Bargain Scrappers WANTED!!

You've seen the Princess', Thread Killers, and others. NOW IT'S OUR TURN!! This thread will be dedicated to those of us who really stretch the $$ on scrapbook supplies.
Here's a few things to post on this thread:
innovative sb ideas
unusual items to use for scrapbooking
common household items used for LO's
good deals or ways to stretch your sb dollar!

IF YOU THINK YOU qualify to become a BARGAIN SCRAPPER, then post why you think you are as well as any tips or ideas that you have! WELCOME and let the ideas begin:)

i don't know if i qualify, but i look forward to reading the tips and ideas!

Im afraid Im too much of amn impulse buyer when it comes to my scrapping stuff.. if I LOVE it.. I gotta have it. But, you sure do need to have NedaTn on here.. she is the ultimate bargain shopper! Good luck and Im gonna be checking back for some great tips.

Thanks BJ. LOL Yup I love to bargain shop. Coupons are my life as far as scrappin goes. Also finding stuff on sale. Watching those sales flyers. I always check clearance sections too. Unless I need to use something instantly then I always try to wait till a sale or use a coupon. It helps to have a joanns, ac moore and michaels as well at the scrapbook Superstore and outlet and my LSS.

Annetta

I should be a bargin shopper because I get my supplies at reduced cost and use them for multiple crafts thus getting the most service for my momey.

Here are some of my tips from a previous thread
-shop online/compare prices for the best prices
-make use of discount clubs
-buy commonly used items like ribbon at non-hobby stores
-don't buy the latest and greatest, the price will go down when the newness wears off
-ask about products, look at threads on what's great and what's not so hat you don't buy things you do not wind up using
-buy items that have multiple uses
-make a list when you go shopping and stick to it
-watch for the 3Cs - Coupons, Clearance, and Closeouts

I'll also add
-trades are a great way to get something different while exchanging something you do not use as much
-swaps are a great way to exchange a large amount of one item for a variety of other items
-the internet is a great resource for finding bargins but you need to do your research
-always consider shipping charges when buying online

I would love to be a bargin shopper! I think I am for the most point. I definitely watch the sale flyers and check clearance areas at the stores.

Thanks for posting this thread. I will be checking back to read more tips! If I think of any, I will for sure share them!

ME ME ME PICK ME!! I am a bargain shopper. I use my michals coupons, and never pay full price for big ticket items (anything over $5). I always check the clearance sections first. I know what prices are, and comparison shop all the time.. I have a limited sb budget, so I am very careful about what I buy.. I recieved $150 for Christmas for sbing, and I still have a little over $50. (does that qualify?) I do a lot of what Kathyy said.. it really saves me money.

I am a bargain shopper. I will be posting here!! Great thread idea!

OK - here's a bargain idea. I bought Christmas ornaments that are frames to use on LO's. I bought them at 90% off! I also get charms by buying children's jewelry & hair accessories at deep discounts. You can get some really cute embellishments that way.

I shop a lot at office supply stores. They have a lot of sb stuff whether they know it or not. You would be suprised to see how much you can buy at an office max that you would spend a fortune for at Michael's. My favorite adhesive is Mono Adhesive. I have found a really cheap place to buy it so if anyone would like it please pm me and I will give you the information.

Michaels 40% off coupon
Pick a monthly budget and STICK TO IT--you'll only get what you really "need" that way
Watch for sales

I don't always bargin shop on Scrappin stuff. BUT, I know what I want and I almost always only buy what I need. I'm just not a compulsive buyer. More than once I have traded scrappin stuff for baby clothes, or clothes for myself. And I am NOT afraid of other people's castoffs! Be it scrappin or otherwise! It always helps!

I buy layout specific. I take my photos with me to check against pp to see what goes well, sometimes a green is just a green but it's not the RIGHT green:)

I try to stay away from Michaels. Their prices are absolutely ridiculous compared to other stores, WalMart, Joannes, etc. I never browse at Michaels. If I have searched for what I need and cannot find it, and my only option is MIchaels, I will try to find another way. I don't think having coupons out there to just bring your prices down to normal is fair. Kind of my own little protest lol.

I have not tried it, but I have heard that you can use your Michaels coupons at other stores, like Joannes, AC Moore, etc. Not your LSS, but other craft stores. All yuo have to do it ask.

I will be on here for sure, adding to favorites now.

I always search walmart, dollar tree, garage sales, flea markets, etc.
Since I do not have a LSS near by.

~ Tasha

I want to join! I am a reformed scrapbook spender. I learned my lesson last fall, and now I'm on a new road of bargain shopping only! I love what Kathyy said about "the 3Cs - Coupons, Clearance, and Closeouts "! ALWAYS!!!

