2006: Layouts are cleaner. Hand-journaling is ‘in,’ chipboard (which can be gleaned from the cover of any old spiral notebook) is the hot new embellishment, and doodling and stamping are two of the latest crazes. What a fantastic time to be a frugal scrapper! An assortment of markers and some paper, scissors and/or a paper trimmer (and don’t forget, the internet!) provide an amazing breadth of possibilities for embellishing your treasured pages.

Creating the layout below for a Kitspirations monthly challenge (in which participants are severely restricted as to what embellishments they can use) really made me put my thinking cap on and figure out ways to embellish with supplies I already had on hand. After using paper and markers to create most of the embellishments and personalization on this page, I’ve put together some ideas you can take with you and try next time YOU want to scrap a page that won’t cost a fortune.

VERSATILE SUPPLIES FOR FRUGAL SCRAPPING. The more ways you can use it, the more valuable it is for scrapping on a budget. The list below contains some of your most versatile scrapping supplies. Investing in these will give you plenty of options for a variety of embellishments that you can re-create time and time again.

- Cardstock. This is, of course, the foundation of for of your pages. Choosing a textured cardstock, like Prism’s Prismatics or Exclusives lines, gives you a choice of two different looks when it’s time to scrap.

- Stamping markers. These are double-ended, with one end a thin tip for journaling and the other a thick tip. I prefer the brush tip, which makes for easy use with rubber stamps. These markers can be used for journaling, doodling, stamping, shading, coloring or even just inking edges.

- Alphabet stamps. Acrylic, rubber, or foam – any kind will do. One medium sized alphabet can be used for the obvious function – lettering – but that’s not all.

- Paper scraps. Most scrapbookers use patterned papers, and find themselves left with bits and pieces at the end of a project. These bits and pieces can be re-tooled with the help of a marker or some paint, and used to the last bit.

- Paint. A few paint colors can help get you out of the habit of running to the store every time you want an embellishment in a color you don’t have. Use it to re-color or pattern paper, cardstock, plastic, chipboard, metal and more.

TECHNIQUES TO TRY! These techniques were used in the creation of “Time for Sushi.”

1) PAPER RIBBON and ‘FIBER’. Scraps of the same patterned paper were colored red with the brush end of a stamping marker, then the strips were used in the same way I would have used fiber (tying the ‘chopsticks’ and the borders in the bottom left hand corner together) and ribbon (folded ‘ribbon’ snippet in the lower left hand corner of the central photo).

2) METALLIC ‘HARDWARE’. A few good metallic pens or paints can go a long way when it comes to dressing up your scrapbook pages. A dab with a silver metallic pilot marker mimics a brad head on the red paper ribbon. Any chipboard or paper embellishment can be metallicized this way.

3) FOLDED PAPER EMBELLISHMENTS. AKA:origami! All right, I originally got the idea for this paper kimono – crafted from part of a sheet of double-sided patterned paper and a strip of ribbon – from a PageSage DVD retailing for $29.95. But when my two year old gunked up the DVD so that I couldn’t use it, I did a quick internet search and found the same pattern online for free. Not all origami patterns have a specific ethnic look to them, and they definitely provide a 3-D choice for scrappers who like a little dimension on the page.

4) CUSTOMIZED PAPER SCRAPS. Borders are stamped using a green marker and LETTER stamps – those are interlocking “S”s down the side, and “O”’s across the bottom.

5) PHOTO TITLE. A photo that coordinates with the page but can’t be used for some reason? ‘Scrap’ photos from older projects? Give them new life by using them as patterned paper for titles, die cut designs or more. For “SUSHI,” I printed an enlarged title from my computer, then hand-cut my unique title from a photograph.

6)MORE PAPER SCRAPS. “Chopsticks” were cut freehand from paper scraps. For more dimension, I could have mounted them with 3D Design Blocks from Adhesive Tech or even coated them with a layer of dimensional glue.

Stretching your supplies, stretching your budget, and stretching your imagination: they all go hand in hand. Have fun!

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