Budget Layout Challenge

Look at these two similar layouts. Can you tell which one is a cheap budget layout and which one was created with more luxurious costs?  I scrapped them and even I had difficulty remembering!

It really is easy to scrap on a budget without compromising on style and I wanted to explore this further. I created these two layouts to demonstrate how easy it is to make small changes to your layouts in order to save a lot of money!

Let's take a look at the luxurious layout:

Product List and Cost :

• Heidi Swapp Writers Block - $0.08  (full pack $2.99)
• Sandylion Rouge De Garance Rub-on - $0.16 (full pack $2.99)
• K & Co Brads - $4
• American Craft Paper - $0.69
• Heidi Grace Paper - $1.50
• BasicGrey Chipboard - $6.50
• Bazzill Cardstock - $0.40
• Ranger Paint Dabber - $2.40
• black and white pens from stash
• ink from stash

The total cost of this layout is $15.73. The layout itself isn't overcomplicated and is in fact a really simple one. I covered the naked BasicGrey chipboard in Ranger's Denim Blue Paint Dabber to match with the color theme of the layout and age it slightly. I then used a Heidi Swapp ready-made journaling block and added a Sandylion butterfly rub-on.  All the paper has been highlighted by inking the edges with black ink from my stash.  The brads have simply been lined up to add extra dimension.

The budget layout is a different story price-wise -  

Product List and Cost:

• paper from a bulk buy from a shopping channel - cost for the 2 sheets used - $0.40
• chipboard lettering -unknown brand (purchased in a cheap kit) -  $2.00
• chipboard butterfly - $0.30
• Papermania brads (English company) - $1.00
• journalling cardstock - from scraps - $0
• Bazzill cardstock - $0.40
• white and black pens from stash
• white ink, lettering stamp from stash

The total cost of the budget layout is $4.10. That's a saving of $11.63. Do the math - if you make 100 layouts a year and save on average $11 per layout you could be saving $1100 per year! That's a lot of money by anyone's means. It's certainly a realisation for me and motivation to ensure that I try to be thriftier when it comes to creating my pages.

So what have I changed on the budget layout? The journaling block was the biggest savings in my opinion. I simply cut a circle of scrap cardstock, inked around the edge in black ink and stamped the word "FUN" in white ink. I then added a small chipboard butterfly instead of the rub-on used on the more expensive layout and doodled with a white pen. 

The lettering needed no work, as that was how they came; I simply stuck them to the page.  The paper and brads, while the colors have been reversed, were applied in the same way on both layouts.

There were just a few simple changes, applied to the same layout design with no effect on the overall style and feel of the layout.

Why not see if you can save money on your next creation by swapping a few expensive products for a few cheaper things that have been lying around in your stash (probably gathering dust as you couldn't find the inspiration to use them). You will be surprised that quality is not compromised and your creative thinking will be developed and stretched.

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