Bargain Hunters– go “green” by making the most of your resources!

*Adapted from a class I did when I first started, four years ago this next week! Watch for a special anniversary sale to be posted soon–I'm celebrating, and so will you after you find out what I have in store for you!

Everybody’s tightening their belts nowadays, it seems!
There’s not nearly the amount we’d like to have in our craft budget. Well, my
momma (the Garage Sale Queen) raised me to be a thrifty steward of our family
resources, and I’ve followed that training in every aspect of my life—even
stamping and scrapbooking! Stamping doesn’t HAVE to break the bank! While the
start-up costs can seem to be insurmountable, there are lots of ways to get
into stamping without draining the kids’ college fund.

Why make your own cards?

 Time, Money, and Sanity—average household uses
30-50 cards per year. More if they give out invitations to events or send thank
you’s after an event such as a wedding or graduation in the family. You spend
gas and time to run to the store every time a card is in need. Then you take
time to look for just the right card up and down the aisles, trying to find one
that isn’t crass or profane and has just the right sentiment. Usually the bigger and
more beautiful they are, the more they cost—up to ten bucks! Even the plainest
cheapest ones are at minimum a dollar each. Did you
know the average card made with basic SU materials costs just 50 cents to make?

Getting the most out of your supplies

1. Looking for the
   way to get the most use out of a single stamp set? Buy an “all-occasion”
   set—you’ll find multiple uses for most holidays and events. Especially a wise
   purchase if it’s your first set or if the sets you already own are very
   limited-occasion sets.
   
2. Christmas sets are a good investment because you can use them in very different ways for different years.
3. Trade with and
   borrow from friends sets you think you’d like before you buy them—that way
   you’ll know if you’d really get a lot of use out of them or not. Besides,
   it’s more fun to get together to stamp and scrap!
4. Schedule a
   One-On-One Workshop with Lyssa to learn some specific card designs and scrapbook
   layouts that make the most out of the stamp sets you don’t get much good
   from.
   
5. Also, check out the samples made from that stamp set in past issues
   of the IB&C. I have some past issues for free–just ask!

Cardstock 101

1. Even the smallest
   scraps can be used on a mosaic card or layout, as photo corners or
   accents—don’t throw anything out. Hold several scraps up to your cards—you
   never know what color might make a surprising accent and perfect finishing
   touch!
2. Use the suede
   technique to get twice the cardstock out of one piece. This can only be
   done with thick SU cardstock, not the cheap stuff.
3. When matting
   larger pieces, use the paper cutter to cut out the center of the back, or punch out things from the middle.
   Once you’ve mounted it, no one will ever know.
4. Make tags out of
   the smaller pieces left over from a full sheet. They don’t have to be big
   scraps. Just cut the corners off one edge of a rectangle and punch a hole!
5. When using SU
   cardstock, everything coordinates. You’re never left with paper that
   doesn’t match your ink or embellishments. You never have to go out and
   search for the right shade. You’ll have the exact shade and it will
   coordinate with every other SU product in that color family. In the long
   run, that saves you money.

Saving $$$ on Stamps

1. When you break it
   down, most SU stamps only cost about $3.00-4.00 each—lots less than a
   single small stamp at JoAnn’s or a scrapbooking store.
2. Other advantages
   of buying SU stamps is that all the stamps in a set are coordinated to go
   with each other, are exclusive designs that can’t be purchased in stores,
   and they come in a sturdy plastic storage case for ease of organization
   and use. Most “coordinated” sets in stores today are cheap and not that
   attractive. You won’t find the quality and quantity of stamps for SU’s prices
   in any store.
3. Cleaning your
   stamps keeps them clean and ready to go for the next use. When you use
   Stampin’ Mist to clean your stamps, they’re also conditioned by special
   moisturizers in the formula that help prevent cracks in the rubber and sun
   and heat damage.
   
4. Keeping them clean also has a bonus in that you won’t
   waste paper by stamping your image only to find that there was a different
   ink color still on the stamp from the last time you used it.
5. SU has you mount your own stamps. That way you never spend big bucks on a stamp only to try
   it out and find that it is mounted backwards or crooked (ask me how I know
   this!). You won’t use stamps that give you poor images, and they end up
   sitting on the shelf.

