Art supplies can get kind of pricey, so I am always thrilled when I find a good deal. Here are some tips on where to get stuff for cheap:
Stores:
Dollar Tree: This chain of dollar stores has really gotten into offering art, craft, and scrapbooking supplies lately. I’ve found some wonderful items here, some I would have gladly paid more for at a craft or scrapbooking store, some I can’t find anywhere else. The individual stores vary somewhat in what they carry, so I’d check all the different ones in your area to see which have the best art stuff in them. If you find something you really love, buy lots of it, because it may not be available the next time you go there. I’ve gotten scrapbooking papers, stickers, 3-d scrapbooking stickers and embellishments, tags, gel pens, rubber stamps, craft punches, wire garlands with autumn leaves (these are beautiful and I’ve never seen them anywhere else), silk flowers, clear flat marbles, craft foam, glossy photo paper for inkjet printers, shadow boxes, empty cigar boxes, self-sticking jewels, mailing supplies, and plastic bins for storing art supplies there, all for a buck.
Other Dollar Stores: Dollar General usually has a small selection of scrapbooking items shelved near the picture frames. Sometimes I’ve gotten some good things there. Big Lots sometimes has good stuff, too. Locally-owned dollar stores are worth checking–you never know what you might find.
Michael’s: This craft store usually has a coupon for 40% off a single item in the ad flyer it puts into the Sunday paper. You have to actaully clip this coupon and bring it to the store with you – there are no flyers in the store. This is really great if there’s an expensive craft item you want to buy. The Michael’s where I live also has dollar bins near the checkout lanes. I’ve gotten some neat things from those dollar bins, including 3-d scrapbooking embellishments, tins, handmade paper boxes, and notecards. A few times a year they have dollar sales with a larger selection of dollar items.
Hobby Lobby: They usually put their seasonal and holiday items on sale for 50% off a week or two before the holiday. I’ve gotten some good deals at those sales. Also, watch for sales in their framing department if you need to get frames for your artwork.
Dick Blick: If you are a student or a teacher and can show your school’s ID, you can join their discount club for free and get 10% off every purchase. Also, they sometimes have some good sale items–check end-caps of shelves and tables near the checkstands for stuff on sale.
Target Dollar Spot: I’ve gotten some neat scrapbooking and gift wrap items here. Usually, the Dollar Spot is near the checkstands, or near where you get the shopping carts.
Archiver’s: This store is usually very pricey, but they have great dollar bins and a great clearance section. Also, if you sign up for their mailing list, they sometimes send you coupons for free sheets of cardstock.
Thrift Stores and Junk Shops: You never know what you’ll find here, but sometimes you can stumble upon some great vintage items for cheap. Check plastic bags of stuff–sometimes you’ll find great old vintage craft supplies this way. Other things to look for include old games, old coloring books, old recipe booklets and paper ephemera, old costume jewelry, and old magazines.
Recycle Centers: Many citites have organized shops that contain industrial castoffs which are sold to the public at very cheap prices. Some allow you to purchase a sack of a particular size and then stuff it with whatever you want. Two examples of such places are the ArtScrap Resource Center in Minneapolis, and the Recycle Center at the Boston Children’s Museum
Dover Books: Dover has a huge selection of books and CD-ROMs of great copyright-free vintage clip art. They also have art instruction and art history books, coloring books, paper dolls, gift wrap, and stickers. They are all budget priced, plus they have sales several times a year where a selection of their inventory is marked down 40 or 50 per cent.
American Science & Surplus: They sell all kinds of miscellaneous items from industrial surplus at very cheap prices. You can find some amazing and strange stuff here.
Oriental Trading: They have lots of cheap craft supplies, and an increasing inventory of scrapbooking supplies, most at bargain prices.
Free Sources:
Magazines: For non-commercial artwork, magazines provide a treasure trove of images and words to work with. I have a box for saving magazine cutouts, and when I see a neat picture while reading a magazine, I cut it out immediately and put it in my “magic picture box”. I sometimes buy or even subscribe to certain magazines specifically for collage purposes. My favorite magazines for cutting up include Outdoor Photographer, Country, and Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion.
Catalogs and Junk Mail: Ditto for these, only these come to you free! My favorite catalogs for cutting up are Gooseberry Patch, Magic Cabin Dolls, and Desperate Enterprises.
Trash, Yours or Somebody Else’s: Many throw-away items can be recycled for artistic purposes, if you learn to look at trash with an artist’s eye.
Nature: Many items from the natural world can make beautiful additions to an art project. Of course, you should be considerate of others and the environment and not collect things from any place where it’s not allowed.
Freecycle: Many places now have freecycle groups that allow you to both post items you are looking for and browse items people are willing to give away for free.
Your Own Artwork: I generally don’t throw away failed artworks, but save them to recycle into new artworks. That ugly drawing or watercolor may not work as a single piece, but cut up into squares, it could become the base for a lovely set of cards.
There are a number of sites that offer free downloadable scrapbooking papers, clip art, fonts, and embelishments. These are usually quite good quality, assuming you have a good quality printer. I’ve found that a printed piece of downloaded scrapbooking paper looks indistinguishable in a project from real-life scrapbooking paper purchased at a store. Here are some sources to get you started:
The Dover Sampler: Just enter your e-mail address and Dover will send you the URL for a set of downloadable pages from its books and CD-ROMs. Each week’s set provides a wonderful assortment of vintage clip art, ethnic art, classic art, advertising art, and abstract patterns you can download and print for free.
The Shabby Princess: This stie offers several very nice scrapbooking kits for free download.
Digital Scrapbook Place: This site has a freebies board where free scrapbooking downloads are posted regularly.
House of Lime: This site has a ton of free downloadable fonts. You do have to pay a fee if you are using them for any commercial purpose, and if you use them on a web page, you have to link back to the site.
Acme Laboratories: Under “Toys and Amusements,” you’ll find three tools that allow you to make cool digital images with your own text on them, which you can then download to add to your own digital or non-digital artwork. The Acme Label Maker makes labels that look like the labels you make with a Dymo Label Maker. It offers many different fonts, colors, and special effects that you can play around with. The Acme Heart Maker allows you to make a digital candy heart with your own very short message on it. The Acme License Maker allows you to make a digital license plate with your own message on it (choose any state you want). These are great little additions to any art project.
Antique Alphabet Blocks: This is a set of scans of vintage alphabet blocks, available for free download.This is just a sample of ways you can save money on art supplies, if you’re willing to get creative and resourceful. Finding a great bargain or freebie can be as much fun as art-making itself.
Reference:
Free Stuff for Scrapbookers20 Recipes for Homemade Art SuppliesBuying Art Supplies Online
