Beads, Pearls & Charms: Beads

As someone whose hobby is handmade crafts, particularly scrapbooks, I’ve learned firsthand how expensive art supply stores can be. This should give you some good ideas for ways to save on art supplies while still maintaining your creative edge.

• That huge magazine stack that’s been collecting under your bed can be used in many ways. A technique I love is to cut out different sized and colored letters and make sayings or quotes. A simple way to get a cool retro feel is to cut out letters from the cover page, different ads, and article titles.

For incorporating into collages, scrapbooks, or any other visual project using cute pictures and graphic designs you can also look through old magazines. The pages from fashion spreads as the wallpaper for my scrapbooks, which I like. These universally possess strong themes, with hardly any (or no) writing. Unwanted writing can easily be covered with a picture or other design.

B: A really good idea when scrap-booking is to use Search Engines to find graphics. When starting a scrapbook you can search online for ideas and themes such as "It’s a Girl" or "Baby Girl" By doing a little searching and looking around I was able to find materials to use and saved a lot.

Using a search engine’s images page can help you find terms that you need for a project that you are working on. You will be able to utilize much of the information in your plans, there will be a lot of data available just print it out and go from there. Because some graphics may be copyrighted, it’s a good idea to use anything that you find for personal purposes only. This should not be an issue at all if they are employed only for your own personal crafts.

The lack of a printer should not stop you as they are readily available for your use at your local library or school for a small fee. Finding graphics by using alternative sources is much less expensive than getting decals and stickers from hobby shops or art supply stores.

If you are running a bit low on glue, it’s a little-known fact that you can make some yourself! While working on your project, decide how much glue is necessary and mix flour and water in equal measures. Once you’ve reached the consistency of a paste, you can quit mixing it up.

You should use the glue immediately after you finish making it because if you leave it out, it will become moldy. This item is very well suited for paper projects; remember to leave it out to dry completely after use.

You can always add glitter to glue and then apply it like paint to decorate things.

4. Homemade Modeling Clay- Some type of modeling clay is quite often a necessary ingredient in many of the unique and interesting crafts available today. The ingredients that you’ve probably already got can make it right in your kitchen instead of splurging on the stuff at the store. You just need to use a cup of water, a couple of tablespoons of cream of tarter, one tablespoon of oil, and half a cup of salt. After mixing every ingredient in a large pan, cook lightly for approximately 3 minutes. Let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you plan to use it. The clay will dry up. So make sure the container is air tight.

E: Be observant with your surroundings and you will find a vast assortment of materials. Everything has a use, and you can make masks with scissors and crayons or markers or use a large pizza box for a collage, decorating it with dried, painted pieces of pasta you glue on.

When you’re crafting, look around the house using not only your eyes, but your imagination. The options are endless!

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