Guest post from SK Bell of Nursing, Naps, Nostalgia
Although I’ve only recently called myself a crafter, I’ve been working on a project of some kind for most of my adult life. I’m a long-time MoneySavingMom.com reader and we proudly use a cash envelope system. We recently added a craft fund to our list.
I’ve noticed crafting can be really expensive. The first week, I spent the whole fund on fabric and didn’t get any other supplies I needed. I wasn’t able to work on any projects for the rest of the pay period. That was disappointing since I’ve discovered this outlet is important to me.
I’ve since learned a few tricks to stretching that budget — and I’m sharing them with you today!
1. Price Shop.
I’ve seen Mod Podge at the dollar store. When a local quilting store went out of business, I snatched up three of the most expensive items on my list since their prices had been reduced to less than 50%.
I am signed up for text coupons through Michael’s and JoAnn’s. Those, mail coupons, and coupons at the door/cash wrap will help get you through when you combine with sale prices.
2. Go Used!
My favorite and first stop is the thrift store. I recently paid $.50 for enough fabric for two projects already on my list.
Thrift stores have inexpensive shelves and picture frames for painting and re-purposing, fabric remnants, linens, already-cut sewing patterns, embroidery hoops, yarn, half-full jars of glitter, etc. etc.
3. Research First.
I recently found inspiration from an Instagram account, @DollarTreeCrafts. I often see cute, affordable crafts on other blogs that I’d like to try for myself and save a picture to a folder on my computer.
I am constantly finding free or very inexpensive Pinterest projects (like the wood pallet bookshelves we’re working on for our children’s room and many kid crafts using recycled items!) The library also has a lot of great books (some sewing books even come with patterns on a disc).
If I have an idea of my own in mind, I’ll draw it and brainstorm it, talk to my husband or a friend about it, and see if their fresh perspective might remind me of a less expensive item I can use, a cheaper way to do it, the best place to buy the materials.
4. Take Your Time
This one is easy for me at the moment, since I’m chasing a toddler around all day and rubbing my tired, pregnant belly in the evenings… but there have been times I found myself burning the midnight oil to finish a project I was excited about.
Now, I allow myself a little optional crafting time every day, and then I move on so a project lasts longer. Sometimes taking a break gives me new perspective any ways!
I’m curious… what are your tips for crafting inexpensively?
What have you made recently that fulfilled your crafting need but didn’t break the bank?
SK Bell is a happily married mother who enjoys traveling, crafting, and doing both frugally. She blogs positively about marriage and parenthood at Nursing, Naps, Nostalgia.
Karen M Roth says
I do a lot of crafts when I am feeling better and I have been getting my supplies from eBay.
HoosierMom says
Our Salvation Army thrift store has a bag sale one day a month–stuff two grocery bags for $7. By rolling the items you can pack a lot in. I bought ladies’ clothing for the fabric, but also for the buttons, fancy closures like frog closures, cording and shoulder pads. If you’re really thrifty you can reuse zippers, but those tend to have issues, in my experience. Some dresses had 14 or more pretty or interesting buttons, and new buttons are expensive! The buttons from two outfits usually were worth more than the $7, plus I’d have the other 20 or more outfits packed in the bag to glean from.
I’ve also been using sweaters from after-Christmas sales at thrift stores, purchased for 50 cents each. I’m hoping to make some darling sweater dresses for my one-year-old girlie, and I’ve used them to make baby hats (use the hem, or the sleeve ends if they’re big enough), throw pillow covers, and a winter headband for babykins.
After-holiday or end-of-season sales at dollar stores can also provide cheap craft supplies, if you can see beyond the finished object–winter-themed fleece items, Christmas lights, tacky wreaths or swags (use as a wreath form), plaques to repaint, picture frames, ribbons, greenery, etc.