I am a bargain shopper because I shop at the Goodwill and thriftstores for scrapbook and other craft items! I love treasure hunting. Much more fun than going and getting the most "perfect" thing...I like the altered book look myself.

my tip: Shop eBay for auctions with mis-spelled words. Like " Sizziz" or some other well known brand name that the seller accidently mis-types. When people search for "Sizzix", they will never find it and thus the auction price is much lower than it would be otherwise!

I'm definitely a bargain scrapper. I never pay full price especially at my LSS. Michael's coupons on Sunday otherwise I don't buy things there. Garage sales, ebay, online store coupons/clearance, swaps. Household stuff, extra buttons from shirts/blouses, fishing line/hooks (I stole from hubby's fishing tackle junk), pony tail holder embellishments - just take them off of the rubber band part and instant embellishment. When I do buy I tend to buy in bulk - Bazzill cardstock especially! Used my daughters old clothing, and ribbons. Leftover craft stuff from my wedding (ribbon, paint, flowers, fabric, lace, etc)

Great tip Jenny Elaine about the ebay thing... I do that!

And the craft stores do honor their competator's prices in the sales ad and coupon. So if Ac Moore is having a huge sale why not avoid the crowd and get it a Michaels or Joannes or the Rag shop!

Another great way is to YARDSALE! People are always discarding good stuff cheaply! I get everything that way! My stamp collection is from yardsales and I bought like 50 good wooden backed stamps for $5! I am pretty sure they are close to my heart brand too. (or someother homeshow stamp - can't remember at the moment.)

Although I am a thrifty shopper , I still buy a lot of stuff full price...only if it is a gotta have! So I don't know if I completly qualify....

I always do the coupon thing...I do find Michaels to be more expensive, but if you know your prices, I choose a fair priced item to use my coupon on.....or I use AC Moore coupons at Michaels, vice versa...or I know the 2 prior mentioned accept JoAnns. I am also a teacher, and have the ACMoore Teacher card - extra 10% off everything, and Michaels will honor it on reg. priced stuff.
I lucked out 2-3 weeks ago. Went to Joann's for my first time and they had a 1 day sale flyer in store with coupon....well after I used the coupon there, the cashier put it in my bag, so I used it at ACMoore. What luck!

I like e-bay, but I hate the shipping. I always do the math to see how much the shipping raises the cost per item. Most times, it gets to be too much. I buy on line, but only when there is a free shipping promo. Does anyone know if the Superstore ever runs a free shipping sale??? Input appreciated.

I also gather paint chip samples from Home Depot/Lowes. They work great. They even have textured ones with no writing on the front! I've used as decor squares or journal boxes.

Happy shopping!

I try to be a bargain shopper

I always look online and not at the first shop either, I always got to all of them, write down the prices and then choose the best one *Including shopping* sometimes I'll even check it with eBay just incase. Once I saved around $7 on the MM Alphabet Charms through eBay!

I'd love it if I could buy wholesale lol I can't wait to see the tips and ideas people have!

Oh another one, which you all know (Most likely) go to dollar stores and search through every aisle they have! I went down the stationary section once and found a 20 pack of clips for $1.50 & a mini hole puncher for the same price. It was and is perfect for those home made tags!

I try to always use a coupon. We have one store here that always has coupons on the counter so I only buy 1 thing at a time. I also go in with friends to buy paper packs and devide them up, it usually ends up being five cents or less per sheet of 12x12 paper. This also works well for embellishment like brads and eyelets. I have also found out about wherehouse sales for local companies recently and saved a bundle that way. I do have a budget and I stick to it. That does help a lot. I also let everyone know that i scrapbook and that they should call me if they find a good deal. I return the favor, that's how I heard about the wherehouse sales...
Ebay works sometimes, but I agree you really have to watch shippin costs. I also was able to meet someone who buy Provo Craft stuff wholesale. Network, Network, Network. I know people who have signed up to sell stuff like CM and they just do it to get the discount and set up a group of friends to all buy together.
I like to buy cheap ribbon. Joannes constantly discounts their ribbon, and other places frequently sell basic stuff 3 or 4 for $1. After christmas I stock up on christmas stuff, I got 25 yards of velvet ribbon for 29 cents. It looks awesome on my valentines cards!

What a great site! I'm not so much a bargain shopper as just cheap--don't buy anything unless it's absolute a necessity need and have not bought any expensive tools. But as I get more into scrapping, I'm realizing there are some things that in the long run would save me money, or would greatly improve my lo's. Last week I finally got the MM tool set after checking the main online stores, my local LSS, and the chains. So, now I'm checking out die cut machines, but that's hard to make a decision, so it will be a while (and I want to get all the info on the new Wizard). I'm also looking into a monthly kit club-found some that give you much more value than retail price and would help me get out of "my box."

"I have also found out about wherehouse sales for local companies recently and saved a bundle that way."
Happy Heidi, Where are the wherehouse sales that you know of? I only know of DMD in Springdale, Arkansas. They open to the public 2 times a year but it is such a great deal.
Anyone else know of a wherehouse sale?

