Crafting on a Budget: affordable

Showing posts with label affordable. Show all posts

Thursday, July 1, 2024

Making A Plan For A Make-it Christmas

2020 was something else. As the pandemic raged on, I decided to make most of the gifts I was going to give for Christmas. It was a well recieved idea. I did some sewing, and some 3D printing, and I was able to give some thougtful, handmade gifts. I started printing the 3D projects in September, because I knew they would take a long time to make. I printed lithophane lightboxes for all the younger grandkids, and a couple for some adults. I also sewed the younger grandkids a set of pajamas, or a gown.

This year, I want to continue what I hope will become a yearly tradition, and again have a Make-it Christmas. So, now is the time to start planning what a Make-it Christmas will look like. My first step is to take inventory of all that I have and utilize as much of it as I can. This is also a good time to stock up on items that aren't in high demand, like flannel and fleece. For 3D printing, knowing how much filament you might need for your projects could save you time and money now. Starting in October, the demand for lithophanes will become very high, and good quality, white filament will be hard to source.

A lot of paper crafters start making their Christmas cards now and several of the more popular SVG sites will put out a bundle for them. As of this writing, there are 177 days until Christmas. That's 25 weeks or 6 months. For those of us who are chronic procrastinators, this seems like an eternity. But, as one who usually falls short on a dozen different projects I was going to get done for Christmas, that isn't enough time!

What's my plan? I'm going to make out my gift list, (get the link here) and start planning what I want to give to each person. Then I'm going to plan to make one gift each week for the next 25 weeks. That should give me plenty of time to find all the supplies I already purchased, but don't remember where I put them. I might even have time to actually make a few cards this year! Wish me luck! I'll make a blog post each time I complete a Christmas gift. (but I won't be able to post picture) Hopefully, this won't be the last post! 🤣

Tuesday, May 11, 2024

Spring Is Here

These lovely birdhouses are just a couple of the many 3d svg designs you'll find at Dreaming Tree. With a few fun touches, like little birds and moss from the Dollar Tree and even a few of the silk flowers they have, you can have a beautiful gift for a friend or neighbor, or put a touch of sping in your home decor.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Crazy about HTV!

I've been very busy with little people this last year and a half. But now that they are getting older and can entertain themselves for little bits of time, I find more crafting time. I completed bunnies for Easter that I cut out last year but didn't have time to put together. I was even able to cut a couple more for new babies.

This has been a very busy file for me. I think I can safely say I've made more that 50 of these cute little guys!

But more recently, I've been hearing the call of vinyl. It is a medium I have really wanted to learn more about. I had ordered some heat transfer vinyl a couple of months ago, but didn't have the courage to try it. I then decided I needed a heat press and so I bought myself a 15 x 15 clamshell from eBay. Man, does it make this vinyl more fun to do! I've tried my hands at a couple of projects, both with HTV and adhesive. I've used the adhesive before, but with some improvements on the ecal 2 software, I think my projects are looking even better. Here are the ones I've done over this last week.

This was my first htv project. I cut the vinyl too deep and had to piece it all together on the shirt. Not really the result I wanted, but a lesson learned.

I bought a bunch of these glass cutting boards/trivets at the Dollar Tree over a year ago, with the intent to etch or put vinyl on them for gifts. I finally got a couple done along with my Dollar Tree tumblers and yes, these are Dollar Tree mugs. I'll give these away in a drawing for our neighborhood work day this Saturday.

I tried my hand again at a different style Star Wars day shirt. I had better results, by not cutting all the way thru the htv. I think I need to work on sizing now.

Now when I go to Wal-Mart, I'm on the look out for cheap apparel to add htv too. I thought a unicorn was just what this little summer romper needed. I'm getting better!

My last project today was inspired by some clearance fabric I found at Wal-mart. I watched a tutorial on Cuttin Corners vinyl on applying heat bond ultra to fabric to make it like htv. I then made a shadow cutout in black vinyl to edge it. My placement was a little off. I'm going to need better lighting by my heat press. But I do love the look. Now to see how long it will actually last!

