Emily said ... What a great challenge! might have to join you in this one! I have sooo much fabric and other craft supplies- am always buying things to start new projects and then not starting... I think I can do it too! Thanks for the idea!


Myrnie said ... Wow....wow :) Good luck! You're so fantastically creative, you can probably pull it off!


Stephanie said ... That's a great idea... I have been thinking along the same lines, however I have had no thought of putting it into such firm action. I might borrow a trick from your book!


Dawn Elizabeth said ... Sure you can! Women have much better wills than men. We can do everything with children clinging to us. You can do this!


michelle said ... If you need anything, just holler. Baby's got stash.


Miss Vee said ... I second Michelle's comment, and repeat an old one of mine: FutureGirl and Friends Super Awesome Club of Stash Enthusiasts to the rescue!! ;)


Michelle said ... Well, you're a braver woman than I am... I couldn't give myself a budget like that, because I know I'd blow it. Probably within the first month, too. In 2008, I did set myself a challenge to keep all crafting related receipts, though, to see how much I'd spend in a year. Now that the year is over, I'm too chicken to add it all up! :0)


esther said ... that sure a very good mission in this sucking economy downtime!


Jennifer Rose said ... I think its doable if you have a lot of stuff and know what you want to do with a lot of it. Makes it easier to budget when you know what you have. Giving yourself a little small budget is a good idea in case you can't find what you need in your stash and can't get it from a friend (or you find something that you really really want)

I'm trying to do this with art supplies. I need to get rid of a lot of the paper that I have before I buy more.


Kuky said ... Ha ha ha! "Thanks to my blog, I know exactly when some of them came into my life, too ... ugh!" That's how I feel about my unfinished projects as well as my unused supplies.

And wow only $24. I don't think I spend that much on crafting supplies usually but not buying anything new except $24? Yikes. That's a hard one but what a good idea.


Crafting with Cat Hair said ... Wow, $24.00 all year! I usually spend that every week at AC Moore! Good luck to you.

What a great challenge. I am going to have to start using up some of my supplies too. Thanks for the inspiration :)


HildeC said ... I you are able to do that, I will be incredibly impressed! I can't even think that thought. Good luck :-)


Cheryl said ... I think you can do it! Last year I had so much "personal care" products (shampoo, soap, lotion) that I swore I would not buy any until I used up what I had. I went through all of 2008 without buying any, and at the end of the year, I was down to little hotel samples, but I did it. Also, you can always trade for supplies with your many online friends...


Curupisa said ... I might join you through this one challenge. Well, let's not say it's a firm resolution, but you got me thinking about the issue, and right now I'm going through my stash to find stuff that needs to be used and projects that need to be finished. I have plenty of stuff that is more than 10 years old.
Then there's recession. Well... on that issue, let me tell you, we (I mean, here) are going through one that's older than my stash. It's only a bit deeper these days. So no excuses...


planetjune said ... I admire your courage - just the thought of not being allowed to buy any craft supplies for a whole year freaks me out (but maybe you just have a much bigger stash than I do...) Good luck with it!


Dawn Sokol said ... Wow, I'm REALLY impressed! I don't think I could go cold turkey like that, but I've been trying to cut back, too. Of course, I just went to the art supply store the other day and spent $40 on pens and a couple tubes of paint! Yikes! Yes, I need to do what you're doing...


UK lass in US said ... Good luck!

My plan is just to avoid the craft shops - I was lured into one in search of just twill tape, then got pulled along the fabric aisles by all these signs promising me 50 per cent off already reduced prices. I'm thinking of making myself some blinkers to wear, so that it doesn't happen again...


Amy said ... totally going to try to spend less with you. I was giving myself $10 a month, and now I feel totally extravagant. But I've got stash too, so I'm going to rethink!


N. said ... I think you'll come up with some really cool stuff by using what you have instead of just going out and purchasing new. I'm just getting into crafting again so I'm trying to keep the amount of stuff I get to a minimum but its hard to create a scrap quilt without scraps!



Rakel said ... It's even colder now you got out in time! Seventeen degrees midday in the SUN! Where did you take that owl photo? I would love to take a B/W shot of them, I love owls.