Jenna says
A couple years ago, my husband bought a two tubs of various fabrics at a yard sale on a day I wasn’t able to go with him. (Had I gone with him, I probably would have talked him out of it, but he came home with two tubs of fabric, really excited that he had found something he was sure I would love.) One of the tubs was upholstery fabric samples and the other was mostly cotton prints. There were only a couple fabrics that I liked and I had no idea what I would ever do with the majority of it (but I didn’t let him know that since he was so excited about getting me the fabric).
Fast-forward to about a month ago, when people at work and at church started planning a couple baby showers for us and I realized I would need 16 hostess gifts… yikes! Because there were so many hostesses between the two showers, I was trying to keep the cost to a minimum and use what I had on hand as much as possible. I knew that I wanted to make a sugar scrub, but I wasn’t sure what to put with it, or how to package it, so I turned to Pinterest and found some cute little diy fabric bins. I was running low on interfacing, which was needed for the bins to be able to stand up, so I thought I’d have to go buy some. But then, I remembered the upholstery samples. Perfect! The fabric had enough body to it that I wouldn’t need interfacing and the size of the samples was just big enough that I could make two outer bins from each sample and line them with various cotton prints from the other tub of fabric my husband had bought for me! Even though I hadn’t liked most of the fabrics, when they were paired up and made into little bins, they were really cute.
I bought some 4-oz canning jars from Target (about $16 for 24 jars). I had looked all over at thrift stores, yard sales, dollar stores, etc. for small jars to use, but I was running out of time and had to just get what I could find. I made a fall-scented sugar scrub using a few drops of essential oils and ingredients from my kitchen (sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon, cloves, etc.) to fill the jars and used a circle of the upholstery fabric on the top of each lid to tie it in with the fabric bin it would go with.
The gifts still felt like they needed one more thing, so I turned to Pinterest again and decided on a semi-homemade soap, using the soap base that you just melt, mix in your colors and scents, and pour into a mold. A lot of the soap tutorials I was reading used silicone soap molds, so I decided to just the silicone cupcake liners that I already had on hand. Then, I looked up the soap base on Amazon: $20. Not good. I read a few more tutorials/recipes and one of them mentioned getting the soap base at Michael’s. I figured there was no way it would be cheaper than Amazon, but I was shocked… the same amount of soap base was under $10 at Michael’s and I could use a coupon for 40% off. Score! With the coupon, I ended up getting some soap colorant and the soap base together for under $10. The scent I added to the soap was the same as what I added to the sugar scrub so that they would go together (and because I had it all on hand already).
I packaged everything up and they were a big hit with the hostesses. (Since the bins were all a little different, I let each hostess pick her favorite.) It ended up costing me about $26 out of pocket to make 16 hostess gifts. I also have 8 canning jars and several bars of soap left over, which I can use for future crafts and stocking stuffers! 🙂
Molly says
I get other people to buy me supplies in exchange for me using the supplies on them. My sister sent me a huge pile of yarn that I’m using to crochet a blanket for her. So I get not only supplies but also a project!
Cindy says
I just posted about this! http://sothecooksaid.blogspot.com/2014/12/decorating-quickly-and-cheaply.html
Heather says
I have recently become addicted to knitting. Then I saw the price of the fancy yarn. To keep cost down I search the thrift stores and found a store in my town that sells yarn at a deep discount. My favorite find was a knitting loom that I found at goodwill for $2. I also use Freecycle. There is always something there.
Jacki says
I take my girls to the senior center gift shop in my hometown. They have a lot of craft material for sale for very little money. It is open to everyone and you can even sell you items on commission. Fabric is very cheap as well as basics like yarn, needles, paint, lace, buttons and embroidery floss. The ladies that volunteer there really love when my young girls come in and tell them what they are making.