Be sure to check out Betsy at Cuttin Corners vinyl, or the folks at Expression vinyl for great tutorials and ideas for using vinyl.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, February 26, 2016

Cut Once and Craft for a Week.

With the addition of two grandchildren, my crafting time has been drastically reduced. I get an hour here and there to put a small project together, but not the real craft time I desire. In a effort to get more projects done, I decided to borrow an idea from some busy mom blogs. "Cook once, eat all week." So this week, I am cutting once to craft all week!

(previous years projects)

The Bunny Hop kit by SVG Cuts from a few years ago, has one of my favorite projects for Easter. I love the Bunny box! I made all the grandkids one several years ago, but with new family members, everyone is getting a new bunny. I have papers picked and I'm cutting out 8 bunnies to put together this week. It's the setup process that takes me the longest. Although this project is easy to pick paper for, cutting and weeding still take a while to do. It seems I can be in my craftroom, unbothered, for several hours on Friday nights! I have two more bunnies to cut out, so I shall get back to it!

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Crafting On A Budget-Dollar Tree Pre-Christmas Haul 11-4-2014

Hello Everyone.

I went to my local Dollar Tree today to stock up on essentials (face tissue, paper towels, baggies, bread). I always cruise the other isles, because you just never know. Today I made some fabulous finds, both for crafting and for gift giving! Here they are!

On the counter are, Skylanders fun tape, burlap ribbon, laser tap, some adorable compacts, a sweet Disney pen and pad set, and Christmas ribbon!

They were stocking some really nice looking pics and floral things too! I had to stop myself!

I love finding the compacts. They go inside the Luxury Handbags from SVG Cuts nicely for a little extra special something. These will be great for the younger gals.

I hunted at both Hobby Lobby and Michaels last week for Christmas ribbon for the Classic Christmas Advent Calendar from SVG Cuts. I was only able to find the 2" wide ribbon or the 3/8" wide. The ribbon I found at Dollar Tree was 5/8", which fits around the calendar better. The 3/8" ribbon works, but the thicker ribbon helps hide any little imperfections.

Not as many choices, but I'm not unhappy about the selection.

I'm also expecting a case of the plastic tumblers to personalize with some vinyl that I have been ignoring for a year! Can't wait! This is going to be a craf-tabulous Christmas for me!

Be sure to check out my Facebook page and "like" it. I have a monthly give away.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Crafting on a Budget, and Making It Look Great!

This was a fun project to make. It takes a lot of paper, but it's super cute and fun to have out for Halloween. But a project like this can really exhaust your crafting resources. and put a crimp in your craft budget. I'm going to share a couple of tricks I used to help keep this beauty below budget.

1. Use tissue paper instead of Velum. Velum can cost over a dollar per sheet. I can get an entire package of tissue paper at the Dollar Tree, for just a dollar! I can't cut it on my machine, but it's not hard to hand cut the pieces.

2. If your decorative panels are of a heavy, sturdy card stock, use lighter cheaper paper for the base. It won't have the sturdiness you would get from a project made of all AC card stock, but no ones going to be living in it. However, if the decorative panels are of a cute paper, and not card stock, don't scrimp. (On the roof I used a sturdy purple card stock and some cute Halloween paper I bought a couple of years ago at Michaels.)

3. Skip additional embellishments. This house has so much fabulous detail, it doesn't need any embellishment. On the trim pieces I just inked and embossed.

4. Mary at SVG Cuts, put a lot of thought into this project and included lining for the interior to finish if off nicely. That's a wonderful touch, but I saved myself four pieces of paper by leaving them off.

5. Don't go cheap on glue. It is what holds your project together. I like the quick drying glue from 3M. Even though they changed the bottle and perhaps the formula, I still haven't found any I like better. It doesn't make the paper wet like some glue does. It doesn't require much to get the job done. And once it's set, it is set! (I buy it at Micheal's with a 40% off coupon)

6. I buy most of my "holiday" papers after the holiday, when it's being cleared out. So, yes, a lot of the projects I make are with last season's paper, or even several years ago. But who really knows or cares. I can get more bang for my buck by shopping clearance sales!

I realize that my tips will not change the course of crafting, but perhaps it will help a few of my fellow crafters enjoy more affordable crafting. If you have a money saving tip, why not share?

