List 10 ways that you save money on art/craft supplies. (List 10 ways that your experience proves that creativity does not have to cost a lot of money.)

From Liz

1. Use Coupons
2. Watch for sales
3. Always look for marked down items
4. Compare prices at different types of stores
5. Buy in bulk. If you know you are going to use a lot of paper buy a ream
6. Check out the Parent Teacher Store - but beware of prices - look for sales and specialty items only.
7. Watch for unexpected items, always keep your eyes open. You never know what may be lurking out there that can be bought at a really low price
8. Do Not buy what you do not need! Temptation should be avoided - it adds up and you are stuck with items you do not need
9. Trade or sell off items you no longer need.
10. If you want it, buy it. It may not be there later or its price may go up.

From WireWoman

1. Walk with your eyes peeled for great junk! and always have an extra folding tote or two to haul it away.
2. Coupons!
3. Find out what your fave supply sites specialize in, and get only that from them. Example: I never buy wire from a bead store, beads from a jewelry supply, paper from a small craft store - you get the drift - if the store doesn't have a big selection of "it," you are probably going to pay more than you'd like.
4. Buy much-used materials in quantity, whenever possible.
5. Dollar store - example: I have gotten all kinds of stamp carving eraser material for MUCH less than even a discount office supply. Cheap books can be recovered and furbished. Probably none of the paper is acid-free, but that's a consequence one has to pay for the low price...
6. Office supply
7. PaperZone is great for all kinds of neat paper - and you can buy most of it by the sheet to try it out - then go back and load up!
8. Often print shops will have nice paper for sale by the sheet (I have found colored 11 by 17 there, and also 11 by 17 card stock).
9. OFFICE TRASH
10. Thrift stores, garage sales - you can find great fabric and fiber stuff there - if you're willing to wash and disassemble some clothing.
11. Oops, up to 11 already? Here's an idea that has always panned out for me: ASK FOR STUFF!! I have been given all kinds of neat junk and bits and pieces from people who were glad to get it out of their own space. Bags of truly awful jewelry, awaiting recycling into lovely funky pieces! Bits of yarn and fabric and wooden whatsits and old sheets (great for drying paper) and hangers and cable and stuff. Last week, I went home with 2 big cables full of 12-gauge copper wire from an on-campus construction site. (Now, all I have to do is figure out how to strip that PVC-thick cable off those gorgeous wires...)
12. Always have your eyes open for alternative uses. It helps, sometimes, to sit at home with a table of "junk" and think up 25-50 new uses/arty things to do with those odd bits. Try it with paper clips. You'll be amazed by your cleverness, and you'll have something to do with the 1000-plus beautiful wire-covered clips you get at that Office Depot sale-o-thon for $1.00 (true story!)

DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT: Extra tote bags (nice sturdy cloth), plastic bags, acid testing pen (worth its weight in gold!), small memo pad, at least $10 in cash (tucked away in a special secret spot)...

From Shelley

1. Wal Mart, Baby! I usually grab all my beading supplies there (they're, like, 75% cheaper than Michaels).
2. Dollarstore composition notebooks, tupperware (for storing said creative supplies), and the odd find -- all for a buck!
3. DIY covers (and shoeboxes and bookmarks and door hangers) using old magazines and printouts from the internet.
4. Being a student and visiting your local art supply store -- discounts, discounts, discounts. I use the wee sketchbooks as little notebooks (for writing notes on the fly).
5. Buy in bulk! Costco and Staples often have packages of really neat pens (coloured, smelly, etc).
6. 40-50% off coupons at Michaels -- crochet stuff, paper, stamps, paper mache boxes, wood stuff, glow in the dark stars, boas -- cheap!
7. The internet -- why buy $30 how-to books when you can find it on a web-site or message board.
8. Going to many different places -- knowing what you can get and where will often lead you to the cheapest place to get it.
9. Trading -- while I've never done it myself, I know of a couple people who have traded things they don't need for things they do (the message board at getcrafty.com -- Glitter -- had something like this going on).
10. Flea markets, buy and sell papers, garage sales, thrift stores, and Goodwill are all places to find books, fabrics, and stuff like that.

From Rochelle

1. Buy 50% off at Hobby Lobby always. I always buy rubber stamps on sale there.
2. Buy frames and craft supplies at garage sales.
3. Swap stuff with my artsy crafty friends. I've purchased things that I just had great plans for but never had done anything with it. So I'm more than happy to trade.
4. Recycle my artistic attempts. I've done watercolor paintings that just aren't up to snuff so I cut them up and use them as backgrounds for cards, book covers, bookmarks, write quotes, etc. Watercolor paper can get pretty pricy so I never throw it away.
5. I've purchased old necklaces (for the beads), pottery, boxes (like wooden recipe boxes, jewelry boxes, etc.) that I've decopaged or painted over, small pottery or glass bowls (1-2 in.) that I mix paints in, frames, books, fabic, at the thrift stores in town.
6. I just got a bunch of books from the public library sale, some of which I'm going to use to make altered books. I also got some "how to books" like how to make paper and paste paper and a couple design books and one on how to do art from trash! ($2 for a bag of books - had to hold myself back cause we're getting ready to move but I bought five bags full anyway!)
7. I go together with some other people here and buy from the art and craft supply catalogs. Some of the companies will give you a break on shipping if your order is over a certain amount.
8. I've gone to stamping parties and at the end, I'll collect all the paper scraps that they're going to throw away. It's great for collage. (I get some strange looks for that one)
9. I have a friend who visits junk yards and has gotten some pretty cool stuff for 3-d art and collage.
10. Lately I found a bin (in the back of an aisle at Hobby-lobby) with "zig writer pens" for 50 cents ea. I bought every color they had and two of some of them! I'm fortunate that my family is very tolerant of my art supply collection!

From Heather

1. Use the paper bags other purchases come in for other projects.
2. Look out for markdowns, %off sales.
3. Use pre-used wrapping paper for crafty projects.
4. Add water to paints and glue (just a bit).
5. Haunt secondhand book stores.
6. Never throw out old magazines (well, maybe once a year).
7. Keep interesting boxes and foils from other purchases.
8. Use cereal boxes, card from your partner's shirts, and similar for cutting out templates and backing card, etc.
9. Use the library as much as possible.
10. Look up everything you're curious about online.

From Susan

1. My #1 favorite is garage sales! I go every weekend, you never know what you will find. Last week I found some cute little stretched canvases with frames (about 4x5") and got 5 for $1.
2. Having a relative that works at a bookstore. I get to be the first to find out when books are going to the $1 table.
3. The library. Many times I will check out a book instead of buying it. Also, the library has good book sales.
4. Thrift stores - not as good as garage sales, but still worth checking out. One shop near me always has big bags of fabrics scraps for $1 - great for collage.
5. ebay - good if you're looking for something specific.
6. Unused gifts - If I get a gift I don't particularly like, I try to reuse it in some creative way. Can't think of a good example at the moment.
7. Old magazines - I never buy these. My bookstore connection is allowed to bring home stacks of magazines from the previous month that haven't sold. Also, garage sales often give these away as freebies. Great for collages.
8. the internet - you can look up anything online. I look for project ideas and instructions online before I buy any books.
9. Used book stores - I almost never buy books at retail price. We have a great shop nearby that had a sale last weekend - 50% off everything in the store. Also, half.com is a great place to find cheap books, usually half (or more depending on how old the book is) off the retail price.
10. Online trades - I haven't actually tried this site out yet, but it looks very promising. Search for items you want and you get a list of people who have it and are willing to trade with you. --- http://nervousness.org/people/exchanges/