Pressing Flowers

Great ideas for pressing flowers cheaply for use in scrapbooks. Here's a hint: Got wax paper?

Bingo Cards

Got bingo cards? Want ideas on how to use them? Here are a few.

Metal Garden Markers

Do you garden?

Gardening is a great way to add zip to your scrapbook pages. You can press the flowers and use them as accents on pages, use leaves as edging or to highlight wording, or even take photos of your friends and family. And best of all, gardening is frugal if you do it the right way.

I’ve often struggled with gardening. My grandma had a green thumb but I’ve had difficulty growing things. Still, when I moved into my house I wanted greenery. I knew I needed help.

I had someone who was an old hand at gardening come and help me plant things. The thing is, when she left I didn’t know which flower was which. She tried to leave the plastic sticks in the ground that showed the names, but those didn’t hold up to the elements. They were washed away with the first heavy rain.

That’s why I was glad to find someone that made a garden marker that held up. Metal Garden Markers make these great, heavy-duty markers that won’t end up in your lawn upon the first windstorm. They stay put. Their plant stakes are made of a 13-gauge galvanized steel wire and specially treated zinc sheeting for durability against the elements. Best of all, each plant label is reusable. You can write on them again and again so they’re worth the money.

Exhibit Scrapbook Page

When you and your family attend an event, try and use as much of the tickets, programs, and photos you can to create your page. On a recent trip to an art museum, my family and I attended a comic book exhibit. We enjoyed it immensely, so I decided to make a page so we'd remember the day.

The program they issued for the exhibit was filled with great art in and of itself, so I tore that apart and used the cover and some of the comics on my page. I also pasted in our tickets along with a picture of us.

The effect really calls up the entire day. I didn't do any journaling on the page because the tickets and program really told the whole story. I think the tickets are an especially interesting thing to use, because one day you'll look back and see how much you spend for admission and what time you went, etc.

So this page only cost the price of developing the picture (approximately 20 cents) along with the paper (another 15 cents). Since we used the program and tickets we purchased anyway to attend the exhibit, it didn't cost anything additional to use them for scrapbooking.

Gallery Event Page

As I've said previously, scrapbooks today are largely focused on photos, but I like to include all kinds of things as the center of my scrapbook page. Sometimes we just have a great time somewhere and I want to commemorate it. I don't have a photo, or I don't have a photo that would lend itself to the day. That's when I use other things that will help me remember the time we spent.

A good example of this is when we attended a local event not too long ago. The event was a "gallery night" where to go from gallery to gallery, look at the beautiful artwork and crafts, sip wine, and browse the quaint shops. It's a great way to get ideas for your own artwork or paper crafts.

Throughout the night we collected postcards, programs, and calling cards from the various places we shopped and the artists we favored. Afterwards, I took the pieces and assembled them into a scrapbook page.

Now whenever we look at this page, we're immediately drawn back to that day and the great time we had.

Scrapbook with Homemade Cards

I don't know about you, but every once in a while I get really cool homemade cards from people. My aunt makes gorgeous cards, but I even get them once in a while from people I barely know.

And I hate to throw them out.

That was the case a while back on 4th of July. I rec'd this card and thought it would help make a nice scrapbook piece.

So I placed it on a page along with a photo and some journaling notes on how we spent our 4th.

Remember that when you scrapbook on the cheap, don't forget to look for other opportunities to make your page come to life. You don't have to attend a scrapbook party or go to a high-priced store to get your supplies. They can come from anywhere.

King Lear Scrapbook Page

I see a lot of scrapbook pages using pictures (usually with kids) and that's great, but remember that sometimes a program or other momento from your event can be just as effective in creating a scrapbook page.

To that end, my hubby and I went to see a local theater company's production of King Lear not too long ago. We loved it, and I wanted to create a page so we'd remember the performance. I used the program and took some quotes from the play (can't go wrong when Shakespeare is your writer!) and printed them out on buff colored cardstock paper. Then, to make it look aged, I burned the edges slightly.

The effect is a lovely page, done for hardly any money. I wrote a few thoughts about the evening on the red pieces of paper shown.

$5 Scrapbooks

Good deal at Big Lots:

I found this scrapbook at Big Lots recently for only $5. As you know, this in and of itself is a deal, but this scrapbook was extra cool with its funky latch and dual page opening system.

Free Scrapbook Stuff on Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

How about some free Valentine's Day page ideas?

Love You For All Time
This one comes from Michael's and shows directions for a card. But as frugal scrapbookers know, it can easily be converted to a scrapbook page. Put your thrifty hat in gear when making this one. Instead of the stamped "numbers," use stickers or draw them on yourself. This entire project can be made with construction or kraft paper. See what you have around the house.

Valentine Cards Page

Valentine's Day card are so cute, why not use them as part of your craft page? This idea from Plaid can be easily made with wax paper instead of velum. Or, leave the top layer off and just include the cards.

Digital Scrapbook Layouts

Like to do the digital thing when it comes to scrapbooking? Here are some free layouts to download this month.

Valentine's Quotes

Words are just important as images when it comes to scrapbook pages. Here are some free quotes relating to Valentine's Day.

Scrapbooks of Old

My grandma used to have an old scrapbook that I found facinating. It was falling apart, the pictures weren't even stuck in the book anymore, but here and there you'd find a page with a simple picture and a note granny had written about the day.

