Scrapbook Supplies at a Yard Sale? You Bet!

Scrapbooking is a huge and quickly growing cottage industry craft. I have been involved with scrapbooking for 10 years. It is amazing how it has changed. From simple to ornate, from flat to bulky. "Anything goes" in scrapbooking it seems. Acid free is a concern, but even with that issue, the embellishments and supplies currently on market are addressing that so you don't have to! New supplies come out every month, if not every week. I go to craft stores in my area and just browse the scrapbook isles and every time I go, there are new features, new items, new embellishments. Seems it is never ending. And that is great. Scrapbooking is a fantastic craft, while being in my opinion, the best way to preserve memories for generations.

As usual though, expense is always an issue. Although I do admit scrapbook supplies have gotten a lot more reasonable in price today than they were 5-10 years ago, sometimes they are still to expensive and if you don't have the income to accomodate, well, the scrapper you are makes you look elsewhere so that you can still preserve your memories for generations to come and satisfy your budget! So where can you find affordable scrapbooking supplies? Well, you can always shop store sales and use coupons. I have found that to be a great way to get the more expensive stuff. Coupons can also work for the less expensive items too, but sometimes they just don't have what you want. So since scrapbooking is a craft, use your crafty mind and think about how you can conquer expense to save your memories.

Where can you find really good supplies and embellishments at really low prices? Yard sales! Yes, that's right, yard sales...or garage sale, estate sales or rummage sales. These sales are a treasure trove for craft supplies! One man's junk is another man's treasure" - really speaks loudly for the crafter.

What to Look for To Find Scrapbook Supplies

Clothing: One of the most popular items at any yard sale is out-grown clothing. Especially baby clothes. Those little tikes out grow the clothes faster than they wear them out which means the clothing is still in great condition. Look at the buttons. Cute little, whimsical, pastel buttons. Buttons are a great scrapbook embellishment. Cut them off the clothing item and glue them on with glue or pop-dots - great for the "bulky" look. Also look at the pattern in the fabric and cut that pattern out - if there are little trains or ducks in the fabric pattern, cut them out and run them through a Xyron machine to put adhesive on the back and they secure neatly to the background paper! Makes the perfect fabric die cut! You can do this with any fabric pattern. Older childrens clothing also has some finds. Jeans have those copper, western looking buttons - great for a masculine, outdoor-zy or western theme layout. Or even cut the pocket off a pair of denim jeans and use the pocket as a pocket on your layout! Look at clothes that have name brands displayed on the front - great if you have a favorite brand you want to remember. Just cut the brand name off the article of clothing and use it as a die cut. Sometimes it is a saying like "I Love Roxy". Although a clothes brand, my grand daughters dog is named Roxy so I can cut that out of the shirt, run it through my Xyron and have a fantastic title for a layout about her and her dog! Look at collars - cute fringes or lacey collars- would make a great "border" to a photo. Appliques are also a fantastic addition to a scrapbook layout.

Other craft supplies: When I started scrapbooking 10 years ago, I had no help from anyone. My spending money was literally next to nothing. I started with photo square adhesives, a circle template and a scrapbook spiral album. But since I have been a crafter all my life, I had others supplies. Ribbons, threads, embroidery floss, fibers, buttons, appliques, yarns, beads, gems stones, rhinestones, jewelery pieces and charms were just some of the items I had. Granted, as I was just starting, I didn't realize I could use all these kinds of things, but now - boy, did I have a treasure trove in my craft closet! Look at any craft supply at a yard sale through the eyes of a scrapbooker - you'll be amazed at what you will find!

Books and magazines: Books are also a standard at most yard sales. I don't approve of destroying books, but at the same time, if the book holds a wonderful memory, I see no problem in preserving it for generations to come. Look at the books and see the pictures. Anything remind you of a favorite memory from your life? How about your child's life right now? For 10¢ you buy the book and cut out the item related to the memory. Instant die cut! Cut several images and organize them on the layout page to create a "scene" relating to the memory. Magazines are also great for this but you have to watch for acid in the pages. You can buy an acid-free spray and spray the magazine page. What I did was just insert the magazine page into a page protector and the page protector onto the scrapbook layout page.

Post cards and stationery: Not often as common, but out there just the same. Whetheryou use the post card as is or cut images from it, you have instant stickers! Cut the image out, run it through a Xyron machine use acid free glue sticks or photo adhesive squares and you have a sticker! Add pop-dots for a 3-D effect! You can do the journaling on the stationery as it is or cut the designs from the stationery to use as you need.

Board Games: Scrabble has those wonderful small wooden tiles of letters. Each letter can spell out the title or a person's name! Monopoly money is a great embellishment for layouts themed for shopping, favorite game, travel and other money related scrapbook themes. Even the board could be a great addition - if it is to thick to cut, just scan parts of it to make your back ground paper or to cut parts out for die cuts!

Holiday decorations: Tinsel, christmas cards, wrapping paper, gift tags, paper wall decorations, candy wrappers, window clings, glitter - just take look with a scrapbookers frame of mind and the possibilities will jump out at you!

Other things you might look for: Labels from jars - just soak them off. I have a label from Knott's Berry Farm jelly jar as Knott's was my families favorite place to spend Sunday afternoons as a kid - back before it was an amuzement park and cost admission! Nick-naks that can be disassembled to get to the brand name or the image you want. Hand made things like embroidered towels, doillies or lace pieces. Use as is or cut off the part you need. And those school work books - a great "back to school" background paper is a page of math problems from a work book; you just add the photos and journaling!

So next time you see a sign that says "Yard Sale", put your scrapbookers thinking cap on and stop and go shopping!