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