Stamping on a Budget - Week 4: Shopping

Good morning!
Welcome to another edition of Stamping on a Budget. Today I'm going to share some ideas with you on shopping. Though you may already know some of these tips, it can be a good reminder from time to time. Enjoy!

Craft Store Coupons
Be wise when using these. Unless you live next door to the store, is it really worth saving a few bucks? Most companies offer coupons just to get you into their stores. Don’t get sucked in! Unless you really need something like adhesive, don’t go! You could end up spending an hour in there, spending hundreds of dollars, and only saving $5 on your one item. The same goes for gift cards. You probably have enough supplies at home to create your project. Review your inventory before you leave the house.

Dollar Stores
Though some items may not be the quality you’re looking for, they may have some nice punches, papers, stickers, and adhesive available for your projects.

Thrift Stores
Old books can be used for backgrounds on cards. Pictures in books, or just plain text pages can create an interesting look.

Get it FREE
Save some money before you buy those colourful stamping magazines. Check out Splitcoaststampers online for ideas instead of spending your hard-earned money on a magazine with limited ideas. Splitcoast is filled with ideas for projects, layouts, and techniques and it's all free!

Instead of purchasing a die cut, check out what's online first. You can print out some templates, cut them out and trace them onto an old cereal box back to ensure it can be used again and again. Some die cut templates I've found online are;

http://www.imag-e-nation.com/free_printables.htm
http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/templates.htm

Print your own sentiments on the computer using a word processor, or keep an alphabet stamp set on hand to create your own sentiments. You'll get just the sentiment you were looking for without spending extra money on a stamp. Chances are, you would have only used that sentiment a few times anyway.

Google "card sentiment ideas". There are tons of phrases and printable sentiments online. Tons!



















Organize a swap
Do you ever tire of the images you have on hand but don’t have money to purchase new stamps? Organize a swap with your stamping friends. It doesn't need to be large, just a couple of stamping friends will do. Check out this link for more details on how to go about organizing one. It can be a lot of fun!
http://stamping.thefuntimesguide.com/2009/09/stamp_swap.php












Prepare
If you’re like me and you’re somewhat impulsive and spontaneous, you probably won’t even think ahead about exactly what you need, what you’ll be using your coupon for, or what your budget is. Think of it like a grocery list and stick to it.

Heads Up!
Shops are designed so that there’s always something around to catch your eye. If you plan on only going in to purchase adhesive, save a few bucks and look up. Of course, watch where you’re walking but try to focused more on what’s above the shelves and walls. Typically you’ll see only boring steel beams and those beams will save you lots of moolah.

When shopping online walk away from the computer and come back later to see if you're still interested in purchasing the items you've placed in your cart. I've saved hundreds from doing this.

Excitement















We can get pretty excited about the idea of finding new treasures when shopping, but it can cost us big bucks. Try and think ahead to how you might feel after shopping. Will you feel shopper’s guilt? Will your purchase be used within a few days, or just sit in the corner in its bag?

Think
Keep asking yourself, “Do I really need it?”

What to buy
Try to stick to only basic coloured inks; brown, red, black, yellow, and blue. These can go a long way and be used on just about all of your projects. Instead of buying different coloured embossing powders, use the different inks you have on hand to stamp an image, and use a clear embossing powder to achieve the same effect. Lastly, choose stamps that can be used on cards for several different occasions.

Hope you enjoyed this weeks edition of Stamping on a Budget. Please leave comments below if you have any cost saving tips to share.

Rebecca

Meet Antoinette!

It's been a long week! My son is finally out of school for the holidays too. He's thrilled, but how do I keep him busy next week? We're going to meet with friends after church Sunday to play laser tag with the kids. Hopefully we'll get enough snow to go tobagganing next week too.

Remember that Kraftin' Kimmie card I showed you the other day? Well here's a card I made with the second stamp I purchased. Her name is Antoinette.



















