Scrapbooking on a Budget???

Do you have a walgreens near you? If so sign up for there emails. I get them all the time. They often have 10cent prints. I only buy my pictures when I can get them for 10cents a print. The last time I went to walgreens I had a few coupons and register rewards. I ended up paying like 17 bucks for about 450 pictures!!! Yes that was a REALLY good deal! Becareful what you use because every thing needs to be acid free in order to preserve the photos. I shop at joann fabrics or michaels after each season and buy all the clearance. I also always check the craft section at walmart and target. Remember it doesn't have to be in the "scrapbook" section to be used. I buy out of the kids section a lot. Go to goodwill or any consignment store and get some games, I've seen scrabble peices used in SO many ways in a scrapbook. Bingo chips too. Buy books of the paper instead of loose paper its MUCH cheaper. Some little things to remember: *When at the park taking pics... grab a leaf they look great in scrapbooks *At a resturant ... grab a matchbook or some thing that has the resturants name on it. *Keep ticket stubs *Get post cards ... they are really cheap and can really dress up a book. *Pick up flat shells at the beach. *Keep an inch by inch square of different wrapping paper from holidays, birthdays. Hope these things help!!

I have used several things....like small barretts that I bought for my granddaughter and she didn't like them.....colored paper clips I had in my desk drawer.....and those magnetic refrig pads....someone gave me one with snowmen on it and I just cut the snowmen out.....also have cut and used patterens off wrapping paper.

Yes it's a great idea to do scrapbooking on a budget. after all, that's how scrapbooking started. art combined with archiving memories with scraps found around the house. recently it seems to have morphed into this crazy expensive hobby. and all the manufacturers coming up with fancy schmancy stuff that is seriously overpriced. i totally agree with going back to basics. and rediscovering the true meaning of scrapbooking and keeping memories for the next generation without bankrupting oneself in the process. the only thing I'd caution on is to use acid free glue tape on the photos so that they won't discolour.

I love to use cards & envelopes for matting my pictures. You can buy some spray @ Hobby Lobby that takes the acid out of paper so you can use it to scrapbook. I love to use the cards though cause they make such pretty mats. I like to use Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Permanent Markers for my journaling. They write really good & thin so they work great for me. I also like to use those colored paper clips some & also colored safety pins. I use those foams stickers some. I get alot of my scrapbooking from a place we have called Dirt Cheap & most of their stuff comes from Target & Kohls. Target is great place to get scrapbooking stuff. They have a whole line that usually is sold by the seasons with all matching coordinates for $1.00. That is a lot of what I get but I get it at Dirt Cheap. I got about 100 items there in the past week for my kids for Christmas for scrapbooking & I paid 5 for $1 for them. That is a very good deal & they have great stuff like the acrylic stamps in small packs, paper, mats, tags made for journaling, & all kinds of stuff that is very pretty & cute for scrapbooking. I love to scrapbook. I also get a lot of my paper @ Hobby Lobby. I never pay full price for anything there unless it is clearance. I always wait for the sales because they run everything 50% off a lot. A real good thing you can do is to make your own mats if you have any scrap paper left that is big enough to use to make them. It can be ones that are 4 1/4 by 6 1/4 or you can go 4 1/2 by 6 1/2. I use buttons on my scrapbook pages. I also use ribbon. I also have a Cricut which to me cuts down on cost. I print a lot of stuff out & decorate it with glitter or make it look 3D by added pop up squares. If you try you can make stuff that looks as good if not better than the ones that sell for $4-$5 a pack. Hope some of this helps you in some way. I am trying real hard to think but can not think of much more @ the moment. When I think of something else I will comment and share 8)

I too am a scrapbooker. However, I use a completely different medium with you. I digitally scrapbook, and I've been doing it for nearly three years. This has been great for my budget because it is so close to free to do. The only thing that I have to invest in it is the cost of the program which is about 60 dollars. Then, I can use all of my digital pictures. I don't run out of medium over and over because you can use a digital kit infinitely many times. When I've got enough pages for a book I have them printed from one of the online printers and I wait until they have a sale.

I do alot of altered scrapbook projects, so Im always on the lookout for things :) I never see anything for what it actually is, I look at it and say oooo what can I do with this. The Dollar Tree is a great store for me to get things for altered art.

i find that often you can get a lot of stuff at dollar stores and sometimes thrift stores. i pretty much use anything from old jewellry to buttons to stuff from the hardware store. being able to see things in a new light really helps.

I'm really into scrapbooking, especially frugal scrapping. It's real easy to get caught up in the commercialism and buy more than what you need or things that you don't really need. If you really have to buy something like adhesive or a paper cutter, then get the 40% off coupon from the newspaper for Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I make it a point to only buy one thing at a time. I used to work for Michaels and they count on you coming in to use the coupon and then thinking while you're there that you'll buy something on sale and then some other things at full price. Full price is way over priced so I make sure I only buy something at a craft store for at least 40 percent off if possible.