Do you "make it work" or "must buy very specific thing" ?

I’m one of those weird people that doesn’t totally match their photos to their papers. Also am not super theme oriented. I end up building a kit that is kind of seasonal and scrapbooking with that. I just use whatever is in my stash. I try to be flexible if using a sketch. Nothing ever comes out as I imagined in the start.

I've found myself recently popping onto Studio Calico or IACB to purchase digital cards for my pocket pages, if I don't have the perfect one in my stash of cards.

Other than that, I do hold off on scrapping certain photos if I don't feel like I have the right supplies.

I've been scrapping for 20+ years so I have a nice stash of paper and embellishments. So I usually try to "make it work" with the things I have for general layouts. I do purchase supplies for special events ( new baby, themed birthday) and I will buy collections or kits that I know work with photos I plan on taking - like for dd's wedding or recently I've bought a lot of florals and girly things because I have 5 granddaughters.

There have been times I've tried to scrap a page and didn't have the right items and it didn't feel complete so after struggling for an hour or two, I put the photos to the side and move on to some of the other hundreds of photos that are waiting!

Definitely "make it work".

When it comes to scrapping, I'm cheap and I love sales.

So, I see something I like and then find stuff in my stash that's similar and works well.

That's especially true for card-making.



Paper crafting has taught me one important word: Alter.


ALTER my things to fit a new purpose instead of always buying new things. It keeps my scraproom less filled and allays some of my anxiety about the waste associated w/scrapping & card-making.

Yes


Lol the short answer is yes, I do both. I frequently make it work. But sometimes there’s just that little something I need, it’s usually a tool, a stamp, a die, an ink ( I have so few inks ) but usually I just make it work. I’ve been known to paper piece & fussy cut a specific embellishment that I don’t have, because I just have to carry thru my idea. This tendency goes all the way back in my scrapping career. I once drew & painstakingly exacto cut a specific building that I just had to have on my page. Animals too.

The last time I just had to have something it was stazon black ink to stamp on a picture. I just HAD to have it. Used it that once and haven’t used it since. Perhaps that was a bad idea. I probably should have stamped on vellum & fussy cut the stamp and glued it on. Lol

Before that I had to have a Montreal cut file for my Cameo. ( I did use that ) Then since it wasn’t in the set I HAD to have a shaped cut out of the mount, which I did in silhouette studio nearly segment by segment because the soft ware would not do what I wanted it to do, or at least I couldn’t figure it out. I did similar things with Rome. When I get an idea I will go to great lengths to attempt to make it happen. Sometimes those great lengths use what I have, and sometimes I need just a little something.

WERK IT WERK IT

(I make it work. LOL) There have been times I get hung up on a very very specific thing, but that's usually before I'm doing a layout, I just like the product.

With a simple, clean, & linear style & fondness of neutral color palettes, I usually "make it work" by simply choosing/adding another color/size of cardstock/patterned paper/versatile embellishment, embossing/stenciling the background/photo mat, stamping an image/word/phrase, etc.

I do both frequently.  I use what I have but if I know I can get a specific thing I have been known to replace, redo or just put it aside to wait for the specific thing.

As a heavily theme scrapper I adore getting the perfect papers and elements, but some themes from time to time have nothing specific on the horizon.  So I do just plod ahead.  If I could get into die cut making on my own I'm pretty sure I would make specific diecuts for these times.

here lately it's a stop and put it to the side until I can find "something I know I had" or break down and buy something.

This is me!

Me, too! My bank account is happy.

Make it work.

I tend to take the same types of photos every year, so I collect my supplies with those types of pages in mind. So it is rare that I get into a project and realize I don't have ANYTHING to work with the pictures.

I find joy in using what I have on hand and making it work; frankensteining letters, using my old (old, OLD) pebbles lettering templates, printing things off of the computer...I love it all!

The only time I would be a "pick up exactly what I need" for a project would be if I were at a retreat and the store was right there, so I could be at any stage of the creative process and go browse through what they have that would work with my photos.

I can--and DO--"make it work" most of the time.  I am a long way from town and am not about to leave a half finished project until the mail meanders out to our local post office.  

But if I am in town printing photos, I will make sure that I pick up the scrappy supplies I think will work with those pic's.  And if I am in a LSS or see on line info on a particular collection or product I think will work with some photos I hope to be taking in the future, I grab those when I can.  Because I like to have options right to the end of the scrapping process, I buy MORE than I need for the project at hand so I can choose EXACTLY what I want at the last minute at home.

And then, after an event, I will be drawn to similar products I COULD have used, and collect more in case I need them "next time".  And people wonder why I have such a huge stash...