My card is based on this week's sketch (#47) on Inspirational Card Sketches . Supplies used are as follows;
Copic markers; Y21, Y26, E00, E02, W3, C2, R29, B0000, E33, E37, and Copic At You Spica Clear Glitter pen
Paper: SU Whisper White, SU Black, SU So Saffron, SU Real Red, Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly, Cosmo Cricket Early Bird
Ribbon: unknown
Stamps: All are Krafin' Kimmie
Buttons: SU So Saffron

After a job interview the other day I just happened to be within a few kilometres of the same store I purchased these stamps at. So what do you think happened? I bought two more of course! They were about $8-$10 each. Don't tell my hubby!!

I'll post another card showing off the other two stamps soon. What do you think? Isn't she just so wonderfully whimsical?! I love her!

Happy Friday!

Rebecca

BLOG HOP!

Are you ready for another Creative Clear Stamps Blog Hop?!

I am so excited and this time EVERYONE can join and share their Creative Vision using their favourite Creative Clear Stamps. Be sure to stop by the Design Team members blogs: Jennie, Linda, Shelly, Lisa, Laura, as well as the very creative and talented Olga, Patti, and Theresa.

Laura will also be giving away a new release to one lucky commenter from one of the blog comments, so be sure leave a comment at each stop. You just never know whose blog will be picked! You can look for the announcement of the winner over on the Creative Clear Stamps Blog: A Fairy Creative Place.
















I made this card using stamps from my favourite holiday set, Let it Snow. I just love the sentiments that go along with it! I tried to make this card as clean and simply as I could. LOL!

Happy hopping!

Rebecca

Kraftin' Kimmie

Have you noticed these stamps yet? They're Kraftin' Kimmie stamps and I just love them! They're so fun, cute and whimsical. I found some for sale at my local scrapbook shop and picked up two. I'm pretty sure they'll become a quick obsession. Here's a card I made with one of the stamps. Her name is Clara.





















Tell me what you think. Do you love her?

Rebecca

BLOG HOP THURSDAY!

Creative Clear Stamps is having another Blog Hop that can feature YOU and your Creative Vision! Our current Design Team Jennie, Linda, Shelly, Lisa and Rebecca will be sharing with you a project created using their favorite CCS set.

We also want YOU to participate by creating a project using YOUR favorite Creative Clear Stamp set. We are all going to link them together over on the Creative Clear Stamps Blog and that is not all..... Each customer that participates using CCS stamps will receive ONE of the brand new releases coming out in January. It is just Creative Clear Stamp's way of saying THANK YOU for helping us grow!

Here's what you should do:

1. Create a brand new project FEATURING ANY stamp from our line of Creative Clear Stamps. This project should not include stamps from any other stamp company.

2. Email Laura creative-vision@hotmail.com and let her know you will be joining the hop. Include a link to your main blog. Also include your full name and mailing address - so Laura can send you your FREE new Release in January. All links must be given to Laura no later than December 16th.

3. On the 17th, make sure your CCS Blog Hop project remains in the top position for the day on your blog.

Doing these three things will qualify you to receive ONE Free New Release. Laura, owner of CCS, reserves the right to disqualify any project or blog hop link that does not follow the guidelines of this special offer.

Our customers are the best and we appreciate you. So mark your calendar's for December 17th and hope you can hop along to a free stamp set soon!

Rebecca

It's what's inside that counts...

G'day!

A few weeks ago, a very wise man expressed to me that we should be complimenting others by mentioning their kindness and strengths rather than what they look like on the inside (ie. your hair looks great, or I love your blouse!). Comments on the inner self are much more memorable too, don't you think?

Anyway, to remind me of this I've used one of my favourite stamps from CCS, a sentiment reading, "I admire your strength and courage" on a card.
















This phrase is great for a few different occassions. It's a great stamp to have on hand. It's a nice sympathy gesture for sure, or it can just be an encouraging word for a close friend. What would you use it for? Do you have someone in mind that could use a message such as this?

Rebecca

Club Anya Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to be part of another Club Anya blog hop! The new Anya stamps are just SO adorable! Check out Club Anya to see what I mean. Blog hop deets are there too so you can hop along.

