Cute crafting on a budget!

My name is Anna and I have a serious crafting/projecting/sewing/decorating obsession. But of course, like most of you, I have to keep my crafting budget within certain bounds. I blog about crafts, technology, girly things, design, recipes, and anything else that strikes my fancy over at "A Million Little Things." You should come visit sometime, I'd love it.

Forgive the length of this post, but like I said, I craft a lot and like to do it as cheaply as possible. I've tried to use bullet points and bold to make it skimmable.

Here are 5 Simple Ways to Be Crafty While Saving Money:

1. Borrow, borrow, borrow.

• I have been sewing for several years but did not own my own machine until a few weeks ago. Before that I always borrowed my friend Helena's or my mom's or a sister-in-law's.
  
• Having crafting buddies actually is really helpful for this---why do you need 6 pairs of special scrapbooking scissors when you can borrow your friends' when you get together? Plus crafting together is more fun.

Tip 2. Use what you already have

• When Joe and I got our moving van stolen a lot of friends donated clothes to me (bless you all). Some of them fit, some did not. Some were my style, some were not. But the point is that I had A LOT of jeans. And I'd always wanted to make a denim quilt so I set to work cutting up those jeans into squares. Cost of this project so far: $0. I'll buy some thread & maybe a heavy duty needle, but other than that I'm set (the fabric backing is going to be some drapes I bought at Big Lots then decided I didn't love and need to use). In searching for an image of denim quilts I found this one, which I totally love and now think I must cut my squares into smaller strips...what do you guys think?

• In this same vein--inherit fabric/supplies. My mom has given me fabric for projects & so did my step-grandma. They both are big seamstresses and anyone knows that a woman who sews a lot accumulates fabric like there's no tomorrow (my mom always jokes that 'she with the most fabric when she dies, wins'). So I have gotten free fabric that way.
• Plan projects based on scraps you have around the house (i.e. "oh great, this will be able to use the interfacing I have left from that bag!)
  

Tip 3. Be creative about where you shop for supplies
A few weeks ago I hit the crafting jackpot at a yard sale. A lot of people try to sell crafting supplies. They get really eager about a hobby, only to find they don't make time for it, or bought too much, etc...

Their loss is your gain. Hit yard sales, thrift stores, or the KSL Classifieds. For example:

• If I were more into paper crafting right now (instead of sewing) I would totally buy a used Cricut---I found one (sold already) on KSL for $85.00---retail price $199 and on sale at Joanns right now for $129.

• One woman is selling a whole lot of scrapbooking supplies for $40, here.

• There's actually an arts & crafts section of the classifieds, jump to that section right here.

Just be careful when dealing with classifieds that you test items to make sure they are in working condition and you do a little research to make sure the price you are getting really is a good deal. And remember, you can always try to bargain

Also, Walmart actually has an excellent craft supply section and I shop there quite often. They have cheap fabrics of decent quality, very cheap notions (buttons, needles, thread, zippers, bias tape), and tools. And I could not be happier about the fact that Martha Stewart has a craft tool/project line there. So you can get items like a rotary cutter or paper punches there.
Also, I've been seeing her project kits on sale a lot lately---like these beautiful pink pom poms that I would totally hang in a nursery if i had a little girl.
When at Walmart be sure to look for a sale aisle (lots of red tags) and also check the remnant bin in the sewing section.

Also search online when you are ready to make big purchases. Joanns.com has great deals online that aren't available in stores & if you are buying enough it can make it worth it with shipping. Amazon.com also has crafting supplies and if you order over $25 amazon always has free shipping.

Tip 4. Buy in bulk/Watch for Sales/Use Coupons
Just like these principles are taught for getting great deals on food, the same is true of crafts.

• Memorial Day weekend there was an amazing sale at Joanns. I am making a quiet book (for my future kids to use at church) and knew I would be needing lots of snaps, felt, and fat quarters (quilting fabric) so I went to town---I bought things on sale & also used a coupon in ad. True I spent a good chunk of change that day---but I also saved about as much as I spent (50% savings!)

• Buy in bulk, with a friend. When Helena and I decided to sew our own cloth diapers (talk about a craft that saves you money in the long run!) we bought our fabric together in bulk. We saved on shipping and on the price since we could buy it in bulk.
  

• There aren't really manufacturer's coupons for crafting supplies (that I've seen at least), but store coupons abound--and some stores take competitor coupons so check on that too.

• Joanns almost always has a 40% off coupon floating around (one item, not on sale)---I get them in my newspaper ad frequently. Also, Join mailing lists (snail mail and email lists) for your favorite craft stores/fabric shops--they send out coupons regularly, but you usually cannot pick up the mailer at customer service to get the coupon (at least at Joanns)

• If shopping online always search for coupon codes, often they'll have them listed on the site itself (buy over $___ and get free shipping, just enter this code at checkout--type thing).

• Do you love the idea of photobooks? Photobooks can be very economical (when you add up the cost of all those scrapbooking embellishments and compare to the cost of a photobook it's very comparable and possibly cheaper). Plus photobooks are thinner and look better on a shelf/coffee table than fat 3 ring binders. I love to use the website blurb.com and they sometimes have coupon codes. Also Shutterly.com has coupon codes regularly AND when you buy several photo books at a time you also get a discount (you don't have to print all three at the same time, you just pay up front and print as you finish them up) .
  

Tip 5. Have hobbies that use cheap supplies
If you aren't obsessed with felt yet, maybe you should be. Seriously, there are so many cute felt crafts out there and it is super super cheap. A good price on felt is like $4 a yard on the big huge bolts at Joann's or if you buy it by the sheet---anything under $0.20 a sheet is good. (Make sure you always look at the acrylic felt, wool felt is much pricier)

If I had young children I would totally get down on the felt food bandwagon and buy the kids an Ikea kitchen (available in the U.S. later this year for about $100) for Christmas
and stock it with felt food. There is an amazing felt food tutorial here, but search all over etsy and google blog search and you'll find a ton of felt food that can inspire you. So much better than that little plastic food. And fun to make too! Here's a screenshot of some etsy felt food goodness.
I also made this reusable felt garland to hang at birthdays around our house (this is a double money saver--cost hardly anything to make & you never have to buy crepe paper again). It's super long & I really love it.

Other crafts/hobbies that can be fairly cheap: knitting, crocheting, sewing (if you buy cheap fabric--walmart has $1 fabrics), card making.

If you made it to the end of this post you must really love to craft. Me too! I'd love any of your money saving tips (or craft ideas!!) so leave a comment.