How to save on scrapbooking...Get more for your money!

I found some great ways and ideas on how to make more of your scrapbook items and save money by buying the right way! These tips and tricks should help in more than just one way.
Get organized. You probably have much more than you realize already at your disposal. Most scrapbookers are stunned to see what they already own when they get organized. Its like a shopping spree in your own home!Buy in bulk. Buy multipacks of cardstock in the colors you use most often or split a patterned paper pack with a friend. Try using background paper from a multipack throughout a whole album and spend your money on the accents instead of the background papers. These ideas will keep you from making those by-the-sheet paper purchases which can quickly add up.Stretch it out. Cardstock is almost universally cheaper than patterned paper. Use cardstock as the background on a two-page layout and save on patterned paper by splitting it between the pages in creative ways.Plan your pages. Decide on photo sets, theme, backgrounds, and accents before you go to a crop where products are available for purchase. Look at what you already own and take it along to use. If you preplan and pre-pack, you can save yourself from impulse spending at each scrapbooking crop.Use everyday objects as templates. You don't need a circle template if you can trace around a CD, water glass or a cereal bowl. Use a Post-It note as a square template or cookie cutters as journaling template shapes. Need a photo mat? Books can also make great templates.Scrounge for embellishments. Look around you for 'lumpy' scrapbooking objects. You might find the perfect embellishments such as staples, hinges, clips, or pins in your junk drawer. Check for fibers, buttons or ribbon in your sewing or yarn basket. Ask non-scrappers if you can take a peek in their sewing basket or junk drawer too. You never know what treasures you might find in everyday objects.Invest in good tools. Cost per use is best for quality tools like black pens, rulers, hole punches, sewing needles, paper trimmers, and a good pair of scissors.Lay off the letters. I know we all love them, but sticker lettering and rub-on title wording can add up in cost very quickly. Give them up just for a few layouts. Instead try non-disposable options for lettering, such as stamps, geputer fonts or hand-cut lettering.Stockpile your basics. Avoid spur-of-the-moment purchasing by having a small stockpile of basic items. When you make something basic from your paper scraps, like a white tag or silver bookplate, make several. I personally stockpile 1.5 circle shapes, 2 squares, and several sizes of tag shapes, mini envelopes, mini file folders, black and grey and brown paper hinges, metallic paper photo turns, bookplates, and mini 3 frames that look like large slide mounts. You wont have to buy them if you store them in an organized manner and have them on hand.Kick the shopping habit. Sure it is fun but admit it, it is a habit. Make a resolution to use what you have before purchasing new items.Think about your scrapbook spending. Incorporate a few of these simple ideas. Spending just a few extra minutes beforehand will often save you plenty of dollars when you are scrapbooking. Even better, saving a few dollars per layout now will allow you to splurge on something else down the road!Found in: Tutor Tips - A Scrapbooking EzineMarch 30, 2005Issue # 102