I am an avid scrapbooker and love creating homemade crafts, so I know that buying supplies from art supply retail stores can be quite expensive. So, here I've compiled all of the ways I've found to save on supplies and still be super unique and creative.

1. Put Old Magazines to Use- There are so many ways you can finally get some use out of that huge magazine stack that's been collecting under your bed ever since you first subscribed. A technique I love is to cut out different sized and colored letters and make sayings or quotes. You can cut out letters from the cover page, different ads, and article titles. Combine them all to get a cool retro feel. I recently cut out letters in different shades of blues and made a collage for my son's nursery that says 'Children are potential, not possessions". I love that it cost next to nothing to make, and is homemade and completely original.

You can also look through old magazines for cute pictures and graphic designs to incorporate into collages, scrapbooks, or any other visual project. I also like to use the pages from fashion spreads as background pages for my scrapbooks. They are always really themed and have little to no writing on them. If they do have some writing, you can always cover it up with a picture or other design.

2. Use Search Engines to find Graphics- This is a really good idea when scrapbooking. For example, when I started my son's scrapbook, I searched Google images for terms like "baby boy", "it's a boy", and etc. I found a lot of cute stuff and saved!

Just search on different search engines images tool for terms related to the project you're doing. You'll find plenty of results which you can print out and use in your projects. I'd suggest you only use these graphics for personal purposes though, since some may have copyrights on them. As long as they're used only within your personal crafts, that shouldn't be a problem.

If you don't have a printer, you can print them out at your local library or school if you attend for a couple cents a sheet. It's still much cheaper than buying stickers and designs from art supply stores.

3. Got Glue?- It's a little known fact that if you've got no glue, you can make some! Mix an equal amount of flour and water, depending on how much glue you need. Mix it up until it turns into a pasty substance.

This type of glue should be used right after you make it, as it will go moldy if left out and unused. It's good for paper projects and should be left out to dry completely after it's used.

Also, even if you do have glue, you can always add glitter for a nice touch. Use it as paint to decorate stuff.

4. Homemade Modeling Clay- There are alot of cool crafts out there which call for some type of modeling clay. Instead of splurging on the stuff at the store, you can make it right in your kitchen with ingredients that you've probably already got. Use 1 cup flour, a tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons cream of tarter, 1/2 cup salt, and 1 cup water. Mix all the ingredients in a large pan and cook gently for around 3 minutes. Let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you plan to use it. Make sure the container is air tight or the clay will dry up!

You can also add food coloring if you want to.

5. Look Around!- There are supplies all around you! Paper Plates can be masks with some scissors and markers, A pizza box can be cut up to provide the cardboard for a big wall collage, dry pasta can be painted various colors and glued onto different crafts as decoration.

When you're crafting, look around the house using not only your eyes, but your imagination. The options are endless!