More Bang for Your Buck!

A.K.A. all the cool things you can do with less than $20 worth of new stuff!!

With the way the economy has been taking us for a ride lately, it can be tough to buy the new stuff we want and love. But it's easy to buy a handful of fun supplies and make them go a long way and work with what you already have on hand. That way you can still have some fun with the pretty new things that have been arriving daily at your LSS, but you won't break the bank in the process.

So, during my last Saturday shift at Treasured Memories, I took a browse around the store looking for some fun new supplies that I knew could work with a bunch of different themed photos and different colours. And I stumbled upon the new Lime Rickey line from Basic Grey. It is awesome! And bright! And is so my style!!! I picked four patterns from the line (and it was super tough I tell ya!), and then found some bright Prima flowers and new lime green lace, and some awesome yellow American Crafts Thickers letter stickers.

The key here is to pick papers and embellishments that will work with what you have at home. Note: there is one extra sheet of paper in my pile that isn't pictured here. It's from the new Making Memories Just Chillin line, and it's just lined paper with some green doodling on it...see if you can spot it in my layouts down below!

I love bright colours, crazy patterns, and lacy ribbon. I also find that I love using flowers on layouts, even ones of my son, and I am a total collector of all things American Crafts, so Thickers were a natural choice. This small basket worth of stuff might not seem like a lot, but with it I got my "new stuff fix", and I spent less than $20!

I challenge you to put together your own mini shopping spree!

Step One: Look through your more recently completed layouts and be honest with yourself - what colours or types of embellishments do you use most often? What is the predominant fixture in your "collection"? Some people love bling (not me!), but others gravitate towards flowers or die cut shapes. It may be fun to buy that crazy new thing that everyone has, but maybe doesn't suit your style...BUT you might never use it! And then it's a waste of your money, and nobody likes that!

Step Two: Take a trip to your local scrapbook store with a budget in mind. $25 to $30 is a good starting point. Walk around the store once without picking anything up. Once you have made it back to your starting point, think of the paper or embellishment line that really caught your eye. Now go back to it.

Step Three: Grab four different patterned papers from that line. They don't have to match perfectly, as in my case, and if there aren't four different patterns in the same line, mix and match similar patterns from different lines.

Step Four: Find some embellishments that go with the colours found in the paper line. Remember the exercise from Step One and choose a package of embellishments that best fit your taste. Flowers are a great choice, as are tags, die cut shapes, sticker words, or multi packs with a little bit of everything! And don't forget your budget! If you can't choose between a couple of different things, really be tough on yourself and realistic - which one would you use more??

Step Five: Pick out a sticker letter set that goes with your paper and embellishments. When in doubt, pick black, brown or white - neutral colours will go with anything you picked out or have at home.

Step Six: Pick some ribbon that goes with your paper, embellishments and letter stickers. I like to buy ribbon by the yard because you get just enough to add to a couple of pages, but not too much that once you`re sick of it, you`re stuck with another two yards!!

Take your new fun stuff home, grab some photos and get to work!

Extra stuff you might need from home:
- Solid colour cardstock. I personally never use coloured cardstock anymore! Only black, white or kraft. That way I never have to match a colour to the paper I bought, or put completing a layout on hold becuase I don't have the exact right shade of pink to use as my background! When you're at the store, stock up on neutral cardstock.
- Stamps, ink and embossing powder. I used a new Prima background stamp, in a brick pattern to liven up my white background paper. I also used an old stamp of a dumptruck and updated it with some sparkly embossing powder!
- Pens. Doodling and journaling are simple ways to add interest and personality to your pages. And inexpensive! Buy a couple of good pens in a variety of thicknesses, and they'll last you through a lot of layouts.
- Punches. I have two sizes of circle punches, and I always turn to them in a pinch to make the most of my pattern paper.
- Buttons, rhinestones, brads, rhinestone brads, etc. Everybody I know has a tonne of brads and rhinestones in their stash. Pull some out that go with the paper and other embellishments you bought on your mini shopping spree. Chances are you have some that match!
- The only other extra thing I used from my stash were some Hambly transparencies. I keep all of my Hambly scraps! And I had some circles and wood grain in the right colours that I used to add a little extra interest on some of my layouts.

So far I have ELEVEN layouts finished, and lots of supplies left! Here are eight of the ones I've completed so far. For the most part they are super simple, but they get the job done, allow me to add some journaling so I remember the moment, and get through the stack of photos I have from my last vacation!

If you want to see the layouts in person, I have posted them at Treasured Memories on our display wall (right when you walk in). The colours are so vibrant and bright, they make me happy to just look at them!

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But wait, there's more!!

Leave a comment here and you will be entered to WIN my little kit!! WOO HOO!! That's five pattern papers, a set of American Crafts Thickers, a yard of lime green Prima Lace, and a pack of colourful Prima flowers all for FREE, all just for reading this little Blog!

This kit will inspire you to pull out vacation photos, pictures from the lake, the splash park, pictures of your kids splashing in a rain puddle, you name it, and help you bring a little Spring colour into your life after this long winter we're having!

You will have until next Saturday (that's May 2nd...National Scrapbook Day) to leave a comment for your chance to win! HOORAY! I will post the winner's name here...if you sign up to Follow this Blog you'll be the first to find out if that's you!

Happy Creating!

P.S. I have some unclaimed prizes kicking around my house. If you are either Jan or Sharon, you are already a winner! If you haven't claimed your prize by the close of this contest, I will re-award them to the runners up! Sorry, but the Spring Cleaning Bug has hit my house and I just can't stand to see these supplies sitting around not being used!