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Have you ever used an old telephone directory? I used a map from the front of the directory once on a card as background. I’ve also used the pages under my stamping to protect my table and as masks.
I use spice racks to hold my wheels and crimper.The white metal spice racks are fastened to a shoe dolly on wheels. A shoe pocket hangs on my door to hold my punches and dies.
So what do you use to stamp with beside rubber stamps?
Have you ever used an old telephone directory? I used a map from the front of the directory once on a card as background. I�ve also used the pages under my stamping to protect my table and as masks.
I use them for a gluing surface. When a page gets sticky, I tear it off and am presented with a new surface!
I use spice racks to hold my wheels and crimper.The white metal spice racks are fastened to a shoe dolly on wheels. A shoe pocket hangs on my door to hold my punches and dies.
So what do you use to stamp with beside rubber stamps?
Oh my goodness. The list goes on: rubber shelf liner, old toothbrushes, potato mashers, saran wrap, string, rubber bands, corks, textured wallpaper,
the left-over piece from punched sequins, netting bags from veggies, real leaves, anything that will take ink!
Ok ladies... I have only read about half of this thread and my brain is overloaded!! So many great ideas. I will be trying alot of these! I love the tissue box thing and so many more!! I will be back later to see what other ideas you all come up with. I always save wrapping paper and ribbon that catches my eye. And I love the idea of recycling of old cards to create something new. Off to bed Good night!
This has been mentioned (but in case you don't want to read the previous 15 pages of posts!) I save cards sent to me. I punch out the pretty fronts and use them to make other cards or tags. Sometimes even the sentiments can be cut out and reused too.
My biggest ways to make do instead of buy new lately has been to just try and use up my stash!
You guys amaze me, I am learning to so think outside my little stamp a picture, mat it and put in on a designer paper and card stock card little box!
I gotta play with an old telephone book now.
I will admit I had a sheet of photo type glossy paper I was using as a table cover to stamp on and I ended up liking all the collaged stamp/half stamp images that I tried to use it on cards...it was so colorful and unique. Made a great background.
You guys amaze me, I am learning to so think outside my little stamp a picture, mat it and put in on a designer paper and card stock card little box!
I gotta play with an old telephone book now.
I will admit I had a sheet of photo type glossy paper I was using as a table cover to stamp on and I ended up liking all the collaged stamp/half stamp images that I tried to use it on cards...it was so colorful and unique. Made a great background.
I've made a background out of the used baby wipe stamp cleaner. After it was dry, it really looked cool. Made two cards and each recipient asked, "Where did you get that cool background stuff?" Neither guessed it was a baby wipe!
I work for a bank and we get very large bound reports in, usually in triplicate. We keep one, send one to the customer, and the third one is usually trashed. Some of the covers are thin and clear and I grab those for my cards. The other covers are very thick or frosted (but you can still see through them) and I cut those down and use them with my stamp a majig.
Another item I found was a non stick sheet that goes in the bottom of your oven for about $5. I grabbed one of those and they work great! Just like the expensive Tim Holtz mats!
Have you ever used an old telephone directory? I used a map from the front of the directory once on a card as background. I’ve also used the pages under my stamping to protect my table and as masks.
I use spice racks to hold my wheels and crimper.The white metal spice racks are fastened to a shoe dolly on wheels. A shoe pocket hangs on my door to hold my punches and dies.
So what do you use to stamp with beside rubber stamps?
Hello my friend!
I like to use foam bath blocks (baby blocks made of foam-Target had packs of them for $1) and heat them with a heat tool and press them on textured stuff to make stamps! Here is a card I made by pressing the foam in a pile of buttons and one pressing the foam in a EB follder.
I was watching a video and the lady had been shopping and was showing off her stuff. I love to watch what's available on the market since my shopping choices are limited to chain stores.
Anyway, she was showing off some packaged felt cuts, just some clouds and snowflakes. I thought they were really cool, and then.....I remembered. I still have all those Original Sizzix dies for the big red Sizzix, although I use the Cuttlebug now, I still have the dies.
I went to JoAnn's after work, picked up some felt (on sale 4 for $1), and a 20% off coupon. This is the very thin, kids felt, so I figured it would be easy to work with. I got a bunch of colors to play with for very little money and I came home and made my own test felt cuts. Worked great.