Lisa says
One thing I’ve learned over the years…diversification may be good for your stock portfolio but it is a bad idea for crafting. Each new project can take a whole new set of tools and supplies which will add up on you faster than you think. So my tip would be to think about what you already have from previous projects and really research and analyze what it will take to complete and make this new endeavor look good/how you want it. Friends are great resources for this too – sometimes you might be able to find friends that will let you borrow their staple gun as long as you supply the staples, which can take a project from expensive to affordable and totally doable.
Jennifer says
Free cycle and craigslist free section in my area often have posts for free supplies. I take what I want and leave the rest if allowed or bring what I don’t want to goodwill if not.
Moda says
Good to know. Thanks!
Carol says
Many times you can order a generous package of misc. clippings of lace, and edgings for crafts from Wrights…usually you send in 4 labels that you purchase (I go to the discount bins) and $4 then send it in and wait the 4 weeks. I have them on hand for my kids crafts, scout projects, my own things etc. You never know what you’ll get, but its great to have on hand and sparks creativity for a very good cost. Don’t know if you can do this their web site, but you might want to check it out.
Karen M Roth says
This is interesting to note thanks for sharing this 😀 I never thought of it.
Ronni says
I do quite a bit of sewing/mending/crafting/whatever throughout the year, so I’m constantly on the hunt for cheap craft supplies.
My favorite way place for cheap craft supplies is GARAGE SALES! You do have to slowly build up a craft stash and have a place to store stuff for whenever you’ll need it (and you also have some self-restraint to not go overboard!) But I get great, unused craft supplies for pennies on the dollar this way. I especially can find half-used spools of thread, buttons, hooks/eyes, fabric yardage, lace trims, yarn, and sewing needles this way.
I also pay attention to when certain fabrics that I know I use a lot go on ale and stock up. The past 2 years, I’ve bought a bunch of cotton flannel from JoAnns on Black Friday for 75% off. I used cotton flannel for a lot of kid/baby projects, so I make sure I get a good assortment then.
Kimberly says
This week, the money saving app Ibotta added an Arts and Crafts section, including stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby and JoAnns!!
Susan says
Good to know. Thanks!
Diana says
I definitely second the thrift store for fabrics. Especially if you like to sew garments, it’s the cheapest way to find garment fabric. I love buying knits, thermals, or fleeces to make pajama pants and shirts for my littles. And ladies’ dresses often have enough fabric for two or three child garments! Just make sure there aren’t lots of seams that break up the fabric.
Especially since vintage-looking fabric is all the rage, you can snag some really great fabric (in a clothing style no one would probably ever wear again) and reuse it.
Aubrey says
I agree! I often find really cool fabric that I can use for my daugher’s clothes – and if I look in the XL section I can often find things with enough fabric to make something for myself (the benefit of wearing an XS!)
I also sometimes pick up plain T-shirts at JoAnns when they’re on sale. Last week at their Black Friday sale I got some XXL adult shirts for $1.50. Each one has at least enough material to make a pair of knit pants for my daughter, or leggings and a short sleeved shirt, or a simple dress.
Mary Ann says
Another way I’ve saved on crafting is to narrow down the types of crafts I do to one or two instead of dabbling in everything. For example, I discovered that I really enjoy sewing the best so I focus more on those types of projects than scrapbooking, stamps, painting, knitting, crocheting, etc. This cuts down on the supplies needed and I can use many of the same basic supplies for almost everything. I still have a few other supplies for occasional projects that I want to do but as a general rule, choosing to do one or two types of crafts instead of lots of different things has saved me money and space.
If a Hobby Lobby store nearby, use their weekly 40% coupon for supplies. Last year I was able to purchase a rotary cutter, mat and straight edge ruler for 40% off each item. I bought one at a time since their coupons are limited to one item per visit.
Susan says
Mary Ann, Hobby Lobby coupons are available daily. I get one in my email only once a week, and there’s also one in my local Sunday newspaper. But you can also go to their website and print them. The code on the coupon changes every day. So, that’s nine a week. 🙂
Mary Ann says
Yes. Thanks for clarifying. I have the Hobby Lobby app on my I-phone so I just pull it up and present it to the cashier whenever I buy anything there. Super simple!
