More Time than Money

There’s been lots of times, in my life, when I was flat broke but that didn’t stop me from gaining craft supplies and it sure didn’t stop me from crafting.

I thought I’d share some of those hunting trips. Who knows, I may give launch to a whole new generation of foragers, reaping craft supplies.

For instance, did you know you never have any business buying the foundations for a wreath at a craft supply store? Why? When, it’s very likely you know where some cattails are growing. That is, of course, if you’re as adventuresome as I am.

It was late in the year and the cattails were beginning to fluff out, everywhere, driving my nose crazy. Those stalks sure looked good to me. I broke them off and dragged them home, where I soaked them in water, over night. The next morning, I took my soggy little messes and bent them all around, into the shape of a wreath. I then used cording to tied it all around and hold it into shape while it dried. It’s true, they were a tad heavy but they worked great for me.

Another time, I cut a whole slew of willow branches and did the same thing. You can make your own twig wreath bases.

A walk in the forest is an amazing shopping trip for me. My nose is always to the ground. I come home with pine cones, acorns (I love to get them while still on the tree, so that I can yank off a piece of branch with leaves to go with the acorn). There are decorative sticks and tall grasses, they add flair to your arrangements.

I claimed a beautiful bunch of wild flowers, once, by spraying them with clear polyurethane spray paint. After it dried, I gave them a second coat and yanked up the whole plant, took it home and put it in a pot. Two years later, it still looked fresh and actually overcame the paint smell, with its own.

Any time you get a chance to dash out into a field of cotton that has already been harvested, grab some cotton boles still in their dried pods. The best ones, still have part of the stem. They go great in arrangements and on wreaths. The same with pecan trees. After a storm, especially, you’ll find tiny branches broken off and of the ground, with the pecan still in the pod. Those make great stems.

Scrap fabrics with tiny print, make great wall paper in the doll house. You can crochet just about anything: plastic bags, old hosiery, old socks stitched together. Ever think about making a rug out of all your old yarn pieces? Or many making strips out of all you left over fabrics, stitch them end to end and crochet yourself a rug?

From now on, everywhere you go, look around you and do some shopping.