Budget-friendly crafting tips and ticks
It can be hard at times to manage to afford to make all of the wonderful things that you see on Instagram and Pinterest. Especially if like me you are running a relatively new small business! However when money is tight there are definitely things that you can do to keep your craft stock fresh! Here are a few of my thrifty crafting tips and tricks... 1) Keep any fabric off cuts. Got an old dress that no longer fits you? Thinking of throwing it out? Don't do it until you've salvaged as much fabric from it as you can! If you've been working on other projects involving fabric - try not to throw away any off cuts. These scruffy fabric pieces can always be reused in patchwork projects, in making mini plushies and even to add a pop of colour to an old outfit!
2) Ebay is your friend Ebay has a wealth of brilliant crafting shops - especially if you are looking to buy individual bits and bobs. Although known as the home of the online Auction there are plenty of instant buy options on there for loads of exciting crafting materials. Which makes ebay well worth a little look when you are trying to save your wallet!
3) Buy wool from charity shops If you have an exciting wool based project in mind that you are dying to try out. Don't rush to hobbycraft just yet! In almost all charity shops you can find wool that fellow crafters have abandoned and sometimes you can get some real gems that cost 1/5 of the price. Such as this rainbow wool that I found and turned into a scarf last year!
4) Buy craft kits (rather than lots of materials) Instead of buying loads of excessive materials to complete a project - save money and buy a kit that contains pretty much everything you need - that way you can save money on extra materials that might otherwise just be left to sit in the back of your craft cupboard!
5) Stay organised It can be all to easy to hoard craft materials and sometimes we forget what we have. Go and take a look through your craft stash and I am certain you will find some things in there that you have forgotten about and could use in one of your latest projects! And last but not least... 6) Sharing is caring Why not get together with some fellow maker friends and have a craft swap? (I'll be posting a blog post soon with suggestions on how to do this!) We always seem to have an excess of something that never gets used (for me it's felt) and as they say one mans trash is another mans treasure. So why not donate your crafty bits to a new home and get something in exchange that you actually want! If you have any other budget busting crafty tips and tricks please share them with me in the comments down below - I'd love to read them! Becci xox
