In the next few days or weeks I am going to post ideas on how to save money and be creative using what you have. I'm sure I am like you when it comes to wanting all the new gadgets out there but cant afford them all. I recently have seen tons of posts on the scallop punch from StampinUp. I spend so much money on scrapbooking/crafting stuff, that I watch what I buy very carefully, and if I can get an alternative cheaper I will. I found EK success nesting punches at my local, I bought a 2 inch scallop with a 40% off coupon and love it!! The quality of the punch is really good for heavy textured cardstock. I had bought the squeeze fiskars scallop but had a hard time punching through textured cardstock so I returned it. The EK success punch scallop is also prettier shape too.
The newest hotest markers are Copics. I dont do enough stamping/coloring to justify the $8.50ea price tag!! OUCH I have a local art store called Pearls in my area. It is the largest art supply store I have ever seen!! They sell a marker called Touch by Shinhan Art. I pick them up for about $2.75ea on sale. I love them, hopefully they will last a while. The color selection isnt extremely wide but I use the pale colors that you cant get with regular markers like the warm grey and cool grey for highlighting. I also use the pale pink, brown and blue for baby colors. I also buy sharpies, and recently Bic has come out with a pack of 24 markers. The quality of store bought markers is suprisingly good.
The next thing is scrapbook paper. I love Die Cuts with A View paper packs at Jo-Anns. You get an entire pack of paper on sale for $10. The quality is beautiful!! Sometimes at Jo-Anns they have a paper sale, you can buy individual colors for 5/$1 and sometimes even 6/$1. The great thing about this is if you do a lot of stamping, just stock up on the textured white paper and use markers to color them. I have just recently found that the markers may or may not color solidly, depending on how heavy you color, but the good thing is this adds to the shading of the stamped image naturally. You can go back over it again with the marker to darken around the edges.
The newest hotest markers are Copics. I dont do enough stamping/coloring to justify the $8.50ea price tag!! OUCH I have a local art store called Pearls in my area. It is the largest art supply store I have ever seen!! They sell a marker called Touch by Shinhan Art. I pick them up for about $2.75ea on sale. I love them, hopefully they will last a while. The color selection isnt extremely wide but I use the pale colors that you cant get with regular markers like the warm grey and cool grey for highlighting. I also use the pale pink, brown and blue for baby colors. I also buy sharpies, and recently Bic has come out with a pack of 24 markers. The quality of store bought markers is suprisingly good.
The next thing is scrapbook paper. I love Die Cuts with A View paper packs at Jo-Anns. You get an entire pack of paper on sale for $10. The quality is beautiful!! Sometimes at Jo-Anns they have a paper sale, you can buy individual colors for 5/$1 and sometimes even 6/$1. The great thing about this is if you do a lot of stamping, just stock up on the textured white paper and use markers to color them. I have just recently found that the markers may or may not color solidly, depending on how heavy you color, but the good thing is this adds to the shading of the stamped image naturally. You can go back over it again with the marker to darken around the edges.
I also make my own needle punch block like the Chic Stand with multiple layers glued together of Fun Foam. About 8 layers thick.
A way for you to make your own stamps with xyron sticker paper is to take it out of the holder and tape down the paper to a table and stick your stickers on the paper without wasting any space or tape. Than use the plastic sheet with your hands to tack it down to the gluey part, smooth it down tight, than peel off. Tada!!
If you have any money saving ideas, please email or post.
I am going to post some pictures of things I decorated with a combination of pencils, Touch markers, Bic markers, and sharpies. Dont be afraid to use all of what you have.
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