Thrifty Crafting

I grew up with a thrifty Mom, so I come by my cheap -err- thriftiness naturally. We were taught how to save money on everything, cut corners, reuse, shop sales and clearance, you name it! As a kid, I despised it, I swore when I grew up I wouldn't be cheap. But as I grew up and had to spend my own, hard earned money, I realized that I worked hard for my money, so why would I not want to stretch it as far as I could? I'm a big couponer, I shop sales, our clothes are second hand, or straight off the clearance rack. Our budget is tight, but I make it work.

Even my craftiness is fueled by my desire to save money. When I see something cute, that is fairly simple to make, I think, "why would I pay for that when I can make it for half the price!?" My first craft project, as an adult, was making my own Boppy-style pillow. It was only a half success, but that opened the door for crafts galore.

When my daughter started growing hair, those little alligator clip hair bows became popular, being the thrifter that I am, I made her one in every color. I even made hundreds more and sold them at a local consignment store to recoup the cost of the supplies, and when those costs were recouped... I bought the kids clothes at the consignment store. For several years those bows kept my kids clothed!

So, after years of being thrifty and a crafter, I've come up with a list of hints to craft on a budget!

1. Know your prices. After spending some time in craft stores you start to know what prices are for the items you buy often. Don't be fooled by "sale" prices that aren't really deals. Also pay attention to price/yard. Sometimes, what seems like a good price for ribbon, may just be short, overpriced ribbon on a big spool.

2. Shop around. Before I go shopping I take a quick look online and see what I can find an item for online, I always consider the price of shipping as part of the price. Then I head to stores and try to beat that price. If there are several craft stores in your area, check out prices at all of them. As much as I dislike Walmart, they have a fairly good craft section, and they usually have better prices than some of the bigger craft stores.

3. Use COUPONS! Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Jo Ann's all offer coupons on a regular basis, all 3 stores have apps for your smart phone, they also email and mail out coupons and offer coupons on their website. I never find myself lacking for coupons. Michael's and Jo Ann's will both accept competitors coupons, Hobby Lobby does not. Also, get familiar with each retailers coupon policy. For all stores, % off a single item coupons can not be used on sale or clearance items. Jo Ann's will allow you to use more than one coupon per transaction and they will also allow you to use a % off one item with a % off entire order. For this reason, among many others, Jo Ann's is my favorite, and my go-to store for most of my crafting needs.

Coupon Policies:
Micheal's
Jo Ann's
Hobby Lobby

4. Stock up when the price is right. If you find fabric for dirt cheap, but don't have a project for it: Buy it! If you are buying supplies for an project and you find a super deal, stock up! I don't know how many projects I've been able to complete without a trip to the store because I've stocked my craft room, slowly, over the past few years.

Also get familiar with the remnant/end of bolt bin at your craft store. When they come to the end of a bolt, if there is less than a yard left, they offer whats left at a super discount. Also if there is less than a yard left when they are cutting your material, ask them if you can buy it as a remnant.

5. Organize. Stocking up does you no good if you aren't organized. If you can't find the supplies you have stocked up, then they will be useless. I am lucky enough to have a designated craft space. I call it my craft room, but really it's just a corner of the basement that has been partitioned off, just for me. I have lots of shelves, bins, baskets, containers, labels etc.... I try hard to stay organized, but I often have several crafts going on at once and I find myself in the middle of a mess, searching for one specific item.

If you don't have a designated space for crafting, buy a few big plastic bins, keep your supplies organized in there. I spent several years crafting like this. Whenever I had the urge to craft I would pull the bins out and everything would be in one spot, right at my fingertips.

6. Save your scraps. I have a scrap drawer. Anything over 5" X 5" or something similar in measurement gets put in there. I find they come in handy a lot.

7. Up-cycle. I save old clothes, towels, sheets, t shirts, knits, button down dress shirts, etc. If they have minor flaws that make them unwearable or unusable there is still a lot of valuable material that can be used for other projects. There are a lot of good tutorials online for ways to up-cycle old clothes.

8. Use the internet. Do extensive internet searches for every project. Even if you don't find exactly what you are looking for, you'll find several different ideas to help you come up with the most efficient method for your project. Most of my projects are a combination of several different online ideas.

Those are my tips! If you have any to add feel free to leave a comment below!