One year to simplify, innovate and create.
Take the No Spend Crafts Year Challenge with me!
Do you have an abundance of craft supplies that you never use? Do you want to use some of the cute supplies that are just gathering dust? Join the no spend crafts year challenge. We’ll have fun and get creative!
Goals of the No-Spend Craft year?
- Simplify- we want to stop adding to our to-do list and start using the supplies we have.
- Innovate- By limiting ourselves we are forced to be creative and come up with new ideas and solutions
- Create- Lets stop letting our fabric molder in a drawer! Lets use the adorable scrap-booking paper we found half off, let’s make thing with all this fun stuff we have!!
- Be thrifty
The No-Spend Crafts Year Rules*
*take “rules” with a grain of salt. I am not sending out no-spend-crafts police. It’s the spirit of the challenge we’re after, not the nitty gritty details.
- Don’t buy craft supplies (simple enough, right?)
- Use what you’ve got; in your craft cupboards, in your recycle bin
- If you don’t love things you’ve got: get rid of them. Donate or toss supplies you will never use.
- If you need a craft supply, consider whether you can borrow it, buy it at a thrift store or garage sale or repurpose something you already have before buying new.
The deal is: You know what you need to do. Some of us will need to buy a pattern or a book. Some of us *really* could go the rest of our lives and still not read all the craft books we own- you know your own situation, so put limits where you need them!
We’ll have challenges and ideas all year. I already have a couple guest posts lined up by some of my favorite crafty/thrifty bloggers! Sign up for the newsletter to make sure you don’t miss those!
Let me know you’re up for the challenge by commenting below and answering this question:
Which craft supply do you have a ridiculous amount of? (My answer would be vintage fabric, felted sweaters and zippers…)
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Loads of paper – wrapping, scrapbooking, craft, construction, etc. Plus, tonnes of cardboard that I always think we might use
I love this project! (And I love the idea of the no-spend-crafts police – I’m going to be inspecting all your future crafts veeerrry carefully!!)
Wow! Good luck with the challenge! I tend to buy things on an as need basis so I don’t have a lot of stuff on hand besides things like paint, markers and paper. I do have a lot of bottle caps though, guess I should finally use them!
Hahaha, I’m being watched now! If I stick with sewing I can go for a loooong time though
Other crafts I may have to be a bit more resourceful, but I still think I have plenty on hand to work with.
I think this is a great idea! We already try to maximize recyclables but we do have a ton of stuff. You inspired me- I don’t have a craft room- but I have a lot of old stuff (like scrapbooking stuff when I thought I might take to it-) I’m’ getting it all organized now!!!!
Glad I’ve inspired you! And I’ve GOT to do some projects with scrapbooking type stuff this year… I have a bunch of it, but don’t really tend to do scrapbooking.
Nice chalenge, I think it could be very creative. A suivre
Ditto the no craft room right now. I hope to organize most supplies into one accessible area in our office this winter (some in kitchen, some in office, some in storage upstairs , & garage. .). I have a 5yo and 2 &1/2 yo. The last 5 years have picked up pace so fast that we seem to stuff supplies where we can . .I need to get strategic now so that by summer the kids will be able to maximize their creativity with the materials accessible to them in one area.
So,I have lots of recyclables like baby-food jar lids, bottle caps,oatmeal canisters,cardboard, bubble-wrap & packing peanuts, gift wrap/bags, cards,and small frames.
read this whilst making a rag teddy from my daughter’s old vest and the contents of my sewing kit!
oh and we have far too many pencils and colouring pens!
What a great idea!! And I have way too much fabric!!
I have way, way too much scrapbooking paper! I tried my hand at scrapbooking once and pretty much hated it. But, my family of scrappers wants me to love it so they are still giving me paper and supplies! I’m up to my ears! I do use it for crafting things aroung the house or in projects for J…but I don’t think I’ll ever use it all!
Hi there,
Myself and a few others have been dong this for the month of January, a 0.00 spend on anything and craft with what we have etc. See my blog http://motherhenstrikesagain.blogspot.com/ I had 7 golden rules to live by this month. The challnge has been fun, ive been making a few things. I ciuld probably last 6 months or so with craftng thihngs, not sure about a whole year, youre very brave. However, I might link up to your post (if that’s ok?) and if anyone fancies carrying on for the rest of the year they can join you.
Xxx
Thanks for linking Mother Hen! I would love to have a bit of a community of thrifty innovative crafters inspiring each other!
I love seeing what people have too much of- we’ll have to come up with some fun ideas to help lower people’s fabric stashes and paper stashes…
I am going to use a dryer sheet box to make a “memory box” for a friend. Using wrapping paper we have from a present someone sent my 2 year-old (or fabric), I will wrap it and then cut pretty paper and cards that I save that people have given us into smaller pieces to put in a satchel (that I have from a hotel stay) that my friend and her husband can use to write “memories” on. It will be a gift for their son’s first birthday, so the child wrapping paper that I have will be perfect.
Love this idea! Oh my,I have SOOOO many fabric scraps and alot of glass jars, bottles etc…so many other things too but the scraps & glass is ridiculous here lol
oh boy, not sure I could do it!!!! I find craft shopping therapeutic! I love new sparkly sequins, bottles of paint, paper , etc..hehehe
sounds great! I have done something similar before but I really want an need to use up some of my stuff. My biggest hoard is my scrapbook paper!
Oh, this is so what I need right now. I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of craft supplies I’ve brought into my home. I have all these ideas and projects in my head, but I never get around to creating anything for myself or with my kids because I’m too busy organizing and sorting the craft supplies. Not cool. Not cool at all. So glad I’m not alone.