Elizabeth said ... Wow. $24 is tight! I look forward to seeing what comes of it. And Michelle and Miss Vee's comments crack me up - "baby's got stash." Hilarious!


Adrienne Muncy said ... Good for you! I have set myself a strict budget that I am vowing to keep to. Going to the craft store keeps me from going clothing or shoe shopping so I figure that as long as the craft store keeps me away from the Village at Corte Madera (great shopping) I am saving $$! I will definitely try to use what I have before buying more.


Patricia said ... This is a great goal for 2009! I have a bunch of fabric and other craft supplies that I tend to forget about when I set foot in a craft or fabric store so I've stopped going to these stores -- except in emergencies ;)
I need to get organized to get a good look at what I have and also so I can set a similar goal for myself.


gleek said ... good luck! you can do it! i've been (mostly) knitting from my stash for the past two years and intend to continue in 2009. if i can do it, then you can too!


Catherine Post said ... Holy Cow! This sort of challenge has been in the back of my head for the last year...but not anything this formal. I would NOT have had the strength you had to avoid the Lion Brand Store...I would have FAILED right there. I wish you luck this year with your project!


emily said ... Wow! Great idea and good luck! I think buying craft supplies is an addiction just like anything else. You'll probably get a lot more of your projects finished without distractions from new supplies.


KayakChickee said ... There's got to be a good way to swap art supplies online. Maybe show pictures of what you have and are willing to trade. Hmmmmm. How could that work?


Marty said ... I think I might give this a try, but there are some project where I DON'T have the stuff for. :P So my budget is 5$ a month. :D I'm starting Now. so February to February. :D Thanks for the inspiration.


SiSi said ... wow, this is a very awesome challenge, and it's cool to see you're going through it very well!! I have a craft blog too, but I don't think I can do the challenge, I need my ribbons and origami paper! keep it up!


Lindy Gruger Hanson said ... Wait a minute, I don't get it. It's nice to use up supplies and recycle whenever possible but the craft stores could use the business. Our economy could use the business. I recently bought art supplies at the art store and I know they were appreciative in this economy that I was buying!


futuregirl said ... Lindy,

Well, if our economy was giving me more money to spend I'd be happy to spend it. The sad truth is that our household income has gone down because of this terrible recession. Craft supplies aren't the only thing that I've had to cut out.

The other part of my decision is that I have enough craft supplies for *years* of crafting. It seems pretty wasteful to be hoarding all this stuff, and on top of that, I'd feel pretty gluttonous buying even *more* supplies when I haven't used the ones I've got. At a certain point, it gets disgusting.

On another note, I'm not the one that got us into this economic mess in the first place, so I don't feel any responsibility for getting us out of it. I also don't believe that my buck-three-eighty at the local Michael's is going to counteract the terrible catastrophe that the financial industry has wrought on the world. In fact, I (through my country) am already giving them HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars to (fake-ly) try and fix this mess. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/opinion/27krugman.html?_r=1

That's already too much to ask of me.

xo,

Alice



craftytammie said ... That's a great challenge! One place you might try for supplies if needed is your local freecycle site! I've posted there for craft supplies and gotten some real treasures!


MARILYN said ... Good for you! Since I recently lost my job, I've been making myself use only the supplies I have on hand. It's been rather cool because I've been finding things I forgot I even had.


futuregirl said ... craftytammie ... Great idea!

Marilyn ... Sorry to hear about your job. :( But I think discovering the treasures in your stash is awesome. I'm 8 months into it and now that I'm more familiar with what I have, I think I could go several more without buying anything. Although it's killing me to not have new yarn and fabric. :)


SLW said ... Have you been given anything by anyone so far this year?

You're doing great even if you have! I'm very impressed. Thanks for the tutorials and tips. Your blog has been a help to me, *a beginning sew-er.


futuregirl said ... SLW ... I have been given a lot so far, but that doesn't violate the challenge - thank goodness! :) I just have to not spend any money. So far, I'm still at zero dollars. Yay!

 
journeyseeds said ... I have been thinking the same thing. I have too many supplies around that are not organized and go to waste sitting stored somewhere that I cannot find. I'm thinking I need a new space to create. Thanks for the push!