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Tip Store: Crafts & Hobbies: Scrapbooking

​MOO Scrapbooking Embellishments from Scraps and Leftovers

Approximate $ Savings: $5-10 per pack of embellishments, often more!

​ When I make cards or scrapbook pages, I love to add funky, creative embellishments. However, the costs of those packs of pre-made ones can break the bank! Instead, when I have scraps of paper left over from making cards or pages, I cut them up with my decorative punches, scissors or die cutter. I put them in bags or boxes by colour or theme and they are ready to go whenever I need them - a real time-saver too. You can also do the same with greeting cards, bits of wrapping paper, fabric etc. My teens at church decided to make cards for the teens at the local children's home I pulled out these, and they had a marvellous time with them and made lovely cards that were much enjoyed.
- Contributed by Kim McAlister, 26th January 2013

​Fairytale Placemats

These are so cute, and so easy to make - placemats made from old storybooks. We have dozens of storybooks, relics of the kids' early childhood. Some of them are a little worse for the wear. These were their favourites, the books that have been read and read so often that we can all still recite the stories from memory. Sadly though, some of the most loved books are really beyond being useful as books. They are falling apart, some have torn pages and others have missing pages. These are the books that can be turned into fairytale placemats. Using pages from old books, a sheet of plain paper and a laminator you can create beautiful children's placemats. Personalize them with the child's name and give them as gifts - perhaps with a copy of the actual story. You will need: Pages from an old story book - make sure the pages face each other so the sentences make sense A Stanley knife 1 sheet A 3 craft paper Glue dots 1 A3 laminating sheet laminator Step 1. Select the two pages that you want on your placemat. Carefully cut them out using a Stanley knife. Make sure to cut right down the binding so that you don't lose any of your picture. Trim the edges to make them even. Step 2. On the piece of A3 paper, add a border and the child's name. You can do the design on the computer and have it printed at an office supply store or print shop, but that will cost a few dollars. Use stencils and stickers to create a suitable design yourself. Step 3. Centre the storybook pages in the centre of the design. When you have them exactly right, use a drop of glue or a glue tab in each corner to hold them in place on the paper. Step 4. Place the paper in the laminating sheets and run them through the laminator. Don't have a laminator? That's OK, print shops and office supply stores will laminate an A3 sheet for just a couple of dollars. Don't want to go out? DIY laminating is easy - just lay your sheets between two layers of clear contact, sticky sides together and gently press down. Then put the laminated sheet on a firm surface and run over it with a rolling pin. If you don't have a large sheet of card or paper, just laminate the storybook pages. They look just as cute and kids will love them.
​ From the Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing blog, Monday 29th October 2012

​Discount Photo Books Online

Big W online photos often have sales on their soft cover 8in x 8in photo books. They cost $9.98 on sale and there is free delivery to your local Big W store. You can fit 80 photos inside and I usually put 4 on the cover. I have made these books for my son who is now 6 months old, for holidays, special events (e.g. weddings) and it has saved me money on printing photos. To print 84 photos would be $16. You can also add backgrounds, text and borders to your photos. They look very professional and are great gifts. The photo books also prevent the photos from fading or falling out of photo albums. If you sign up for the email alerts, you will always know when they are on special.
​-Contributed by Laura, San Souci, 18th February 2009

​Unique Scrapbook Papers Free of Charge

I enjoy making scrapbooks and go to my local paint/wallpaper store. They save the wallpaper books for me to use so every 6 months or so I call in and pick them up. I cut out each sheet and use them as decorations on different pages or use them as pages themselves. I have also used them to cover a canvas for pictures. This saves money. The more you use them the more you save. This is the first time I have read, hearing about you from my local newspaper.
​-Contributed by Susan, Waynesboro, 15th June 2009

​Unusual Embellishments Make Scrapbooking Affordable

I love scrapbooking my family's photos but unfortunately it can get very expensive. Too easy to splurge on all the latest papers/embellishments and tools to create my masterpieces so I started to look for some alternatives. I've found it's amazing what you can find to recycle and use in your scrapbooking. My children all had wall calendars last year (bought after Christmas when they were 1/2 price) so instead of throwing them when the year was over I went through and cut out the names of the months, any pictures I could use and any quotes listed on the picture pages. My daughter's fairy calendar alone gave me 56 cut outs that I can use. I've also started keeping the cardboard tags off clothes when they're licensed or have an interesting picture on them. e.g each garment has price tags etc but many also have brand name or licensed tags with them. I simply remove them off the plastic fastener and as they already have a hole punched in them they make perfect page accents. For paper, at $1 per page (at least) it can get exxy, but now I keep wrapping paper from any gifts and cut to suit my layout. From recycling, I get a great mix of patterned and plain paper. If I don't have any in the print/colour I want I simply pick up a sheet from the cheap shop for 50cents and this gives me 3-4 pages worth. I'm not sure of exact savings in monetary terms - it really depends on how many layouts are done in a year and how many embellishments are used on the pages. There are so many ways to save money without compromising my passion for scrapbooking and I just wanted to share some of them.
​- Contributed by Deanne, Maudsland, 23rd March 2008

​I Made My Own Rubit Scrubit and Saved!

