Scrapbookers

closapio

Anyone into scrapbooking? Is there any way to do it without spending tons of money? I'd like to make one for my sister who is expecting, but we are kinda strapped for cash right now (kinda is being nice). Where do you find deals on paper/stickers? Are there good websites that you use for inspiration?

Jen748

It isn't exactly the same but what about making a photo book through shutterfly or blurb.com? I believe they both have design themes you can use for the backgrounds. Or you could try your hand at digi scrapping and make a photo book that way.

I have no advice on paper scrapping...I gave it up b/c it was too time consuming and too money consuming!!
 

Mrs.Webster

I'm a scrapbooker and I did a digi album for our wedding pictures.

The real expensive part of scrapbooking is when you buy all the gadgets and do-dads. It's not the paper and stickers.

I get all of my supplies from Joanns, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby. I just wait until the have good sales. If you look in the Sunday paper or sometimes on their websites they will have coupons and ads.

Archiver's is also a really good place to get things you can't get elsewhere. I get coupons emailed to me occasionally if you'd like them.
 

I look at www.creatingkeepsakes.com a lot for inspiration and they also have a message board if you want to know how to do something. I'm not very good but I enjoy the creativity.

 

pennyandandy

Ditto mrs.webster...I just wait for the 40 or 50% off sales at Hobby Lobby. Joann's will have good clearance stuff a lot of the time. There are plenty of places to get good ideas, I don't have any in particular, just usually google scrap booking and you will get a million websites.

Also, something I've found that helps save some money on not buying so many embellishments and stickers is using stamps in my scrapbooking. They add cute decorations and you can use them over and over.

Mrs.Webster

Oh, yeah! Stamps are awesome. And you can emboss them, glitter them, or flock them if you want a more 3-d look.

 

I also make some cards too so I like that I can use them for both purposes. 

kerip

I tend to wait to buy things until Michaels or Hobby Lobby have big sales, and then I get a whole lot of things at once. I definitely spend more money on this than I need to though!

emoflamingo

There's a really cool website to do digital scrapbooking I found on D&R called scrapblog.com. They have all sorts of things to put on there, it seems really neat.

I try to pick up paper and other things on sale at Hobby Lobby, they usually do them often enough I can catch a sale once in awhile.?

E&D07

Like the other girls said, there is always a sale at the craft stores. Your basics are going to be good scissors (Target usu has the Cutter Bee ones for a good price), adhesive, a couple of nice markers/pens and paper. I think you can also make a cute scrapbook without adding a lot of embellishments. For example, if you make a little page title by hand or on the computer and then put it on a little border (scrap card stock is great for this!), it can take up space on the page and draw attention without having to buy extra stickers for every page. I haven't done too many scrapbooks yet, but when I make cards I also save on embellishments by using rubber stamps or printing out clip art onto cardstock.

You might also check around the stores in your area, either the chains or the little scrapbook stores, to see if they have crop nights. You pay a small fee (it looks like Archiver's charges $15 but you get some free stuff & food) and you can bring in your pages & use all their tools - paper cutters, punches, etc., without having to buy them yourself.
 

(Side note- while I was on Archiver's website, I saw they're already offering holiday card classes! It's August! I'm not ready to think about Christmas yet!)