Think It's Impossible To Take Up Scrapbooking On A Budget?

Scrapbooking can be so expensive! But that doesn’t mean you can’t take up scrapbooking or make beautiful projects on a budget! I’m a stay-at-home-mom with two young children, so I understand the need to make every dollar stretch. Make your dollars go further with these thrifty scrapbooking tips!



• Plan ahead! Know what you need before you shop. Want to see my list of what I consider to be “essential” scrapbooking supplies? Click here. If you aren’t going to use something immediately (with the exception of paper!), I would recommend not getting it. While it’s nice to have things on hand, just in case, it’s better to save your money – and storage space – for what you can use now.

• Look for supplies in other departments of the craft store. Special scrapbooking elements can be costly! With a little creativity, bargains can be had outside of the scrapbooking department. Check out this page for some of my wallet-friendly embellishment ideas.

• Get the most out of every piece of paper. You may have splurged on some absolutely gorgeous paper – why hide it in a photo mat or behind pictures? If you are matting a larger picture, you can cut out the center and create a frame that you either use on top of your photo, or underneath to mat it. Nobody will see the underside of your picture and you’ll have that much more of your precious paper to use elsewhere.

• Set up as many elements as possible on one sheet of paper. I do a lot of computer embossing on vellum (which is not cheap paper), so I try to plan ahead and get several layout’s worth of embellishments on each sheet. If I just don’t have enough, I set up my project to print out on a half sheet of paper. This has really helped me cut down on waste and then I have elements lined up and ready to go when I need them, instead of having to stop and print all the time.

• Use your scraps! There’s a reason it’s called scrapbooking! Make those pretty papers go further. Not sure where to start? Click here for some great ways to use up those leftovers.

• Go digital! Assuming you have a computer and printer, digital scrapbooking can save you lots of money on supplies. Free and low-cost photo editing and digital design software is now available online, along with countless sites offering digital papers, kits, and embellishments.

• Use a digital camera. Since you don’t have to buy film, you’ll save tons of money, and you can get fantastic photos from many of today’s entry-level models! How many envelopes of pictures do you have sitting around filled with not-so-great photos that you’re never going to use - you know, like chopped off heads, closed eyes, and seriously goofy expressions? Being able to preview your pictures means you don’t have to keep paying for (or storing) those questionable photos.

• Organize crops. If you have friends or family members close by that like to scrap, have a “crop” where everyone pools their supplies. Not only will you be saving on materials, but you can swap out some of the stuff that’s been hanging around.

• Use the internet. You can get tons of free templates, printables, layouts, ideas, clipart and more on the internet, just like you’re doing right now :)

Scrapbooking doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg – being a frugal scrapper just means that sometimes you have to get a little creative with your supplies. It’s not necessary to have the latest and greatest tools and embellishments to make beautiful pages and layouts. So try out some of these ideas and see what you can create!

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