Thanks for reading and craft happy!

Friday, August 22, 2014

Giving something back better than you received it!

One of my grandsons was receiving tutoring over the summer, and the teacher sent a deck of vocab game cards home with us for further practice. She asked us to return them when school started, so I thought it would be nice to dress them up a little and add a few tokens of appreciation. I have been wanting to make the backpack from SVG Cuts Back to the Books kit, so I thought this would be a great way to tackle two issues. 1. Returning the cards in better condition than we received them, and 2. Making the backpack.

I put the cards and a couple of note pads, and sticker sheets into this little darling and sent it off with my grandson this morning. I'm sure she loved it!

As a side note:

I used 2 12x12 sheets of AC solid color card stock for the back pack. One sheet of DCWV premium stack called The Grade School stack. The pocket on front was made from scraps. The dot sheet from the Grade School stack, and the main pocket piece was from Making Memories Dilly Dally collection. The button and letters are from Doodlebug Designs and the twine was from the bargain bin at Michael s. I did ink the edges of the pocket and the panel. I think I got is cut and assembled in about an hour. Super easy. Super cute!

To keep my crafting costs down, I buy all of my paper stacks when they are on sale for 40-50% off. I try not to buy online unless I'm getting free shipping. I use to find great deals at Oh My Crafts, but they have gone out of business. I now find a lot of great deals at JoAnn.com. That is where I buy my AC card stock when it's half off. And right now...

10% off your total purchase + Free Shipping w/ $60 purchase*. Code DBLUP235

Thank you for stopping by. Please visit my Facebook page and give me a like!

All projects are cut using the Sizzix eclips version 1.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Make Mom's day special without breaking the bank!

We like to pay tribute to our moms for all the things they have done for us, but sometimes our budgets limit what we can do. What do you do when there's no money in the bank? Show her how much you care with something hand made. But don't be mislead. Handmade items can get very pricey too! If you decided to make something that you have none of the supplies for, you could end up spending more than you intended. It's important to look around at what you have and design your gift around that. I've listed some ideas to get you started...

1. A photo album with pictures she hasn't seen!

Don't have an album laying around? Pictures are all digital and in the computer? Using a computer

program like Word or Openoffice, spend a little time laying out a few pictures per page and add

some journal entries and some fun clip art and you have a nice photo album for mom. The front and

back covers can be made with some card stock, construction paper, or even cereal boxes when needed. Cover them with some pretty gift wrap you have or contact paper if you have some.

This was made using Microsoft Word, pictures I had on my computer from a zoo outing and stickers I got from the Dollar Tree.

2. A nice bouquet of flowers from your garden. Don't have a garden? Buy a few bushes of artificial flowers

at the Dollar Tree and arrange them in a vase you already have or even a fun drinking glass or mug she

she can use.

This was made using a cup from the Dollar Tree and some flowers, ribbon and tissue paper I already had.

3. Dinner for a week. Don't worry, I don't mean you're going to take her out to eat all week. When you

cook a meal, try to make a little more to feed one more person and then package that meal up for mom in a freezable container. This is especially nice for moms who live alone. Put them in the freezer and then

give them to her in a nice box or gift bag, or decorate a brown grocery bag. This one will require some

advance planning so you have the meals ready by mother's day!

4. Buy or make a card for mom and include an invitation for a special day with just you and mom. It can be

for a day at the park, a nice lunch, or taking mom on errands or shopping. Whatever you like to do with

mom or something that she needs. The possibilities are endless!

5. Does mom need something done around the house? Maybe the flower garden needs to be weeded, or a

a small repair needs to be done. Go over on Mother's day and do it. If the project is a little bigger than

you can do alone, get your siblings to help. Doing this type of project for our moms can mean more to

them than you know. They might not ask for your help because they know your busy, so doing it without

being asked is a gift beyond measure!

I hope you find these ideas useful or that they give you the inspiration to come up with something really special for your mom this year, without taking out the credit cards! Share you plans for making Mother's day special. I'd love to hear them!

Thanks for reading!

Papercre8tions

Crafting on a Budget