Here's a card I made using an older Anya stamp. It's an oldie, but a goodie. ;)

I used flower soft for her jacket trim, scarf, ear muffs, and boots. The following copic markers were used to colour this very sweet Anya image;

Hair: Y21, Y26; Scarf: B12, G28, Y06, R11, R22; Jacket: R11, R22; Boots: R22

What do you think? Hope you had a great weekend!

Rebecca

Stamping on a Budget - Week 3: RRR

REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE!

Hello and welcome to The Paper Bug's third edition of Stamping on a Budget. This week we're looking at ways of saving money as well as the environment. Listed are a few ways of finding materials for stamping around your home. A good place to start is in your blue bin.

Cereal Boxes
You can use the cardboard used to make cereal boxes for all kinds of things. Here are a few;
-stamp on the unprinted side and mount on your card
-make bookmarks
-tags
-use a piece in an envelope to help deter bending when mailing out your cards
-use as a stamping mat

Scrap paper
Different sized pieces of scrap paper are great for making;
-tags
-quilt pattern cards
-small note cards
-chocolate nugget wrappers

Envelopes
Inquire at your local card shop or pharmacy about what they do with the extra envelopes from their greeting cards. Sometimes if you ask, they’ll place them aside for you, or if you’re really lucky, a card company representative, though our mortal enemy, may have some out of season colours they can give you. My mother used to have a local pharmacy keep a bunch in a box for her. She used them for contest entries. Who cares about the colour or the size? It just makes them a little more unique.

Use Natural Stuff
This can be a lot of fun. Take a look outside. See if you can find twigs, birch bark, feathers, shells, flower petals, or leaves. Only use the items that fall from trees naturally. Oh, and that means birds too. ;)

Other stuff around the house;
Wrapping Paper, old calendars, junk mail and postage stamps can be colourful and themed. It’s easy to keep scraps of wrapping paper for birthday and Christmas cards. Calendars are great for background scenes on your cards, and using punches on some reclaimed stuff around the house might be fun too!

Tune in again next Monday for some more cost saving stamping tips. If you have any clever ideas on stamping on a budget just leave a comment below.

Have a great day!

Rebecca

Gabby's Challenge

Gabby is this month's guest designer at The Greeting Farm and she's come up with a really fun colour combo for this week's Farm Fresh Friday challenge. Here are the colours we're to use for our cards/projects;

Since Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze are Stampin' Up's "IN" colours from last year, I don't have them on hand. Alternatively we're able to use similar colours if we need to so I used Old Olive and Bashful Blue.

I really love these colours together and have been enjoying this challenge quite a bit. Here are a few cards I've made for this challenge;

What do you think?

Hope you have a great day!

Rebecca

Spreading Holiday Cheer!

Today I'd like to share a make-your-own-gift idea that your recipients will love. Check out this little tag box.

You can whip up these boxes fairly quickly for last minute gift ideas for teachers, co-workers, bus drivers, dog walkers, basically anyone you can think of! The stamp I used is from the Let it Snow set from Creative Clear Stamps. It's the perfect sentiment and size for this project. Not only that, but it's super quick to embellish your project with this stamp. No colouring in images. I like that!

Check out this link for details on how to make these boxes.

Now what to fill it with.....? I'm filling mine up with chocolates, but I guess you could also use cookies or handmade soap. Any ideas you may have are welcome!

Have fun!

Rebecca

Friday Sketchers & TGF Colour Challenge

Happy Friday!

I just came across a really amazing blog called Friday Sketchers. They have some really awesome card sketches each week to try out. This weeks sketch is by the woman who runs the blog, Beatrix. I love the sketch! I can't wait to go back and check out all the other sketches and play around with some of them. Fun!





For this weeks sketch I made this card:























I used a sweet little stamp from The Greeting Farm. What do you think?

Over at the farm's blog they also have a colour challenge this week. Check out the blog to see what the colours are and what prizes are up for grabs. Hope you play along!

Rebecca