I don't have a cloud die, but I can do that with scissors and I don't have a snowflake die, but I have tons of other dies that would look super cute. I can't wait to play this weekend.
I'm not sure if this is purely "making do" but I figured buying the felt to use with stuff I already have is cost effective. It will sure put those old dies to good use.
check out hanging on the door in this picture- I use an old multi-layer hanger meant for pants to store my wheels. Easy, and it was already in my house, not being used!
Ooo,oooo, oooo! I just bought one of these at the thrift store and hadn't put it into use yet. What a great idea. Mine are currently in a drawer and I just don't think of them often enough as a result! Thanks for the great idea!
Have you ever used an old telephone directory? I used a map from the front of the directory once on a card as background. I’ve also used the pages under my stamping to protect my table and as masks.
I use spice racks to hold my wheels and crimper.The white metal spice racks are fastened to a shoe dolly on wheels. A shoe pocket hangs on my door to hold my punches and dies.
So what do you use to stamp with beside rubber stamps?
I've used the physicians yellow page listings from an old phone book for background and paper flowers on a get well card.
I'm loving this thread! I'm brand new at crafting/cardmaking and I'm loving all these ideas....I've spent sooo much money and need so much more, this is reallllyyyy going to help my budget!
I was looking up floor wax to use with my Polymer clay creations. I came across this site that has hundreds of frugal stamping tips. It's about as long as this thread. Here's the site: Coxes.com | Cheapskates Anonymous. Enjoy! I found a lot of treasures there.
I was looking up floor wax to use with my Polymer clay creations. I came across this site that has hundreds of frugal stamping tips. It's about as long as this thread. Here's the site: Coxes.com | Cheapskates Anonymous. Enjoy! I found a lot of treasures there.
Hello my friend!
I like to use foam bath blocks (baby blocks made of foam-Target had packs of them for $1) and heat them with a heat tool and press them on textured stuff to make stamps! Here is a card I made by pressing the foam in a pile of buttons and one pressing the foam in a EB follder.
Hey chickie! I had to delete that first gorgeous photo because it was too big - you can attach it with the paperclip if you want.
I have painted brads and hardware with acryllic paint and will also color clear bling with markers, thanks to the great suggestions here.
Going to use some of the cool coloring page images on the internet for digi stamps. They sure have some neat ones!
I also took some small foam shapes with adhesive backing (come in little packs for crafts at the dollar stores); adhered three shapes together and adhered them to the backs of large bottle tops to make stamps. Got that idea from youtube. They make cute little background stamps, and I've been able to use milk jug tops, kitty litter jug tops, pill bottle tops etc...
Also going to try to make my own larger background stamps using foam sheets, shaped punches and wooden or acryllic blocks (also saw on youtube).
I went shopping with my hubbin the other night at Home Depot. While he was doing his thing, I was strolling along the aisles, doing price checks on items that I might use in crafting. We live in the Midwest, so keep that in mind, when reading the cost of items. While I would love to have name brand stuff for the status, it’s not absolutely necessary, as I’ve had to be frugal with my crafting dollars and have bargain shopped just for the thrill of it. So here’s my list. Mind you, I only purchased one item on this shopping trip and it’s at the bottom of the list along with a photo.
* Cable Ties [handy for tying shelves together in craft room, tiny ones make interesting closures on cards] = $1.99 for 20 yellow, $3.97 for 100 multi-colored plastic ones {I have found these at my local dollar store}
* Clearance Aisle = I always hit the clearance aisle in any store to find good bargains going out of stock.
* Clear Shoebox with lid [storage item] = $1.19 {hit the dollar store instead}
* Drapery Rings with Clips [storage item] = 7 for $7.92, smallest brass curtain rod $4.97. {one might be able to find a used curtain rod at a thrift shop, garage sale or at a discount store such as Big Lots].
* Electrical PVC Tape [making strips on cardstock; cover flash on camera for special effects] = 66 ft, $3.78 {I recently found a package of colored tape in yellow, red, green, blue, and white at my local dollar store – total length was 60 ft.}
* Magnetic Vent Covers [for keeping Nestie dies in place on Cuddlebug] = 8 x 15 (3 in a pkg.)
