Scrapbooking is often regarded as an expensive hobby. With so many different products and tools on the market, you could easily drop thousands of dollars to fund a scrapbooking addiction. But, what if you don’t have a lot of money to spend on crafts? Just because you are working on a tight budget, doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on all of the excitement that comes with making elaborate memory albums.
In addition to finding scrapbook materials on sale, there are a number of every day items that can be repurposed and added to memory books, including beads, buttons, fabric scraps, greeting cards, stamps and maps. In addition, there are ways you can save on other scrapbooking embellishments by using a little ingenuity.
For example, I had never considered paper piercing with my own materials. The technique involves cutting and pasting small paper shapes together to form a larger design. Many top-rated scrapbook companies sell paper pieced embellishments with foam adhesive for a few dollars a pack. The added texture gives the paper a 3D look and makes the design pop on an ordinary scrapbook layout.
However, if you think about it, the technique can be easily recreated at home using items you likely already have in your scrapbook stash. In fact, paper piercing is a great way to use up scraps of paper that would otherwise go to waste. What’s more, when you use your own paper you can customize your piercings to fit a specific page layout rather than searching high and low at a store for a pre-made embellishment that may not be the right size and color. Another bonus of making your own piercings is that you can flex your creative muscle experimenting with different cuts and paper. For example, rather than sticking with plain cardstock, consider using mulberry paper, vellum or foiled patterned paper to create your one-of-a-kind piercings.
Finally, if you plan to try this technique at home, be sure to place a mat on your table before cutting the paper so you don’t mar the surface. After you’re done cutting the paper make a sample arrangement on a scratch sheet of paper before adhering the design to your actual layout.
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