Scrapbooking - how expensive is it really?

[MelanieMC]

I've been wanting to start scrapbooking and I only know a couple of people irl that are really into it. I always hear people say how expensive it is, and I was wondering how much it really costs? In my town we have a store that sells only scrapbooking supplies, and we also have hobby lobby and Michaels. which of these would be cheaper to get stuff from? I know that at hobby lobby they have 2 rows of scrapbook stuff - I've just never really looked at it or the prices. How much could I expect to spend to do a full book?
Also, how long does it usually take to do a page or two? I know most of this depends on personal factors, but I would love any input anyone can give me. TIA :smile

[MomToDM]

The cost depends completely on you. Some of my pages probably cost less than 20 cents, others maybe 2 or 3 dollars. I'm not a particularly fancy scrapbooker, I use mostly Creative Memories stuff, but will occassionally buy other papers or stickers. The books themselves are probably the most expensive, my CM ones cost around $36 plus $12 for each additional pack of pages. If you use a lot of tools that will be the biggest investment. If you want to start out cheap buy an album, a paper trimmer, some decorative paper, tape, some stickers and some good pens. Make sure you get archival quality or acid free, lignin free. HTH :grin

[GrumpyMom]

i started out with creative memories stuff and i still use a lot of it...but i've found some comparable, cheaper stuff lately. michaels recently had a sale on the 12 x 12 albums that are just like creative memories - they were $15. i also got refill pages there and some decorative paper. while i like my personal trimmer from creative memories, you could totally survive with the $12 "slicer" from WalMart which I actually prefer for most of my cutting (it's a clear ruler sized "stick" with an orange tab that you slide to slice/cut paper and pictures). i also prefer my WalMart tape runner to my creative memories one. i like creative memories stickers better than anyone elses...but that's just my opinion.

like the pp said, it just depends on how much you want to spend (money and timewise). you can get totally elaborate or be pretty simple. you can stock up on basic color packs of paper at WalMart, or do individual pieces at Michaels. it can get expensive, for sure if you let it. i couldn't tell you exactly. but you could start out with some minimum supplies and the attitude that you're going to treat it more like a photo album that you can write in and add memorablila (in other words, minimize the decorative stuff and stick to the essentials...which is what really matters anyway). for supplies i'd start with the WalMart slicer thing, WalMart tape runner, a basic paper pack or two, some stickers for titles on your pages (but you can write those with a pen if you want) and a photo safe pen for journaling and captions. if you want to add on you could do a corner rounder (mine is creative memories) decorative paper and stickers.

[cheri]

i agree that it totally depends on what you want to do. i don't spend much on mine, but my sister has spent hundreds on her wedding album alone- but she uses lots of fancy things in hers. mine are very simple. i only buy things at hobby lobby when they're 50% off (all of their scrapbook stuff rotates and eventually goes on sale) and with michaels, i only buy if there is a good sale or i'm using a coupon. it takes longer to get all of the tools you need, but it's worth it. and as far as tools go, i'm not into fancy scissors- i think thet are cheesy. you can just start with a paper trimmer and decorative paper and make a nice looking book.