Crafting on a budget uses resources you may already have around the house.

Paper beads are a great way to start crafting on a budget.

Please note – I wrote this in 2020 when a worldwide crisis had occurred.

That crisis has been over for a long time but many people are still struggling financially in the aftermath.

There is no doubt we are living in the most difficult times that most of us born since the last World War can remember.

So carfting on a budget is still relevant as I update this post in 2024.

The following was written in 2020 while the crisis was still going on.

Yesterday, I was forced to go out to deal with an urgent banking issue and had to venture into town.

It would normally be packed with people just before lunchtime on a Friday but the scene that met me was very eerie.

We are all living in very worrying times, times that many people are finding extremely hard to deal with on many levels.

Crafting on a budget is one way to try and stay occupied.

It will also challenge us and keep our minds off an awful situation that worrying will not change.

So I have been trying to think of ways people can craft if they don’t have everything they need.

One of the crafting on a budget projects I came up with is making paper beads without a bead tool.

As you may know, I designed a paper bead rolling tool many years ago and have been selling it online and at my classes for a long time.

Update 2024 – I no longer sell my bead tools and plastic template on Etsy. Contact me on Instagram to find out how to get them.

My tools and templates do make paper bead making much easier, if you are making lots of beads.

But what if you don’t have the tool for rolling paper beads?

And what if you are in a situation where you can’t get one?

What if you are crafting on a budget?

Can you still make paper beads? The answer is a resounding YES!

If you want to make paper beads but are crafting on a budget watch my YouTube tutorial.

You will be surprised at how easy it is to make paper beads with two household items you probably already have.

This is what crafting on a budget is all about!

And if you don’t have a template, you can still measure out long triangles on the paper and cut them out. Where there is a will there is a way!

Our main craft stores in the UK were closed in 2020 as they were not considered essential.

I never understood the thinking behind that, especially as stores selling alcohol, (or Off Licences, as they are called in the UK), remained open throughout.

It was a very strange situation when, during a national crisis, alcohol was considered more important than the very art and craft supplies that could keep people from going quietly mad in isolation.

Escapism through art/craft is much healthier than using alcohol.

I just didn’t get it.

Anyway – it’s all behind us now but the need for crafting on a budget will always be with us.

Keep busy everyone – crafting is a great form of meditation because it helps us forget the world for a few hours.

Hope you find my paper beads YouTube video useful in developing ideas for crafting without many supplies.

Since posting this in 2020, I have created lots of free printables for crafting on a budget.

You can find them all by clicking here.

All I ask is that you respect the few Terms and Conditions I have and then enjoy using them.

Bye for now – please subscribe here on on my YouTube channel as I am still going strong in 2024!