Bargain Hunting

1. The Idea Book
   & Catalog—a 250-page book with more ideas than you could ever  create in a year! Over 500 different
   layouts and cards in full color, retailing for only
   $9.95 (or free with a workshop!). Great for color-scheme and layout inspiration and jump-starting a
   creative slump. All for the price of just two of the slim card-makers magazines on the shelves at your local store.
2. The Starter Kit:
   where else can you get almost $400.00 worth of products for less than half
   that price? There’s no obligation to EVER host a show, and you get the 20%
   off discount on everything for as long as you are active.
3. All-occasion sets
   are excellent deals so that you don’t have to purchase a different set for
   each specific event, which takes up money and space. You can also just
   substitute the stamp on any card layout you’ve designed and have  a brand new card because they’ll all be
   a similar style and size.
4. Most store-bought
   pastel chalks come in sets of 24 colors for around $15-20. SU’s pastels
   are just $24.95 for 48 coordinating colors.
5. Simply Scrappin’
   scrapbooking kits make up to 20 pages for only $19.95.
   That’s about a dollar per page! Best of all, they are based on the stamp
   sets, so if you purchase that set, you’ll have an unlimited possibility
   for creating coordinated pages for a completely unique scrapbook theme.
6. You can stamp on
   anything that doesn’t move! Try covering cans, small boxes and tins for
   unique gift boxes and containers. Stamp on picture frame mats, candles,
   even roses! Plain paper bags or lunch sacks, post-it notes, memo cubes,
   shopping lists, cork boards, checkbook covers—you name it! Even walls,
   ceramic tiles, glass, and fabric can be stamped on using Staz-On pads.

Buyer Beware

1. What looks like a
   good deal may not be! Always look not just at the price, but at the
   quantity and the quality of the products to be compared. Stampin’ Up will
   win almost every time on both counts.
2. Spools of ribbon
   at the craft store may be only two dollars… but did you notice they have
   just 3 yards instead of SU’s 15? Cord has 15 yards compared to SU–
   75!
3. Versamark Pads:
   same exact pads are two dollars more at Jo Ann’s; plus, SU carries
   Versamark refills, which no one else does. Can also make Versamark
   cartridges to be used with the Stampin’ Around wheel handle.
4. At first glance,
   Walmart cardstock may seem like a much better deal. However, it is extremely
   flimsy and lightweight—barely heavier than regular paper. Cards often
   won’t stand up by themselves, the colors don’t coordinate with your other
   products, and if you mess up you can’t flip it over and stamp on the back
   because it bleeds through. Hold them side by side and you will be floored at the difference!
5. You may be able
   to find cheaper mono adhesives, but you will pay for it in terms of
   clogged dispensers, broken paper strips, and flimsy dispensers that break
   under pressure. Watch carefully—many of them have HALF the number of
   inches that Stampin’ Up dispensers come with.
6. Dollar Store glue sticks may
   seem like a good, cheap alternative to more expensive adhesives, but there
   are several drawbacks. Glue takes time to dry and gets pretty messy. It
   also becomes very brittle when it is dry and cards often come apart and
   must be re-glued. It also doesn’t work for heavier cards or for attaching
   embellishments.

Crazy for color

1. It’d be nice to
   have an ink pad in every color! While SU does give a price break on the
   color families, there are a couple of ways to get all 48 colors without
   buying all 48 ink pads. But remember, having all the paper and ink
   coordinate does save you money in the long run by eliminating late-night
   runs to the store because nothing matches.
2. Versamark and
   Pastels: Simply stamp the image with the clear Versamark pad, then apply
   the pastels. They come in all 48 SU colors for only $24.95.
3. Color directly on
   the stamp with different SU markers: they can be purchased in color
   families or separately and are also safe for scrapbook journaling and
   coloring in images. Simply color the whole stamp, “huff” on the stamp to
   remoisten the inks, and stamp! Results in a multi-colored image with out
   multiple ink pads.
4. Stampin’ Spots:
   one inch square ink pads sold in the color families for only $21.50.
   Excellent way to try out a lot of colors without investing in a ton of ink
   pads. Can also be refilled using the same refills as the Classic pads.
   Bonus: takes up less space!
5. Our ink pads
   really are a good deal, though! No other company has such large ones, or
   has the patented flip-top design that keeps the pad completely juicy and
   ready to go. They’re also refillable!
6. Most companies
   don’t have refills, so you have to purchase a brand new pad when they dry
   out. One SU refill re-inks MANY times—and re-inks everything (pads,
   cartridges, spots, even markers) because of color-coordination. The
   refills are only $2.75 each! Can also be used for many different fun techniques.

Starting Up

1. Think about buying one of the Simply Sent Stampin’ Kits. They’re designed to give you everything you need to get
   started and to make all the projects pictured and many more. Comes with
   the set, ink, paper and envelopes.
2. If you bought just one Stampin’ Kit and one
   extra pack of envelopes, you would have enough for 80 CARDS. Even the
   cheapest store-bought cards are .99 each, so compare the price of a kit at
   fifty or sixty dollars, which has many items that can be reused over and
   over plus used to decorate all kinds of projects.
3. Attend Lyssa’s classes to learn new
   designs, make projects, and get ideas. Most classes have only
   a small fee and many include product to take home so you can make copies. Club is also a great way to build your design repertoire!