Frugal....REALLY?

Hello all:)

I've been thinkin' about something that a VERY GOOD friend of mine mentioned to me the other day, so I thought...WOW, if this AMAZINGLY insightful friend of mine thought this...I'm sure it's crossed the mind of many other of my blogging buddies...and this is now my question of the day...

FRUGAL...REALLY?

Now I'm sure you all know that there are two things that are very "Close to my Heart" when it comes to paper crafting...FRUGALITY and TIM HOLTZ products...and the question came up about how I tie these two things together...and this is a VERY good question indeed:)

So I decided to reflect on what I mean, and thought I'd share a few things with you on my interpretation:)

Now, I do have to admit...I don't consider ALL of Tim's goodies to be frugal and those are items I typically use sparingly on my projects.  That being said, there are MANY things linked to Tim's name that I do find to be VERY FRUGAL purchases. I NEVER go anywhere without these products. When I think of FRUGAL, I think of "cost per use" basis shopping.


My top 10 are (in no particular order)

1. Distress inks & stains

I've been surfing the web this morning looking at some AMAZING projects and am hardpressed to find ONE that doesn't use at least ONE of Tim's products...Distress inks are definitely up there at the top...a paper crafter should NOT live without them:)


2. Alcohol Inks
 
Now, you know that the challenge has always been how to "paint" metal, glass, plastic, and other non-porous surfaces, right?  Well, alcohol inks do a TREMENDOUS job on these surfaces...and the best part is that the coverage is transluscent so the character of the surface is still evident.  I now by MOSTLY white/cream pearls and rhinestones and change the color as needed with my handy alcohol inks.
 
3. Perfect Pearls

These awesome powders work tremendously well with distress inks when applying them directly to your project...they act kind of like embossing powder as it clings to the distress inked areas and are set with the Heat Tool....but better yet, when mixed with a little water in a mini mister, they become an awesome glimmery spray.  I just love using the spray technique because I can apply my distress inks to my project with more control for color and then spray my perfect pearls concoction to add the perfect level of glimmer.

4. Ranger Archival Ink

My FAVORITE ink for use with stamps when I want a really CRISP finish (perfect for sentiment stamps and flourishes, etc).  Stamps with alot of detail are also great because this ink doesn't "bleed" on your paper.

4. Distress tools (all are in this category such as the applicator AND the sponges)

Now, if you know me well, you know I started out with "frugal" distress ink/alcohol ink tools...but now????  I have to admit I have a separate distress tool for each color of distress ink I own...why, you may ask???? My second "frugal" philosophy...TIME IS MONEY, lol...I was tired of having to switch my sponges each time I wanted to use a new color of distress ink (plus, have you ever tried to "label" sponges with the color they are?)  Now I know there are some amazing ideas for keeping the sponges with the inks, like attaching a velcro piece to the bottom of the ink pad and attaching the sponge to it when not in use, but again, TIME IS MONEY...and I'd still have to keep switching them, lol...

5. Mini Misters

What can I say here?  Mini Misters are a MUST HAVE!  The can be filled with water, blending solution, perfect pearls concoctions, etc.  I use these ALL the time!

6. Heat It Tool

The quietest, but most effective heat tool I've come across.

7. Paper Distressor

NOT distress a paper edge???  It can't be!  I distress EVERYTHING!!!!  I do sometimes use scissors, but normally tear the paper MORE than I intended, so this distress tool is the BEST!

8. Tonic Scissors

The BEST scissors I've found for the price.  LOVE THEM!

9.  Alterations Dies

Now, I know you do need some sort of diecutting maching to use these...but you can now find them secondhand, so no need to fret...I use the alterations dies ALL the TIME...remember cost per use basis???  I'm talkin' pennies with these since I use them so much...the best part is that they don't just cut through paper, they can cut through chipboard, corregated cardboard, fabric, fun foam, aluminum (think soda cans)...plastic (think packaging), etc.

10.  Texture fades

I just LOVE these embossing folders for altering paper and adding texture to my projects...another MUST HAVE.

My cost per use philosophy:

Let's use the Heat It Tool as an example since that's probably the most expensive item on my top 10 list...It retails for around $25, but I've probably used it about 200 times since I purchased it...so we're talkin' about $.125 per use.  Now I could have purchased a less expensive heat tool, but they are MUCH louder AND tend to blow my projects ALL over the place while the Heat It tool is VERY quiet and while it really HEATS, it does so without blowing my projects around.

If you have any questions, or have other suggestions for uses of my top ten items above, feel free to leave a comment:)