Best Scrapbooking/Paper Crafting "Score"-what did you get???

One of my most epic scores was my embossing gun, got it for $3 at my lss garage sale waaaaaay back in the day. It's the purple name brand one that a lot of us scrappers have (can't remember the name).

I also picked up some great stamp sets from Citrus Twist in a BF sale a few years ago, they were soooooo cheap and I love and use them a lot!

Not really a "deal", but I also searched and finally found the CM combo cup holder/trash bag thing that clamps to the table. I LOVE that thing!!

Ooooh, one more. I was at a crop, and they had gotten a donation of one woman's scrap room stuff-so we got to take what we wanted. I got the large CM circle template, and the threading water punch that I have always wanted but couldn't find. They also talked me into taking home a large black sticker binder thing-I should pull it out and see if I can make it work for die cuts/stickers that are the "leftovers".

I have given this question some thought and I don't even know where to go with it.  I have been scrapping for so long, have been in innumerable stores selling scrapbook supplies and going out of business sales, conventions, scrapbook yard sales, free stuff tables, consultants selling clearance, you name it.  If there have been scrapbook supplies available anyplace, I have availed myself.

My best score purchase EVER was the recent Michaels $1 clearance of their stickers.  I went to about 4 Michaels stores and spent probably a total of $600 on stickers - Paperhouse, Jolies, MAMBI, Soft Spoken , Thickers, all for $1 each.  That made me so happy because I love stickers probably more than any other scrapbook supply except my hermafix dotto adhesive. 

Last summer I stopped by a yard sale that advertised something I wanted NSBR.  While there I noticed a box of 12x12 unopened D ring albums in really pretty colors.  I do not use 12x12 but I asked what she wanted and she was bundling them with other items I bought.  I think I got 10 albums for maybe $1 or $2 dollars each.  I took those albums to a crop and flipped them, selling them for about $10 each.  I then donated the profit to a group that makes scrapbooks for local neonatal units.  That was a pretty amazing find.

I have been gifted Crop in Style XXL rolling totes from people getting out of the hobby, and gotten free boxes full of sizzix dies.  I have come home from crops with 200 or more pieces of paper absolutely free.  I have been given many iris boxes but I never seem to have enough.

I went to a crop once and was the first name drawn for a door prize.  I got to choose from a variety of items, all CM.  I chose this frame thing that was worth about $35.  I then donated it as a raffle prize to a breast cancer fundraiser crop.  Recently I won a prize at another CM crop and it was a $27 border punch.  That I am keeping for now.  

It is crazy what I have gotten for free or practically free.  It is about 50% of the reason I have an out of control hoard.

I would have been all up in my car seats and then had friend hold my place while I ran to the nearest ATM. That kind of sale would send my adrenalin into overdrive!

Love it! I will count mine as my best score, too. 45 drawers and I paid $100 for it years ago. It’s pretty much the only piece of furniture I plan to take when we eventually downsize lol.

LOVE these stories!

My best was winning a Cricut Expression at my LSS. I had the personal Cricut and really wanted to upgrade but couldn’t afford it at that time.

My LSS had a raffle. My DS was quite little at the time (he’s now 20) and he put the ticket in the box for me. He did a “winning dance” when he dropped in the ticket. When I won the drawing, he was so convinced that he made it happen! He still remembers that!

The Expression is still going strong! Love that thing. My scrappy friends have upgraded to different machines but I use it mainly for large letters/shadows and it works great for that.

I’d ordered one of the 36-yard rolls of 1/2” or 3/4” Scotch foam core tape on Amazon for popping up card fronts, sentiments, etc. But they shipped a whole case of nine rolls of 1” wide foam core tape. When I contacted them, they said to keep it. I’ve donated and given some as gifts.

The other wasn’t a good $$ deal but set me up for years. Tombow used to manufacture a pink refillable tape runner. I heard they were discontinuing it - maybe because so many cursed how it was refilled - and panicked because other tape runners weren’t wide enough to be comfortable, and ATGs are too big/unbalanced, because of a little arthritis and an old minor hand injury. And besides the size, I liked how if a card front was askew I could reposition it but once adhered was permanent, and the adhesive could be easily rubbed off CS if any showed, etc.

I finally found bunches of refills in several places, spent $200-$300 (!), and still am using them. I have two of the tape runners, and if they both break or the tape gets wonky from being unused so long I’m screwed. But for now all’s good.

ETA: I just realized this thread was for best scrapbooking score, and I don’t scrapbook - I’m sorry I missed that! 

My best deals were always the October Afternoon warehouse sales. I still have a pretty big stash.

I did score more of my favorite American Crafts (?) Chaps line at a going out of business sale for 75% off. I bought it all. I used most of it up and shared some of it.

I just remembered a big free score when I was newish to card making. Someone on the Studio Calico forum organized a pass-the-box-along list - not what it was called. I joined, and one day a large box arrived stuffed with stamps, washi tape, all kinds of supplies. It was so exciting! I still have a few of the stamps.

Over time I’d put things into a donate/giveaway box from that box and from my own stash that I wasn’t using, and shipped it to a teenager who was a Studio Calico member. She mailed me a wonderful thank you card - she had such talent! So that was a score too. I wonder what happened to her, and if she kept up paper crafting. I should send her a card.