Despite my friends teasing me that I’m like an old grandmother (I also play solitaire and go to bed at 10pm, to be fair), I find scrapbooking an adorable, creative and interesting memory-keeping tool, especially if you’re already an artist like me. But if you’ve ever watched scrapbooking videos or seen blogs and processes online, you realize quickly how big and involved and expensive scrapbooking can be.

I know 90% of the year I can barely afford ramen noodle cups and consider living in my car because room and board is so expensive, and while everyone isn’t in exactly that position, more or less college students in America are all in the same boat. I was lucky to have a nice aunt who steadily gifted me a few supplies over the years, some papers, inks, and stamps, and a straight-cutter, but mostly I’ve had to scavenge and coupon my way to a stash that comes to two-boxes of well-loved supplies, so I’m going to share some tips with you.

First tip is a stack of cardstock and a pan of watercolors is always going to be cheaper than a pack of 12x12 papers. I’ve made my own background papers so many times and while they don’t always turn out great, scrapbooking involves a lot of covering up what you don’t like and accentuating what you do, so it usually works out!

This seems like a lot of work, but if you set up a fan to dry the paper and use a towel to sponge some of the excess wet off, you can have a beautiful paper in minutes. I tend to make mine on a case-by-case basis, but it makes sense to make a whole bunch of them at once so if you get inspired you can get right to the papercrafting without worrying about paint.

With a piece of cardstock, a cutting board/mat, and a box cutter from the hardware store (I splurged and got a seven dollar one, but they come less than five), I’ve made a bunch of my own stencils which work with ink pads and paints. Another note, the only noticeable difference between tempera and acrylic paints for scrapbooking purposes is that acrylic dries faster and tempera will re-activate when introduced to water, so that dollar store set of temperas should work great! (When going heavy mixed-media, I prefer acrylics but that’s only because I happen to have them. If I didn’t have any I wouldn’t bother buying some just to scrapbook.) I prefer dabbing the paint through the stencil with the tip of an old brush, a sponge, or my fingers rather than brushing it on.

Talking about box cutters, I’m lucky enough to have a small Fiskar paper trimmer, which can come to as low as 13 dollars on Amazon (just make sure you get a 12” not a 9”), but that’s a little extraneous when you’re in a 10’x10’ dorm room with a roommate, so the easiest thing to use is, again, a cutting board/mat and a box cutter/exactoknife. If you’re not confident with your cutting skills with scissors, I recommend getting good with one of those, but I think wiggly edges are charming so sometimes I use scissors anyway. Or if you’re a rebel and not afraid to get injured for your art, you can open up your scissors and use one side of the blade instead of buying a box cutter. Just make sure to draw some kind of guideline before you cut!

I’m going to continue talking about box cutters because alphabet stickers are so expensive. I often just draw my letters out on a piece of paper/cardstock and cut them out with my scissors or box cutter (depending on their size). I can make whatever font I want and make them whatever color I want from there. Alternatively, I often write directly on my layouts with Sharpies and gel pens.

Ending the DIY section of this article, here's some advice about where to buy things in the event that you do have money. Antique and thrift stores are great for bits of ephemera: buttons, doilies, lace trimmings, thread, etc., all can be found cheap at a good thrift store, and papers too if that’s your style, but I tend to find vintage papers too dull and dingy. Your first thought might be to shop online, at Etsy or Amazon, but oftentimes even if you manage to find a good product at a good price, the shipping is way too much to be worth it. If you have Amazon Prime free shipping, definitely if you see a good sale go for it, but otherwise three dollars for shipping isn’t worth some buttons.

I use buttons instead of enamel dots, which many online scrapbookers use, because you can get more for less. (Other replacements for enamel dots: circles created by hole puncher, sticky-back rhinestones, stamping with a pencil’s eraser.) Target’s dollar bins often have lots of cute washi tape, mini clothespins, and other bits as would any dollar store. I decide what to buy based on quantity versus price, so if two things are both two dollars, I’d buy the one with 30 pieces over the one with 13.

As far as couponing goes, waiting for significant in-store sales is often worth much more than any coupon, so subscribe to your local craft stores’ email newsletters, that way you get both. I don’t know about Hobby Lobby, but Michael’s and A.C.Moore’s coupons tend to only be for single full-priced items, so I tend to only use them if I have my eye on an item that is a little to expensive but I would buy 40% off, like a nice ink pad or a new adhesive. If you manage to grab a coupon that takes off of your whole purchase or off sale merchandise as well, covet it and shop responsibly.

With regards to adhesives, if you have a coupon or the money necessary, I would recommend basically any TomBow adhesive, both liquid and tape runners, depending on your crafting needs. There’s a lot so I’d read them over before purchasing. Right now I’m trying to use up my mounting squares, which are great for cardmaking but not so much scrapbooking because of scale, and I’ve also used dollar store Elmers glue (requires patience), hot glue (recommended but don’t burn yourself), and staples (can’t reach the middle of the page).

I don’t really use an actual scrapbook and just leave my pages lying around with the rest of my art stuff, which I don’t mind, but I would recommend at least a binder so that you can keep them all organized, even if it’s not quite the right size and the pages poke out on the ends.

That’s all I have to share! Happy scrapbooking!