

Thanks for the opportunity! :)
I always use non-permanent adhesive. I usually end up moving things - even if I've layed it all out before hand!
[I wouldnt be able to attend the Scrap Etc Event :( ]

I always try to use my scraps, either in making a card or tag, and doing so right away after I have completed my page...I then pop them in a pretty old fish bowl, ready to go.

I would love to attend Scrap Etc! I live about a three hour drive away.
My frugal tip- stamps. Basic stamps. They may be a bit pricey at first blush, particularly alphas, but they pay for themselves over and over and over again. Finding a good font is like hitting the jackpot. I can think of a Heidi Swapp damask stamp that I have probably used on just about every page for the last four or five months, and you wouldn't 'recognize' it in the different incarnations because of the different mediums I've used, from the normal stamping ink to acrylic to watercolor to bleach. There's a border stamp from a Jenni Bowlin kit that often makes an appearance too. Stamps have the same sort of versatility as a die-cut machine in many ways, but for much, much, cheaper. I'm not talking about specialized character stamps that are very recognizable, although those are fun- basic shapes and fonts that can be used over and over again.

A fun tip I do all the time is to save the packaging from your scrapbook supplies. Often there are super cute images you can punch out to use on your pages, and at the very least, you can adhere paper embellishments to the chipboard packaging to make custom accents!

Here's my frugal tip... shop alone! LOL! I always spend twice as much money when I shop with a scrapbooking buddy. We're such enablers. (of course it's not as much fun.)
I'd love to win the trip. All the prizes are cool.

what a wonderful Wednesday of giveaways!!!! Too bad I'm not near Atlanta....
hmm...frugal tip...I guess mine is that I keep all scraps of paper and use smaller ones with border punches for accents on cards.

My frugal tip is to crop and resize your photos to exactly what you are going to use on your layout before printing it out. Especially if you print photos at home. No sense in wasting photo ink if you are just going to trim a photo after printing! Took me a while myself to really do this consistently, now I can actually notice how much longer my ink lasts.
No Atlanta for me, but what a great prize for a lucky somone!

I like to use all my scrap paper. I use the scrap pieces to make my own embellishments, borders, and die cuts from my Cricut.
It is my small way of "going green".

I need a ticket for my Mom to Scrap Etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We would have such a great time!!!

WOOOOOOOW!! Awesome giveaways!!
(I am in Sweden though, so I am not gonna try to win the spot at the Scrap Etc Event. Unfortunately - because I am sure it'd ROCK!)

hhmm...my frugal tip is DIGITAL BABY, all the way! I'm not spending anymore $$ on supplies that I haven't been using...I print my 12"x12" layouts for $2.99 at Costco and I'm able to spend more time with my hubby (our desks face each other) so he can write and I can digi-scrap at the same time... saving $$ + more time with hubby == priceless!
~ Kathy (Hillsboro, OR)

hmmm, frugal tip. i cut apart my flowers if part of it will be hidden under another element and save it for later use. I also layer my own flowers because the beautiful ones I covet can be so expensive!
No GA for me! Can't arrange for grandparents to come take care of the kids on that short of notice! It would be very cool though!

I have a cute picnic basket of sorts that I keep all my scrap paper from current LO or project in. It is my favorite place to pull paper from since the possiblities are endless. :0)