HOW TO Spend Less On Your Craft Projects
So you think getting involved in re-doing furniture and creating something unique is going to cost you a lot of money....you can't be further from the truth! With just a little bit of your time and just keeping an eye out when you're doing your everyday jaunts around town, can net you savings. Things that would normally costs you a full price in a store, can be had for 50% off too a cost of $0, if you just know that some day in the near future, you'll be using it!
For example, you want a shelving unit....for holding supplies, books, boxes of stuff you've accumulated, displaying items....whatever. Do you go to the store and pick out that one that's going to cost you $25-$500 (upper end). Or are you going to be creative and try and add your own style and charm to it? I'd take this road every time!
How to go about it? When you're on your travels about town....watch for those times when someone is pitching something to the curb. Do you see some old kitchen cabinets someone is throwing out? Are the doors solid wood (most older cabinets are)? Those doors make great, solid shelfs (no bowing or warping either, like soo many of the "newer" products that are out there today).
Now you need something to separate the shelves. Oh my goodness....if you go to a hardware or builder supply store and check out the price of legs/spindles for separating those shelves....they can run you $8-$15 a piece and up....BUT, if you only but watch for those times people are throwing out old chairs.....yeah, they might not be good for sitting on any more....but most still have the legs that can work as the shelf dividers. It doesn't matter if you use one set of legs to divide the upper shelves and another set to divide the lower shelves....it all adds to the charm of the piece!!!
Now, I don't know how many times I've been in a hardware store (one of my favorite things to do), either to pick up sandpaper or some other small item for a project, but one of my "have to" do on the list when I go...is to check out the "clearance" items. Every hardware store has a corner or an end of the aisle section where they have clearance items that are next to nothing compared to the regular price. And this could be anything in their store, but I have found great deals on paint, polyurethane, tools, and other supplies that I use to "create" my treasures. It's much nicer to me to pay $2 for a quart of paint rather than $8-$10. (Better yet is having your friend give you what's left of her quart....which is usually over 3/4 full! Please note that I never accept colors from her that I know I'll never use because I don't like the color and she's just giving it to me so that she doesn't have to dispose of it!)
Another idea....you want a coffee table, but heaven knows, you don't want to pay the price their asking for those in the furniture store!! Keep your eye out (garage sales, curbside) for those small wood kitchen tables or end tables that would be about the size of the coffee table you would like. It's just a matter of cutting down the legs! How simple can that be?!!! So what if the top is marred up....that's easily sanded and restained or painted.
I have rarely, ever, paid full price for anything when it comes to my finished furniture/craft pieces!
This whole project was based on these principles and I personally think it turned out swell!
For example, you want a shelving unit....for holding supplies, books, boxes of stuff you've accumulated, displaying items....whatever. Do you go to the store and pick out that one that's going to cost you $25-$500 (upper end). Or are you going to be creative and try and add your own style and charm to it? I'd take this road every time!
How to go about it? When you're on your travels about town....watch for those times when someone is pitching something to the curb. Do you see some old kitchen cabinets someone is throwing out? Are the doors solid wood (most older cabinets are)? Those doors make great, solid shelfs (no bowing or warping either, like soo many of the "newer" products that are out there today).
Now you need something to separate the shelves. Oh my goodness....if you go to a hardware or builder supply store and check out the price of legs/spindles for separating those shelves....they can run you $8-$15 a piece and up....BUT, if you only but watch for those times people are throwing out old chairs.....yeah, they might not be good for sitting on any more....but most still have the legs that can work as the shelf dividers. It doesn't matter if you use one set of legs to divide the upper shelves and another set to divide the lower shelves....it all adds to the charm of the piece!!!
Now, I don't know how many times I've been in a hardware store (one of my favorite things to do), either to pick up sandpaper or some other small item for a project, but one of my "have to" do on the list when I go...is to check out the "clearance" items. Every hardware store has a corner or an end of the aisle section where they have clearance items that are next to nothing compared to the regular price. And this could be anything in their store, but I have found great deals on paint, polyurethane, tools, and other supplies that I use to "create" my treasures. It's much nicer to me to pay $2 for a quart of paint rather than $8-$10. (Better yet is having your friend give you what's left of her quart....which is usually over 3/4 full! Please note that I never accept colors from her that I know I'll never use because I don't like the color and she's just giving it to me so that she doesn't have to dispose of it!)
Another idea....you want a coffee table, but heaven knows, you don't want to pay the price their asking for those in the furniture store!! Keep your eye out (garage sales, curbside) for those small wood kitchen tables or end tables that would be about the size of the coffee table you would like. It's just a matter of cutting down the legs! How simple can that be?!!! So what if the top is marred up....that's easily sanded and restained or painted.
I have rarely, ever, paid full price for anything when it comes to my finished furniture/craft pieces!
This whole project was based on these principles and I personally think it turned out swell!
posted by J. Martin @ Thursday, January 12, 2006
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