I wish I knew something about warehouses! That sounds like it could be fun!

if anyone needs mm tool kit, date stamp or metal die stamp i have auctions on ebay that start @ 99c w/o a reserve

Hey all I just bought a Provo Craft Silent Setter for 20.00 on e*bay

Wow, this is a great thread! You all have motivated me to be more cost conscious! I am very new to this so I tend to get excited when I run across something that I think I need - I am spending way too much money!! I will be checking this thread daily .

Btw - does anyone know of any 'warehouse' sales in the Northern California area?
Thanks in advance!

anyone know of 'normal' household items that can be used, like how to incorporate scrap materials, natural tjhings, things like pictures from the giftwraps, b'day cards etc etc... things like tin foil and even glad wrap (cling wrap) is very effective over bulky colours... anyhting i can use i do

OzMummym,

you do need to be careful with regular household items.
As some can be very harmful to your album and pictures.

I honestly do not know anything around the house that would be safe.
But I am sure others will be along soon, that might know more.

~ Tasha

The household items can be better used for cards. In fact, I've gotten into cardmaking to use some of my scraps, etc from scrapbook making.

Another idea - When you buy expensive patterned paper, don't necessarily do a whole LO with it. Cut & adhere to a cheaper piece of cardstock. I did that on my latest Feb LO - and still have more than enough PP for an additional LO. I have all the horizontal strips of PP just slightly overlapping and it's all adhered to a white piece of CS.

I do that as well. I save ALL my scraps. Even ones that are pretty little. And truth be told, I use them. Myhusband used to make fun of me for saving them, until he realized that I could get three lo's out of the same sheet of pp.

Also, I try to buy stuff that goes a long way. For example, ribbon typically goes on a TOn of lo's. Stamp sets and inks can be used multiple times. An eyelet or brad pack takes me a few months to use completely. Sometimes the items are higher ticket items, but 40% off coupons make them much cheaper.

My husband is in school and we have two small and very adorable children, so I had to get creative and very cheap as to how to use my limited funds.

This is great. Money is pretty tight, so I don't can't spend a lot on scrapbooking stuff. My best bargain was my Generations crop caddy that I got at Linens N Things for $20 (original price $99)!!!!! The next day I went back and bought the last one - I will probably sell that one on Ebay.

I love the 40% off Michaels and RagShop coupons.

I also plan on digging out my leftover wedding stuff (ribbons, tulle, etc.)

I save all of my scraps too (even the teeny tiny pieces)!!!

I ordered the back issues of Simple Scrapbooking a while back for 19.95. I figured well that is a good price for a whole year and it came with a binder. So I bought another binder for 9.95 for this years issues I am collecting ( Have Subscription). Well when I received my Packages from them No magazines. Ok they were shipped seperate. Well after a couple of days I called them, told them the situation and they told me no prob they would be shipping the mags. about a week later I got the mags AND another binder. So I got 2 Binders for the price of 1. There Goof!!! I also make my own magazine holders out of empty Cat Litter boxes, cut em down and cover them with nice paper and they are cheap

Cling wrap can be used for inking. I saw this on DIY. They took a wad of cling wrap and taped it on an ink pad and then on plain paper. This is a great way to create your own background paper.

Annetta

Foil can be cused too with the ink pad to create your own background paper.
I use cheap cotton swaps for chalking. I also look on the clearence aisles and stock up when I find some scrapbook related items. Even if it is not my taste -but still a nice item-I can always use it for a RAK or hostess gift.
Lynn
I found a website that I bought 500 slide mounts(white)for under 20.00 with shipping-you pay 4.95 for 20 at Micheals-so that was a great buy!!

I like looking for things at the hardware store. You can get all sorts of metal things to use as embellishments like washers and hooks and things. Even small hinges.

Wow Ladies ...I want to join this group. I am always bargain hunting and rarely pay full price for anything. But I have already learned some tricks from all of you.

I was shopping one day with the hubby ....ok, so he was shopping and I was bored stiff in the fishing section of a store. Anyway, I came across this reflective tape strips - that apparently they decorate their artificial bait with ....my mind works differently of course and I thought "Hey, I could use that to die cut some letters and they would look so cool." The Kicker ....when I read the packaging more closely it even said one of the uses was for scrapbooking!!!

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WeimFamily said:
OK - here's a bargain idea. I bought Christmas ornaments that are frames to use on LO's. I bought them at 90% off! I also get charms by buying children's jewelry & hair accessories at deep discounts. You can get some really cute embellishments that way.

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I am just now seeing this thread and I do the same thing Sandi with the charms...got these yesterday all were $1.00ea except the pink and silver (it was $5.00 but lots of charms) this is a great thread specially since there are no sb stores or anything like it here in Mexico.