Scrapbooking on the Cheap: Part II

Earlier this week I mentioned that I'd be sharing some tips on how to keep scrapbooking without breaking the bank. I have been 'scrapbooking' for as long as I can remember. Even when I didn't have a scrapbook, per se, I used my journal to store as much as I could in there, besides words. 

For years, I didn't go anywhere without my journal. It became my personal scrapbook, and one that I wouldn't share with anyone. After I got married, and perhaps as a way to reminisce about the years before, I did a whole 'official' scrapbook on my 12 years of World Adventures: The Solo Years. 

I did it mainly for me -- for something creative and fun, but along the way, I realized that I could share it with friends and family who had never before seen photos or heard stories from the places I'd traveled, because I had kept my journals so secretive.

In an era before email became the norm, people were lucky to get a postcard out of me for months at a time. My scrapbooks helped to bridge the gap once I returned to the States. Once I started, there was no stopping me -- especially in the months while the Sailor was gone to sea, I'd cut and paste all manner of life events.

They are not your typical run-of-the-mill cookie-cutter scrapbooks. They are messy, bulging, mismatched, and full of luggage tags and adventure... a little bit like my life sometimes, I suppose. 

I found it all so creative that once I finished a book, I didn't really care whether I or anyone else ever looked at them again. I just had fun with it. I never really planned anything -- I'd just cut and paste and the whole process became very organic. Even after I glued something that didn't quite look right, I'd challenge myself to fix it without ripping the whole thing apart. 

Although I still splurged on some things (and still do), I've discovered a few ways to stay within my budget for my paper passion, besides simply waiting for stuff to go on clearance.

1. Look for inspiration everywhere. 
You don't always need something encased in plastic with a UPC symbol on the back to get the job done. One of the most amazing pieces of art I've ever seen in my life was by a little Belorussian girl who created a scene with a horse out of tree bark and twigs. TWIGS. You may not have to go that far, but think of the fun things you could make out of those throwaway cardboard coffee sleeves and a bit of leftover ribbon from an old wreath. 

Like a wood fire, for instance.

2. Save everything. 
I'm not talking about turning into a hoarder, but you know those handmade wedding invitations and Christmas cards you're about to throw away? See what you can salvage first! Torn wrapping paper? Paste it as a layer on one of your pages. Used stamps? Extra photos that accidentally got printed? Magazines with creative flair or neat type? All of these items can be turned into bits and pieces for your scrapbook pages. 

I'm quite partial to stamps, myself. 

3. Don't be afraid to use everyday objects. 
This kind of goes along with #2, but sometimes I actually buy stuff that I know I can get a secondary use out of later. I've used sandpaper on several pages, food labels and calendars, and I purposely buy tissues that have neat designs on them, so I can reuse the cardboard later. 

Besides sand, I have a whole garden of flowers currently growing in my scrapbooks. 

 

4. Look for items in unconventional places. 
My recent addiction to SMASH Books has been fueled by the fact that I just found a bunch half off the normal craft store price, at TJMaxx. Those, coupled with vintage sewing and knitting magazines from the thrifts, and I had half a book finished in no time. Scour thrift stores and flea markets for old ephemera like maps, magazines and even sewing patterns, to add a vintage touch to your pages. 

Vintage is very in vogue at the moment and what better way to recycle? 

5. Swap and share with a friend. 
One of my childhood friends is an avid scrapbooker, and she regularly sends me extra paper or bits that she eyes as my 'style'. Personally, I swoon at those giant stacks of brand new paper. If you can't find them on sale, find a buddy who will split the cost with you. Most of the stacks contain multiple sheets of the same design, so you can easily share. 

And even when you can't think of a way to use the stuff, 

stick it on an inspiration board in the meantime. 

6. Find your own style!
Even though I've just given you my tips on crafting cheaply... find what works for you! The creative process will be null and void if you do all of the above and gain no satisfaction out of it. The same friend who mails me paper has a very different style from me, but I absolutely love looking at her scrapbooks. She has a neatness and meticulousness to her layouts that I envy. But if I tried to do things her way, I don't think I'd find the process as fun. Likewise, if she tried my style! 

So find your own style and have fun with it. And if you decide to do things on the cheap and save some cash, you have all the more reason to splurge on something later. 

Favorite Fingerless Gloves

I found my new favorite fingerless gloves pattern, thanks to a friend who asked me to make a pair for her sister-in-law. She chose 'treads', which is a free pattern download on Ravelry.  

However, at first, I was a little apprehensive about making them. 

Don't get me wrong, I love fingerless gloves -- they're so practical (also good for layering OVER regular gloves when it's really cold!) plus they're generally easier and quicker to make then gloves with fingers. But the pattern looked like I had to make short fingers in any case. Plus it all looked a little complicated -- an Estonian braid?? What in the world?!

I'm happy to report that it was really simple. The pattern offers great instructions and once I got the hang of the Estonian braid, it was super easy. So simple in fact, I had no hesitation starting the second glove. (You know about the 'second sock syndrome' right? Right after you've made one sock, you don't even want to go near sock #2. Well, the same principle applies to gloves. After all, you still need two.)

And once I finished these and tried them on for size, I decided that I also needed a pair for myself. 

My local yarn store had one skein of this yarn left (I used Berocco Vintage in cracked pepper), so I nabbed it and calculated that I have enough yarn leftover from the first skein to make one more glove. So skein two should yield three more gloves. That's three pairs total for those of you counting. One pair for the original gal who wanted them, one for me and one for my friend who started this all in the first place. 

I'm just hoping that third, fourth, fifth and sixth glove syndrome don't kick in at any point during this whole process. 

