Holiday: Halloween

I am well aware that purchasing supplies from local art stores is not cheap, since I love scrap-booking and doing other craft work myself. You can save money on supplies, create unique projects by using the same methods which I have collected together.

1. You have a lot of different options for making use of the growing pile of periodicals that you have been routinely stashing below your mattress. Cutting out different sized and colored letters and making sayings or quotes is a technique I love. When cutting out letters, consider taking them from article headers, advertisement copy, and even the cover page and combining them for a hip, yet nostalgic, effect.

If you have any old magazines laying around you may find ideas or pictures and graphic designs to make a collage or scrapbook. I also like to use the pages from fashion spreads as background pages for my scrapbooks. These universally possess strong themes, with hardly any (or no) writing. Unwanted writing can easily be covered with a picture or other design.

• A good thing to do is to use an internet search to find ideas for your scrapbook. For example, when I started my daughter’s scrapbook, I searched Google images for terms like "baby girl", "it’s a girl", and etc. By using alternative sources, I found a good many appropriate things and saved money as well.

Just search on different search engines images tool for terms related to the project you’re doing. You can get plenty of ideas and materials to use if you print them out. Since some may have copyright on these graphics for personal purposes suggested by me for you. Till they are used within your crafts which are personal, that will not be a problem.

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. Buying stickers and designs from art supply stores is costlier.

• Don’t worry if you don’t have any glue on hand you can always make some. Based on the amount of glue required, combine equal parts flour plus water. Mix it up until it turns into a pasty substance.

This type of glue will go moldy if let out and unused and so you should be used right after you make it. 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 your paint or glue for an added touch.

Many cool crafts call for some type of modeling clay; don’t be afraid to make your own at home! Rather than spending a lot of money for store supplies, you probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen that you can make stuff with. The ingredients include: 1 cup flour; 1 tablespoon oil; 2 tablespoons cream of tartar; 1/2 cup salt; 1 cup water. Cook gently for around 3 minutes after mixing all the ingredients in a large pan. Let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you plan to use it. Clay will dry out if you fail to seal the container tightly.

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.

Using your imagination as well as eyes and look around your house, when you are crafting. The options you get will be infinite.

You will find some wonderful specials on barely used and new Holiday: Halloween: