If you are a budget scrapper, then you are likely best friends with the sale buckets located at the back of scrapbook shops. The containers, housing reduced priced embellishments, are a gold mine for frugal crafters looking to stretch their scrapbooking dollar.
I never miss a chance to dig through the sale buckets at my local scrapbook store. In fact, today I hit the jackpot because the bins were crammed with Fourth of July-themed embellishments which were on sale for 50 to 75 percent off. Granted, much of the materials were generic (stars, flags, flowers, etc.), but they can easily be spiced up to add pizzazz to your scrapbook page designs.
For example, today I scored several packages of solid colored die cuts, which I can use on a variety of layouts. They aren’t fancy designs, such as a boy carrying a sparkler or a girl waving an American flag. Rather, I got a bunch of stars and flower die cuts for less than three dollars. To make them really pop on my pages I plan to layer the flowers to form a large bouquet. As for the stars, I will use them to create page borders and frames for Fourth of July photos and journaling blocks.
Some other ways you can add zing to plain die cuts include tracing the edges with black or brown ink for a vintage look or using sandpaper to give them a distressed look. If you have different colored die cuts, then use some chalk to shade specific areas or add some drawings to the cardstock shapes to give them some visual interest.
One of my favorite ways to embellish cheap die cuts is to add eyelets and brads to them. For example, with the generic flower die cuts I purchased today, I will add a rhinestone or fabric covered brad to the center to make the flower pop. If you have a plain-looking die cut figure, then dress it up by using eyelets to create buttons or arrange black mini brads to make a face.
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