 

Scrapbooking on the Cheap: Part I

Ever since my mom bought me my first journal, I have had a love affair with paper and everything related to it: books, magazines, scrapbooks, cards and even office supplies. It's not easy for me to walk past a store that sells paper without at least having a look inside.

Before 'scrapbooking' was a household term, I collected bits of ephemera from road trips and pasted them into a plain spiral bound notebook, labeling it something like 'Brenda's Scrapbook'. (Clever, eh?!) The only thing I paid for were the photos and the actual notebook.

When stickers arrived on the scene in the 1980s, I couldn't contain myself. Unicorns, My Little Ponies, and anything that resembled a horse somehow ended up in my sticker collection. My friends and I traded them, we wore them, we spent money on them. 

Only I didn't have a lot of money in elementary school. I got an allowance, but that certainly didn't go far in the sticker realm. The sticker albums were something else -- I don't remember what they cost, but I do know they were way beyond my budget. 

My mother came up with a plan so that I could still swap stickers at school -- she somehow amassed a bunch of those clear plastic sheets and we put construction paper on the inside. I had a little binder to put the sheets in and suddenly, I had my own sticker book. The stickers still came off easily, and even though I didn't have an 'official' sticker book, I still had a fully functional, and personalized one to carry around.

When craft stores like Michaels came on the scene, I was well into adulthood, but I still about died when I first set foot in one. So much creativity and craftiness under one roof! And all of those stickers! 

I didn't revert to childhood with the unicorns, but I did start to collect bits and pieces for my modern-day scrapbooks.  But I soon discovered that this little hobby of mine was starting to add up. It had never cost me much before... and suddenly, I was out more than just pocket change.

There was still something about paper, scissors and a glue stick that I couldn't resist though. I started looking for ways to continue with my hobby, but I tried to creatively come up with ideas that were cheaper than simply buying all new supplies at a craft store. 

Later this week, I'll share some of those secrets with you. In the meantime, head over to Doris Sander's blog, meanderings and check out her fantastic scrapbooks and photos. I discovered her just a short while ago and she has again inspired me to start scrapbooking again (ever since we moved, I have hardly touched a glue stick). Her scrapbooks make me want to hold them in my hand and turn the pages myself!

Save the Yarn!

After I posted a photo of the grey sweater on that last post, I realized that I haven't worn it yet all season. Now, I do not own copious amounts of clothing. Transatlantic traveling and moving stuff all over the world means that I have narrowed down the wardrobe significantly over the years. 

I generally have a rule that if I haven't worn something in a year, it gets donated. (I know it's not spring yet, but you can read more spring cleaning tips here.) So, I couldn't figure out why I hadn't worn my handmade vest yet this winter. After all, I seemed to remember wearing it every other day last winter. I tried it on and noticed the button hanging on for dear life. I think every time I put it on, I saw that I needed to resew the button, but it went back into the closet, instead of the sewing pile. 

Well, this time, I decided to finally fix it, only I took the button clean off. I never thought it looked quite right, so why leave it there? I bought this neat shawl pin at my local yarn store to use on the Patient Shawl, but I think it looks quite spiffy on the grey vest, too. 

The only thing left to do was to sew up the buttonhole. Thankfully, for every project I have made, I keep a small stash of the leftover yarn for just such a purpose. (If you're giving a gift, send along some of the extra yarn in case the recipient needs to make repairs! You can see how to make a simple yarn card here.)

So stash bust all you want with your leftover pile of yarn after you finish a project. But remember to save a little bit for yourself, in case you ever need to sew up a buttonhole.

Sweater Sheepishness

I was so gung-ho to whip up this quick project to wear for the cold weather. I was even more motivated when the yarn turned up on sale. 

Then I finished this shrug. Quickly. It took me about four evenings worth of knitting to make the whole thing.

I tried it on late one night and decided it was kinda cute and then I spent the next 20 minutes weaving in all of the ends. 

The next day I looked at it again and hated it. 

Seriously.  

It looks really great just laying there, but when I put it on, it looked awful. There was something not quite right about it. I'm not sure if I bound off the ribbing too tightly, or if the sleeves were simply too long (note to pattern designers: just because some of us are bustier and therefore require a larger chest size in a pattern, it doesn't mean that we need to have the sleeves come down to our knees. Some clothing companies actually call me 'petite'.) Whatever the reason was, this was not the right pattern for me. 

I figured I'd just rip it out and try again. Then I realized I had already woven in the ends. ALL OF THEM. 

Sadly this is not a first for me. 

A few years ago, I made a simple grey sweater. For some reason, I didn't bother trying it on before I seamed the whole thing up and wove in ALL of the ends. 

The result was a GIANT sweater that could have easily been worn off the shoulder (it wasn't supposed to). I ended up having to try to figure out where the ends were and then I ripped the whole thing out. I made the vest on the right instead. It was much more fun to knit (sideways!) and I've gotten tons of compliments on it. 

I swore I'd never again weave in the ends until I was absolutely SURE. Sure sure. 

Earlier this year, I made this blue cotton cardigan. I started to weave in the ends when disaster struck. Luckily, I hadn't yet set the sleeves in, so it was infinitely less work to rip out the rest of the sweater. 

After I ripped out the Fisherman Shrug, I scoured my magazine stash, found a new pattern, and started on the Snowdrift Shrug. 

It looked so cute in the picture, but after I finished the body, and before I started the sleeves, I tried it on and I felt like a sheep. This sheep, in fact. There's something about bulky yarn and seed stitch in a cream color that reminds me of the flock.

I didn't weave in any ends yet, so there's still a chance that I can easily salvage the yarn and make something completely different. Or I can finish the sleeves and just look a little sheepish in the cold weather. Or I can go back to the Fisherman Shrug and make shorter sleeves and a few other adjustments.

Decisions, decisions. What would you do?