I thought it was charming.

It reminds me that we can get so caught up in buying pages and embellishments today, that we might forget how scrapbooking started. It simply started as a way to preserve memories and events. It didn't need to be overinvolved, it simply needed to convey a mood or feeling or happening that took place.

The Stack

I first noticed The Stack a couple years ago, and have found it to be a great way to obtain paper for scrapbooking and other paper projects. I even used scrapbooking paper from The Stack for my Christmas "to/from" labels this year.

The thing is I like about it first is the cost. Granted, you need to watch for it to go on sale, which it does often at JoAnn Fabrics. For example, currently The Stack 5 is on sale right now for just $9.99.

That price includes 180 sheets (12 x 12). That works out to about 18 cents a page. They often coordinate, so if you want to layer you can do it cheaply. Save the pages you don't immediately use because I guarantee you at some point in the future you will. They have cute themes that highlight sports, holidays, glittered pages, fantasy, and special themes.

Printing Photos Inexpensively

How do you get your photos developed?

I remember in the old days, I would take pictures which would cost me quite a few bucks for the film, then get them developed for like $6, and then if you wanted doubles of some, that was always a special order for more.

Today, with digital cameras, it's very easy to take exactly the photo you want, have certain photos enlarged or duplicated, and print them in different sizes with the ease of your computer printer.

But you know what? Sometimes printing photos yourself costs more ink than if you've had them developed? I often use Walgreens for my digital photo orders, not only because it's incredibly easy but because it's also very cheap. The prints are inexpensive, you can easily indicate various duplications and sizing, and with the Internet you can send them online and then just pick them up at the store.

Every once in a while, they also send you a couple coupons for free reprints. Free is good! I recently got a free 8x10 reprint from them, and this week got this coupon:

This package is a heck of a deal. (1) 8x10, (2) 5x7's, and (4) 4x6's, which they state is a $4.99 value for free. The catch is you had to order them and pick them up Thursday, Friday, or Saturday and pick them up the same day. Not too hard to do. And I got this deal emailed to me simply because I had used their services before. It pays to watch to things like this.

Buying Only What You Need

I caught a post today that related to holding yourself back at the craft store. I can relate.

In addition to scrapbooking, I also do also hobbies like painting and crochet. And for painting especially, I used to be obsessed with having fresh canvases on hand. I would buy them everytime I thought they were cheap, however, sometimes I didn't have time to paint and they just sat for a while collecting dust. That's not inspiring or smart.

Part of scrapbooking on the cheap is simply to buy only what you need. All too often we can get sucked into buying things just because they're inexpensive. But if we don't have a use for them, they take up space and become worthless.

Scrapbook Kits

I don't often recommend buying scrapbook kits, because I think they are overly expensive and they are too "matchy." You know? I like to be creative and not have a page created for me, and too often the hobby of scrapbooking means buying costly pieces and following a "template" that is not at all unique or creative.

Every once in a while, though, scrapbook kits go on sale somewhere and it's worth buying for the pieces alone. I came across just such a deal recently at Michael's.

These kits were on sale for $9, marked down from $29.99. They say they include 1200 pieces, which means they are actually counting each tiny embellishment individually. That's fine with me. The kit includes the book, paper, and many usually expensive items like chipboard letters and thread. Heck, the book along can go for $25 not including anything else.

If you're going to use a deal like this (and you should!) remember to take the pieces and break them up into your scrapbook supply, so your pages remain unique and you're not following the color scheme from the company. However, if you're stumped for a template or design, they even show examples in the kit as well.

Junk Mail as Craft Supply?

I loved this post about finding cheap craft supplies for kid's projects. It came at just the right time because I just got a piece of junkmail that might look nice on a scrapbook page.

Remember that when you scrapbook on the cheap, part of the fun is finding unique elements that will not only be creative but cost effective. Once you begin to look at the world that way, your ideas will come from seemingly everywhere. Even junk mail!

Against Scrapbooking?

A slightly cranky view about scrapbooking, but I was surprised when I actually agreed. The best scrapbooking pages come with the "flaws" and the details of life. They make the best subject matter. Keep that in mind when putting yours together.

Another Benefit to Scrapbooking

Well scrapbooking can do a lot of things, but I never thought it would help with weight loss. But, in this case, it has.

Good for her!

Scrapbook Fonts That Don't Cost a Cent

Looking for free scrapbooking fonts? There are some great ones here. Best of all, they show the latest ones on the main page so if you go to the site often, you'll get to see the new arrivals.

Doily Envelopes

Came across this doily envelope project on another blog, and had to point it out to you. Be sure to click over to get directions. In addition, the sight has many other Valentine's craft ideas to make.

I think the doily heart is a nice way to (inexpensively!) place a private note or other memento on your scrapbook page. Paper doilies can be found at stores like Walgreens, Walmart, or even the Dollar Store.

Target Buy of the Week

If you're ever in Target, you'll notice they have some clearance items in a small section near the front of the store. Items in this section vary, from overstock items to kids stuff to just plain "who'd ever use this?" type junk.

But....

They also have scrapbook stuff once in a while. Cheap.

This week, I picked up some self-adhesive metal charms for Valentine's Day. Sure, they're red and shaped like hearts, but you could also use them for a regular page, rather than one with a Valentine's theme.

The greatest part? They're only $1.