* Martha Living Woodgrain Rocker [woodgrain background stamp] = $5.98; Stencil Brushes $2.97; Painting Sponges, $8.97; Stencils $2.98 {hobby stores such as Michaels carry Martha Stewart products also. I use fat kindergarten paintbrushes for stencil brushes that someone gave me. I recently purchased a fat bath sponge at the dollar store. Sometimes they also have stencils. The woodgrain rocker stamp is a good price; I recently purchased one at True Value Hardware store for two dollars more and thought I was getting a deal then.}
* Nashua Multi-Purpose Foil Tape [diecut, emboss] = 50.3 yards, $6.58 {I have found these tapes cheaper at our local liquidation stores & grab them when I see them, but they aren’t a reliable resource, since they purchase damaged goods in odd lots}
* Paint Chips/Strips [background color on card; can be stamped, embossed, die cut] = FREE
* Shower Pan Liner Rubber [mirror stamping] = 5 ft. x 6ft. $32.93 {quite a large size & cost, if you are only going to make one stamp from this rubber, unless you can go together with a bunch of your friends and split the cost}
* Non-Glare Styrene sheet [replacement “glass” in picture frames; flat acrylic mounts; Cuddlebug cutting pad] = 8” x 10” sheet $1.97, Cutter is $3.99.
* Shur-Line Deck Painting Pad [for cleaning rubber stamps] = 9”, $6.97. {Sometime ago, I purchased a plastic Huggies diaper wipes traveling clutch to carry my painting pads in. One pad for the top and one for the bottom – wet and dry surfaces.}
* Sticky-Baked Velcro Tape [wrap around electric cords like heat gun; closures; display cards] = prices range from $2.98 to $8.97; 5’ piece is $6.98
* Transparent Duct Tape = 20 yds., $3.97
* Husky Bucket Jockey [portable storage; good substitute for scrapbook tote] = I just couldn’t pass up the Husky Bucket Jockey. It was $6.98 for the insert. A friend who has a upholstery business said it was a very good price and that one couldn’t make it for that. It’s a long black canvas tube that folds in the middle on the outside and inside of a bucket, with lots of pockets for smaller tools. They also had orange buckets I could have purchased for $2.60 to go with it, but I had a 5 gallon frosting bucket that I got for FREE from our local Walmart Bakery Dept. It varies from Walmart to Walmart – some stores give them away free, unwashed, so bring a garbage bag to carry them in or sometimes they charge a dollar}
Making my own stamp ink blenders with leftover blocks from removing blocks from stamps and going to adhere white felt, and also have some cotton rounds (for removing make-up etc.., and they work alright too.
Going to make my own stamp-a-majig from leftover blocks also. :-D Thanks for all the suggestions!
I was looking up floor wax to use with my Polymer clay creations. I came across this site that has hundreds of frugal stamping tips. It's about as long as this thread. Here's the site: Coxes.com | Cheapskates Anonymous. Enjoy! I found a lot of treasures there.
That is a great site. I bookmarked it for future lunch-time reading. The first one was actually something that made me excited and that was cleaning staz-on ink with whiteboard cleaner. I can never get that completely off my stamps. Thanks for sharing the site.
Your welcome. I was thinking when I read your post if it was possible to make your own whiteboard cleaner. I have all my work done for the day so lots of time to play and research. Off I went and found this tutorial: How to Make Dry Erase Board Cleaner | eHow.com
I don't know how well it would work. Instead of Orange Zest I would think Orange essential oil would work better. Make sure you get real essential oil and not fragrant type oil for decor. Essential oils are completely different.
Hey ladies, here is a frugal tip: If you want to buy a book binding machine and want to save lots of $$ check out an office supplier. I bought one last week for under $20 and it works like a dream! Much better than the $75 bind it all (for me anyway because I make larger projects) and the combs are .02-.12 cents a peice.
Here is the project (a DIY scrapbook calendar) I made with my new binding machine:
Hope this tip saves some $$!
Lindsay- I watched your video the day you posted it. OMG! It was so good. I loved it. I almost bought the machine, lol. I am not ready for a comb binder yet. I loved all the other options you shown too. Now, I am watching all of your videos on your You Tube channel. I love all of them. My favorite's so far are the foam stamps, chalk pastels and the tour of your craft room. I loved your craft room. I would never leave. It's one big art studio. We have similar styles in our craft room. That helped me a lot. Especially because my DH oil paints, glass fusing and has three air compressors. We share our studio.
