Saving Money With Craft

Saving Money With Craft

Besides making a little money with your craft, how do you save money when you want to make things either to sell or for your own pleasure? I'm not trying to take anything away from some of the better known craft suppliers and brands as they do offer some beautiful and good quality products but sometimes, especially when you're on a tight budget or just want to try it to see if it's your kind of thing to do then there are many alternatives.

Often our own homes are full of crafty bits that we don't even realize. One of my little men decided one day, just off the top of his head, he wanted to make a picture with his bottle top collection. I found him a nice piece of scrap wood I had lying around, nails and a hammer. Next minute he's busily working away and created the most awesome looking beer bottle top picture. He's got it on the windowsill of his bedroom and he's very proud of it, not to mention his Mum is haha! With a little imagination ideas like this could turn into very profitable ones (However in this instance you'd need to find out the copy write laws on using anything with a brand name on it first).

It goes to show though the old saying of "One man's trash is another man's treasure" rings quite true. There would be thousands of things in everyday life that most of us throw out and/or recycle that could be put to good use either for fun or profit.

I've seen old rims off  cars and an inners of old washing machines welded together to make outdoor fire pots, nails, nuts and bolts etc being soldered and turned into little figurines, newspapers and wire being turned into some amazing looking paper mache creatures, gum nuts (if in Australia) big nuts that fall off local trees and twigs being made into little people and homes by painting faces and binding or gluing the wood to make little huts and mounting them on a piece of rustic looking wood, old saws and frying pans etc being rubbed back and landscape themes being painted on them , such as an old farm house in a field, and the list goes on and on.

The only thing stopping you is your imagination. So the next time you get the crafty spark inside you haha! And you think about heading off with your bank card to a craft shop, stop and hunt and brain storm with what you already have. Especially for kids, going for a walk with them to find a couple of rocks to paint can be great fun for them and also a special family thing to do.  I did this with my children awhile ago. We made hedgehog rocks, fish rocks, a penguin rock and had a ball. We used a little paint we already had and the rest was our imagination, all for free.

If you enjoy craft and you're anything like me, you probably have all sorts of scrap bits of material, buttons and threads, paints, glues, glitters, coloured paper, card stock and other crafty bits already lying around.

Another good tip is to look around at your cheap $2 shops and clearance/liquidation shops. Sometimes you pay for a brand name! Where there could be other great products and items to use for a fraction of the price. Second hand shops are also great to have a look in. They often sell big bags of beads and ribbons and left over material etc for quite cheap. Also markets, car boot sales and swap meets can be great to come across handy craft bits. Then there's online, looking at auction sites and wholesaler websites.

What about the special days of the year like Christmas and Birthdays etc? Handmade gifts are such a special thing to give and receive and are often a lot cheaper than retail shop prices. You could make a batch of beautiful handmade soaps and/or a lovely homemade facial scrub and grab a couple of wicker baskets and place your items in and cover with a pretty cellophane and ribbon and have beautiful and unique gifts for people. Cards are also a very expensive item on their own sometimes without even thinking of a present too! Handmade cards are easy to do and can really add the personal touch to a gift.
Also with children, there's nothing like watching your little one's face light up as you hand them a special stuffed toy, blanket, cushion etc  when they know that you have specially made it for them. It could be for your children, nieces, nephews or friend's children etc. Even big kids still love that special something whether they admit it or not haha! Especially as families grow over the years special times like Christmas can go from being a happy occasion to a bit of a nightmare with the daunting thought of how many presents you need to buy. Handmade gifts come from your heart and even something that only cost a few dollars to make can be treasured like it was priceless.

You may already have some craft books at home to go through or you can pick up second hand books for next to nothing in second hand shops, swap meets and online auctions etc. To share a secret, I always wait for old issues of some of the top craft magazines to be placed outside my local newsagents and shops.  Once they become out of date the shops sell them for a dollar or two just to clear their stock to make room for the new stuff. I've got tons of great craft magazines which I paid next to nothing for.

The internet is the biggest craft resource to date. What you can search for is practically endless and you can often get free craft patterns, projects and ideas to try. Craft videos online are also brilliant for teaching you tips and techniques to doing something. I learnt a few embroidery stitches, how to make spectacular looking handmade cards, how to make homemade soap and all sorts of other craft ideas just by finding "how to" videos on a particular subject.

So the next time you go to throw something out, such as paper, card board, bottle tops, old bits of wood, loose nails, nuts and bolts, wire, newspapers, bits of material, old tools etc etc etc, think about what you could create with them and/or your children. Just to do as a hobby or to make profit with.

For more information about craft ideas and/or starting a small craft business please visit my website.

Thanks for Reading,
Beth