Heather says
my #1 tip for saving money on crafting is reusing what I already have! Too small sweaters became covers for the decorative pillows on our bed. Too big silk pants became wise men robes for my two toddlers. I save every bit of ribbon that comes into my house on something because they don’t take up space and I need ribbon for most of my projects. And everything becomes toddler toys; empty snack containers are great for punching holes in the lid and pushing pom poms or popsicle sticks through. I don’t horde a bunch of crap just because it “could” become something else, but if I really think it is reusable and I’m just taking it to Goodwill anyway, I’ll chop it up and make it into something else!
And I second the thrift store comment; I made all 4 of us pretty Christmas stockings from a red skirt and red top I found thrifting. They were cheaper than buying stockings or similar fabric from a store.
Cindy says
One of the Christmas items I wanted to make this year was fleece hat and pancho sets for my nieces’ American Girl dolls. I went to the fabric store and bought fleece for $7/yard and then saw fleece throws at several Black Friday sales for $3! There was more than a yard in those throws and in the future I’ll go that route when I want fleece. I think inexpensive throws can also be picked up at places like Big Lots, etc. for less than you can buy it at the fabric store.
Dee Wolters says
Enter your craft projects in the local county fair! And they will pay premiums as well as blue ribbons. I have done this for several years. Here is how it works: enter your craft items in the various categories (hint- get ahold of a catalog early and plan accordingly). Each division will place 1,2,3, and give $ for each place. At the end of the fair you bring home your items and a check. This is really a great idea if you have several fairs close by, so you just box up your items and take to the next fair. At the end of fair season, I give items as gifts or use them. This way I earn money to buy supplies for new projects. Plus if you enter items, you often get a free ticket to the fair.
brandi says
I would add garage sales in the summer time. While they don’t always have craft items, when they do they are dirt cheap because someone is just trying to get rid of their stash. Sometimes estate sales are gold mines for fabric!
Jessica says
Our local artisan co-op has a supplies exchange area. You can take in the crafts you don’t want anymore and pick up supplies you can use. No charge. If you don’t have anything to trade, you name your price for what you choose. The knitting store has a basket of charity yarn. You can take a few skeins and make squares to be put together into afghans for shelters. You can buy gift cards to Michael’s and Joann’s at places like Kroger that offer fuel perks on the gift cards. Right now you get 4x fuel points. So if you get a $25 gift card, you earn 100 fuel points to redeem for $.10 per gallon, up to 30 gallons. Freecycle is another option. My 8 year old and I take ceramics classes at the community center. Getting into it is too pricey for the equipment and supplies to do it at home but the class at our community center is free. We pay a $10 supply fee for the 8 week class. In the 8 weeks, we can make dozens of Christmas ornaments, bowls on the pottery wheel or whatever else strikes our fancy.
Becky says
I think your tips are great, thanks for submitting this article! I use a lot of the same tips you do and try to combine them with planning ahead. Like you, I keep a list of projects I’d like to do and the materials I need. Then, when I see a sale or coupon, I can consult my list and tuck the supplies away for when I finish my current project. Even little savings add up… if I use a 40 or 50% off coupon from Michael’s or JoAnne’s and buy each item individually over the course of a couple months (when I’m already near the store), that means I was able to get all my supplies for the project 40 or 50% off! I also just started cashing in points from Swagbucks and MyPoints for Paypal credit as most online stores now take Paypal. After a lot of saving, I just placed an order for most of the supplies I need to try making lip balm and soap. I’ve been wanting to try both for years and just haven’t been willing to part with the money for supplies! One last idea is to exchange items with crafty friends or family members – especially if you only need a small amount. I know I have partly used packages of things like fiberfill, glass beads, embroidery floss, etc… that I would happily share to save them from buying a whole new package.