my {little} addiction

Hello, my name is Shannon. (Hi, Shannon) I am addicted to craft supplies. BUT, thankfully for me I have found a way to completely justify it! Lucky for you, I'm going to teach you how to justify it too. ;) Your husbands (or wives) can thank me later.

Fabric is my number one craft supply. This is a small corner of my stash. I try to keep it organized, and varied so that no matter the project or color I need there is a great chance I have a little bit!

There are few things more frustrating to me than wanting to work on a new project that I've come across during my Internet browsing or brainstorming and finding that I don't have all the materials I need to even get started on the first steps. When the creating bug hits me I have to get moving! Most times for new endeavors I may have to get one or two special items to complete a project, but I love to be able to start the first stages of a project right away.

My ribbon stash has severely lessened since I stopped hard core scrapbooking, but I still love to have a few spools on hand, and I never throw away the ends of the spool!

By having a well stocked craft area I have ensured that when I get the itch to create something there is a pretty good chance I already have more than half of the needed supplies. Over the years I have gone from a tiny box to hold all my things to a full blown craft room. You can have a good selection no matter the space that is available to you. You may just have to edit a bit more, and really decide what things you love and use the most. Those are the things you have handy.

Any time thread is on sale I buy another color. Sitting down to start sewing only to realize you don't have the correct thread is so aggravating!

 The key is keeping an eye on the sales! When the notions wall at Joann's is 50% off I stock up on things I know I'm going to use (elastic, velcro, snaps) and maybe if I can afford it I buy a few things I'd like to try using or just some extras add to my notions supply at home.

I love to have a good variety of paints. The kids and I both use these for many things! I always buy a color or two when they go 50% off!

I also try and use every coupon I'm given. My store of choice is Joann's (I seriously LOVE that store), and they are great at sending 40-50% off coupons out in their mailer. They are currently running a special called "coupon commotion" where there are two pages full of coupons in the mail-out add. Jack. Pot. I will take an evening to browse the whole store looking for things that I need or could be useful just so I can use each coupon!

My kids have a drawer full of supplies that have been collected over the years that they are free to utilize at any time. Beads of all types, glue, pipe cleaners, construction paper, canvases, markers, etc.

A lot of the things I like to use never go on sale, coupon commotion is when I will stock up on those (embroidery hoops, spray paint, thread). You can always use another can of spray paint, and if it's half off you can be brave and try a fun new color! There's something so satisfying about wanting to paint a frame and having a wide variety of colors to choose from right in your own garage.

all this plus 6 cans of white...

I also hold on to things I have accumulated.. I haven't scrapbooked in ages, yet I have all of my paper, alphabet stickers, brads, embellishments, stamps, etc. that I never used. I can use these things in many different ways, and to me the money I may have recovered by selling them didn't outweigh the money I may have had to re-spend if another paper based project came up. I have them stored nice and neat, and ready to be used at a moments notice. Perfect for cards and projects, and my oldest LOVES when I let her dig into my massive collection of stickers and paper and go to town. We are big on handmade birthday cards, and I can't think of a better way to use up old supplies.

The white drawers hold all my remaining scrap embellishments and tools. Easy to access, but not in the way.

So there it is, my dirty little secret. I stockpile craft supplies like nobodies business, but the key is that I use them! So my stash is in a constant flow of in and out. Plus then it gives me a reason to buy something new!