Cindy Littler- That was an interesting article. I wish she did some more testing. I have used both types of felt and I think they do give different results. I think some of her testing was also user error. What have I learned from sponging & felting techniques that all the materials you use will give different results. Tim's felt is higher quality than cheap kids felt so it has different materials.
I used to teach frugality. A few years ago I wrote an article about the cost of convenience. In the frugal world it's almost a sin to say convenience and frugal in the same sentence. I wrote an article about how the cost of convenience can be more frugal in many cases. For the most part frugalites start closing their minds when you say convenience in an article about how to save money. I think that might tick off a lot of frugal people reading that article. Plus, her starting an online store soon made me think she's going to carry Tim's felt pads.
I am not flaming. It sure reads like that. I am sick this week so please forgive me if I came off the wrong way.
I work in the lending department of my bank. A lot of our commercial appraisals and environmental reports are done with a comb binder. We get 3 copies of these reports (one for us, one for the borrower, and an extra). Typically we wait about 6 months before we shred the extra so I always get the combs and the heavy covers before the go in the shred bin.
By the way, I just watched your binding video and that is the same binding machine I have. My company downsized 2 years ago and we had lots of extra office supplies and equipment and I was able to buy mine from my bank for about $20. Works like a charm!
I have always used craft felt for alcohol ink. I take a small baby alphabet block and put sticky back velcro on 4 sides then I cut the craft store felt into squares and place it on the velcro and ink away. It works great! I've never tried the TH applicators, they are probably wool and better quality (they should be for the price!) but I'm happy with my homemade applicator!
Also I use make-up wedges to apply ink from my SU! dye pads and I get the same look as the distress ink with TH foam applicator except if you were to spray water on it it would not give the same spotty effect but for rouging the edges of a tag it works like a dream;)
I discovered this by accident. I got the Tim Holtz rosette die . Tim used Tissue tape to keep the score/perforations from splitting when you do the mountain/valley folds.
I didn't have any Tissue tape. I checked on -line and it was $9 plus shipping for one roll. I was not going to pay that much.
I had a roll of 3/4 " Paper surgical tape that is used for bandages on people with allergies and I used that. It worked fine, folded with no problem and just for fun I tried stamping on it and that works too.
I don't know what I paid for it, but I am certain it was not $9.
You can buy it in any Pharmacy. For our members in the UK at the Chemist .
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
I discovered this by accident. I got the Tim Holtz rosette die . Tim used Tissue tape to keep the score/perforations from splitting when you do the mountain/valley folds.
I didn't have any Tissue tape. I checked on -line and it was $9 plus shipping for one roll. I was not going to pay that much.
I had a roll of 3/4 " Paper surgical tape that is used for bandages on people with allergies and I used that. It worked fine, folded with no problem and just for fun I tried stamping on it and that works too.
I don't know what I paid for it, but I am certain it was not $9.
You can buy it in any Pharmacy. For our members in the UK at the Chemist .
I discovered this by accident. I got the Tim Holtz rosette die . Tim used Tissue tape to keep the score/perforations from splitting when you do the mountain/valley folds.
I didn't have any Tissue tape. I checked on -line and it was $9 plus shipping for one roll. I was not going to pay that much.
I had a roll of 3/4 " Paper surgical tape that is used for bandages on people with allergies and I used that. It worked fine, folded with no problem and just for fun I tried stamping on it and that works too.
I don't know what I paid for it, but I am certain it was not $9.
You can buy it in any Pharmacy. For our members in the UK at the Chemist .
I buy my surgical tape of all place the Dollar Tree. There are two clumsy people in my household and they use the tape all the time. That would be me & my DH. Surgical Tape makes good Washi Tape too.
I was able to purchase a sizzix little die that makes buttons with sale and coupons for $2.39 today with tax! Yeah love to combine sales with % off coupons including sale items.
I took the little button die and cut out my paint chip samples that are textured like suede and leather. I then put them upside down on a mouse pad and use the non writing end of a pen to emboss them. I simply press on the back side in circles until they start to curl up a little. This gives them a little dimension and a more realistic look. I spend a couple hours today making, decorating, putting adhesive on buttons and making little button cards for my granddaughters Christmas gift.
