Substitutions in craft supplies?

[Looser]

Thot it might be useful to have a thread where we could share experiences of having to substitute a material or tools when creating a project.
Rather like the page in a cookbook where they tell you to substitute a cup of milk & a little vinegar if you're out of buttermilk.
Feel free to add yours.

[Looser]

Pattern Paper Substitutes:
Newspapers
Magazine (cover & pages)
Brochures
Books
Junk Mail

When forced to 'make do' I try to find something that comes closest to meeting my need. Could be colors or a pattern of some kind. KWIM?

[howdyheidi]

Don’t forget printed party napkins and Kleenex boxes for patterned papers.  Cereal boxes for chipboard, etc.

[Looser]

Amen, Heidi! TY
Anyone have a substitute for ink--pad & marker. I know that it would have to contain pigment of some kind as well as a carrier that allows the pigment to transfer from the stamp to the materials being stamped.

[howdyheidi]

No ideas for pigment, but you could stamp with acrylic paint if you cleaned your stamp well. 
For dye, I would advise any new stamper to get a pack of crayola markers or if you had a little more in the budget, a few brush tip marker like tombows to stamp with.  Then just huff or spritz water on the stamp to get it to transfer.

The Frugal Crafter (blog) recommends using glycerin for reinking stamp pads, but I am not exactly sure how she does it. 

[Looser]

Glycerin is good, but not cheap. A possible substitute is cornhusker's lotion. It has a glycerin base. And it's great for chapped hands.
To use it on inkpads just apply a few drops & let it soak in.

[stampwilly]

Use foil over card stock if you don't have metallic card stock.

Use the eraser on a pencil to stamp dots. Works great!

If you don't have an acrylic block for a clear stamp, use the lid from a stamp pad. It sticks to the lid well.

No scissors? Follow Daniel's wet and torn paper technique to "cut" out an image, though it will be fuzzy.

No heat gun to melt ep? Hold carefully over a toaster or the burner on the stove. ( You might want to use some tongs! ) I used to do this before I had a heat gun.

No markers or crayons to color with? I know someone who has done this and it looks very watercolored. Use a moist tissue, rub color off a magazine page or M&M's!!! Then wipe the tissue onto your image to color it. It really does look neat!

Want to dry emboss? Use the groove in your cutter and a bone folder and make lines on your card, make them criss cross each other, go diagonally, etc. You can also lay a stencil on your card with a mouse pad under the card and trace with a stylus around the pattern of the stencil.

No stencil? Make one by cutting dies out and using the negative, or use punches and use the negative.

April

[howdyheidi]

I would also use some caution in making substitutions for some things.  If you are a very careful shopper (using coupons, etc), you can slowly build up a really good small stash for just as cheap as buying some of the substitutions.  In general, the substitutes would be things I have on hand already, not much that I bought new. 

I have also noticed that a lot of people who were just casual stampers are letting go of their craft supplies at yard sales and Facebook yardsale.  Some of these supplies are steals!  And some people forgot that their Stampin up sets ARE NOT worth what they paid for them 15 years ago!  As soon as I have a free day, I want to go to our large thrift store (mostly for flower pots) and I expect to see lots of stamps and papercraft stuff for very cheap.

[Looser]

ITA with your post Heidi.

[Iring]

I agree with Heidi.  Unless you happen to have some of the substitutions on hand, it would seem more worthwhile to just buy the correct product for the intended purpose.  I don't have glycerin on hand.

Also, I worry about something like hand lotion being greasy, maybe if your inkpad is already dead, you could give it a try before throwing it away.  I can imagine opening up the ink in a few months and having a weird science experiment!  Same for coloring with M&Ms!  In FL, that would just be an invitation for ants.  I remember people using burnt sugar or milk on cards, same thing, to me that's just yuck!

I embossed a whole lot of Christmas cards over my stove burner before I got a heat gun.  It works!

Ok, how about this one ... as a substitution for Washi tape, use scotch tape to pull up newsprint or magazine print, then glue to your project.  I have some of this tape I made, can't say I've used much of it though!  Also, you can stamp or ink over masking tape.  If you do it on a non-stick surface, it might even be sticky enough to use without additional adhesive.

I don't color with markers much so my Bic MarkIts are an inexpensive option for me rather than investing in Copics.  Sharpies probably work too. 

Before I found Twinkling H2O's on clearance, I bought one jar of Winsor & Newton Water Colour Iridescent Medium.  You can put a few drops in a water brush with water, shake well, and make any of your watercolors iridescent.  You can also use it to make sprays.

Fun thread!

[Looser]

LOL on the weird science quip.
Reminds me of my cub scout days. One month we made coal gardens.
Don't remember all the recipe but you coated a lump of anthracite coal with household chemicals like bluing & iodine. Over a short time colored crystals grew on the coal

[Far North]

Wow, this is a great list     Daniel I recall a similiar thread you initiated on stamp alternatives..thanks for starting this thread!

Heidi, I agree some great sales are out there from stampers who are changing crafts as well as folks downsizing. In addition to stamps I have successfully purchased some ink pads and reinkers.  Speaking of substitutions-Ranger's Cut N Dry is a great product for making your own customized inkpads....and can be saved in a baggie as well as making a customized pad for a specific stamp. 

Thanks Cindi for the mention of Iridescent Medium--fun addition to stash for creating shimmer!