Thursday, December 2, 2010

Getting the most out of a paper range

Ok, so a beautiful new range comes out and you have to have it all, right? Wrong. I'm going to give you a few tips today to show you how you can really get the most out of a new range without breaking the bank.

Firstly, here's what to not buy:
  • Buttons. This seems like a no brainer, but how many times have you done it! They look so yummy and appealing in those nice colour sorted packs with gorgeous designs on them!! Check your supply at home - i'm sure you'll have lots of buttons already in those colours, and if not, pop along to spotlight. They have these HUGE packs for sale for around the same cost as the scrapbooking button packs and you get litterally hundreds!! They are usually in colour groups and have several different sizes and designs in them. Try a thrift shop too!! To get the lovely designs, try stamping on them in stayz on or rub ons!
  • Chipboard pieces. Don't buy these - buy the stickers instead. It seems old-school to use stickers in scrapbooking, but they are really very versitile. You can mount them on foam dots, spare cardboard or old chipboard pieces. That way you can use the stickers as they come, or alter them as chipboard etc. Plus, the stickers are HEAPS cheaper than the matching chipboard!!
  • Ribbons. Unless they are particularly spectaculr, they will be fairly similar to waht you already have in your stash. Got little words or pickies on them? Could you rub on the words or even the images? Pleated ribbons or altered in anyway like that? Could you do this yourself on your machine with some of your stash ribbons?
  • Stamps. As yourself if these stamps are a good 'investment' or will you only use them with this range? If it's the latter and you still really love them, could you go halves with a friend, or use them quickly and re-sell them on ebay while the range is still fresh? That way it doesn't end up costing you much. If you decide to buy the stamps, you probably won't need much else from the range, especially the rub-ons - use stayz-on ink if you want to go over photos etc.
  • Alphas. Do you already have some this colour/type in your stash? Could you paint/ink/stamp some in your stash to match? Could you use a cuttlebug die-cut alpha set and cut some out of the papers? Could you glitter or distress or gloss some of your existing alpha sets?
  • Brads. If they are just plain brads, you probably have some in your stash - and if you don't, consider buying them cheaper in bulk. If they are the pretty epoxy brads, consider investing in an epoxy brad making kit because you will RARELY use all of the brads from a kit.
  • Flowers and matching floral embelishmetns. Can you make these out of your existing flowers? If you are like me, you have HEAPS of flowers at home and you'll probably find soemthing in the colours/style of the range. Try altering your flowers by adding paint, ink, glitter, stamping, embossing etc.
  • Dimensional stickers. The ordinary stickers can be popped up and glitzed up to make them look just like these!!
So what should i buy?
  • Papers are a must have!!! But, don't fall into the 'i must have every single paper in the range' trap. Instead of grabbing all of the papers and heading straight to the counter, try going through the pile and removing any that you aren't particularly fussed on. Get in the habit of just picking the papers that really grab you and leaving the rest behind. Think about how you can use the papers - how can i make my own embellishments? Is this similar to cardstock? Could i alter cardstock to look like this?
  • Stamps/Rub-ons. As mentioned above, if you are going to buy the stamps, you won't need the rub-ons. Rub-ons can be really versitile as you get the patterns from the range and then you can put them on anything and cut them out, or straight onto your page or something like that!!
  • If you're not sure if you'd use it, don't buy it. This is a really great rule of thumb. Then, if you come to a page and you suddenly think that would go there really good, start thinking if you could make it yourself, and if not, leave the page, purchase the item and then come back to it. 9/10 times, this won't happen!!
Now i'm home with my new range
  • Get in the habit of having a quick flick through your stash when you get home - this will help you identify older papers that have the same patterns/colours/themes. Grab them out and put them with your new range so that they are right there when you go to scrap with your yummy new stuff. This is a great way to use up your stash and make your new stuff go further!!
  • Whenever you finish creating a page with the range, put the whole range back together to use next time. Once you think you are truely 'done' with the range, make cards with the left-overs!! Cards cost about $5 each, and if you can make your own out of your scraps, that's heaps more money to go back into your scrapbooking!!
  • After card making, pass the left-overs on to your kids so they can enjoy your scrap supplies too. If you don't have kids, consider donating to a local day-care center, church or school.
At the end of the day, it's about making the most out of your scrap supplies that you already have - THAT'S what's going to save you money in scrapping.

Don't forget about the giveaway that's on! You have until 15th December to subscribe and make a comment, as per the first post, to go in the draw to win a lovely little pack.

1 comment:

  1. Great advice. Another tip is look through the clearance section. Perhaps there will be something discounted there that you wanted when it was first released but felt it was a bit pricey.

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