Approximate $ Savings: $26

As an avid stamper my rubit scrubit (stamp cleaning pad) was getting very tattered and wasn't doing the job. A friends sister-in-law has just joined a stamping party plan, and was keen to show off all her goodies (and maybe book a party or two!). I really loved the stamp cleaning device they had, a swish black case with microfibre cleaning power. But at $30, I thought I could do with my old pad a little longer. Back at home, the brain started ticking over, and I found my tin of watercolour pencils, and emptied them into another container (recycled of course) and when we went shopping purchased 2 cheap microfibre cloths for my tin - I had to trim the cloth to it and glue it to the tin and found instead of being one cloth, it was folded over and hemmed, giving me two cloths for the price of one! As well as a spare! I now have a very effective stamp cleaner, the only compromise is it's a coloured cloth, not a black one, so you can see the ink when it comes off the stamp, but with a saving of $26, I think I can live with that!
​- Contributed by Veronika, Dromedary, 24th February 2008

​Scrapbooking Tips and Money Savers

Approximate $ Savings: $0.50 - $20.00

​ Scrapbooking is an addictive and rewarding hobby, but it has a tendency to be pricey, something I couldn't justify as a single parent. Instead of giving up I started to source my own embellishments and supplies from a wide variety of unusual places. Op Shops have been a gold mine for me - Check their craft section, they usually have a plethora of interesting items. Secondhand Books - It took me a while, but I've warmed to the idea of cutting up worn books with interesting pictures/borders/fonts/etc, they can be found at Op Shops, Garage Sales, Library Sales and sourced from friends and family. Craft Stores - Take advantage of VIP sales, end of season and store damaged stock. Discount Stores - Many of these stores now stock a scrapbooking selection. Finally don't forget to keep your eyes open during everyday travels! Everything from giftwrap to the spare buttons that came with your new shirt can add visual interest to your scrapbooking.
- Contributed by Jessica, Quarry Hill, 29th June 2007

​Scrapbooking Creatively Saves Money

As an avid scrapbooker with two children, I was amazed at the cost of scrapbook stickers and borders. I use gift wrap, cards, go to $2 shops and buy cheap coloured card, print my own photos and even paint borders and things. I use ribbons the children wore in their hair, shells they pick up from the beach, buttons that fell off their favourite clothes or even get them to paint a picture and use it as the backdrop. I also did our wedding album this way keeping the name place cards, confetti, and the ribbon from the car and pressed flowers from the bouquet and centrepieces. For a pet page cut a piece of your pet's fur, use an old collar or name tag, or a piece of their bedding or favourite toy. And it's much more personal too.
​- Contributed by Claire, Brooklyn Park, 27th February 2007

​Craft Tools

Hi, I though I'd share some money saving ideas for all the avid crafters out there. With the scrapbooking craze at the moment, tools can be very expensive. But I've found a way to cut costs. I wanted a heat gun so I could give embossing a go, but to buy a heat gun from craft stores, was going to cost me between $60-$80 for the gun, so my hubby told me to try Bunnings (or any other hardware store), and I did. They were only about $30 for a heat gun (a big saving). But it didn't stop there, I ended up purchasing the tool, from Kmart when they had 20% off tools, which saved me even more. I also wanted a pair of fine-tipped tweezers, and to buy them from the craft store was going to cost $10-$20 a pair. I had a look in the beauty section at Big W and found a pair that would do the job for about $4.50. The last saving I made was for paper storage (you end up acquiring a lot of paper), and again, to buy something to store paper in at the craft store was around $120+, way out of my budget. So again I went to Big W and brought a "Desktopper" (a plastic box that hold suspension files, make sure you get the ones without the lids), and it fits all of my paper in neatly, I can buy more suspension files when needed, it doesn't take up much room (it sits neatly on my desk top - hence the name) and it only cost between $11-$18. I hope this helps other crafters out there.
​- Contributed by Lisa, Nambour, October 13th 2006

​A Warm Fuzzy Feeling Idea

This isn't cheap, but oh so lovely. For our first extended family weekend away (including 7adults & 4 grandchildren) I gave our 3 eldest (7, 7, &3yrs) grandkids a disposable camera each to take photos of this special event. It was such a hit and the photos were great. I spent time with each of them, after I got the photos developed, scrapbooking them in albums for each of them to keep. These have very proudly been shown to everyone and anyone who will look at them. It is something that they and us will treasure.
​- Contributed by Irene, Kincumber, September 29th 2006

​Scrapbooking Bargains

Don't be fooled into thinking you have to pay the prices the scrapbooking shops charge. You can get acid free papers at shops like The Warehouse and Lincraft for just a few cents a sheet, or even in packets for under $5. They also have stamps, stickers, ribbons and other embellishments really cheap. Look at the specialty shops to get ideas and then go to the discount and bargain shops to buy.

​Use Pictures from the Net to Embellish Scrapbooks

I love scrapbooking but it can be expensive. For embellishments I use pictures from clip art or other websites then import them into my digital camera (Kodak) software so then I can print them out at Kmart like photo's and they are acid free. It also makes my scrapbooking more individual.
​- Contributed by Kristy, Tregear, September 16th 2006