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Ask for paper donations on Freecycle. People are always wanting to get rid of paper. Of course you will have to be specific or you will get calls for crumpled moving paper etc. If you have kids, ask their teachers for the used, colored, butcher paper that lines the bulletin boards in the classroom and hall. I saw a mom taking down one yesterday and she was carefully folding the paper (I knew it would be in the recycle bin later) We go through many rolls of the plain newsprint from IKEA. It is cheap there, dd draws on it, and I cover the craft tables with it. I also save any left over wrap paper when we move (new flat, partial boxes) Movers usually leave a box behind. Christmas wrap works too.
__________________ ~Vee
It's not who you know-it's whom you know.
I have an extra 30x40" cutting mat on my table. I like the grids. Then I have old desk calendar paper I use the back to keep ink off the cutting mat. It works well for me.
__________________ Becky "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." Randy Pausch www.pancan.org
Lots of great ideas here. I, too, use the SU pad in addition to something that no one has mentioned. My SU demo gave me a 12 x 12 piece of tile that she bought at Home Depot for $2. They sell single tiles for you to try at home before you purchase enough to re-tile a floor. Nothing sticks to the tile and it wipes clean with water or Green Works, if necessary, and doesn't damage the tile. It is a hard base, so if I need a softer base under what I'm stamping, I just move it a little bit to the side and use the SU pad, which is much larger. The tile works like the non-stick sheets that are avaiable but pricier than the tile. I have felt furniture feet on the bottom of the tile which makes it easier to grasp when I want to move it. I take my non-stick sheet with me when I'm going somewhere away from home to stamp.
I use an old quilting cutting mat covered with a piece of plexiglass that was in the "save" pile at the dump! I clean off any adhesive that gets on it with GooGone followed by Windex. It works great!
I use end rolls from my local newspaper. You can buy them for $1 or so, depending on how much is on them. I place the roll under my stamping table and feed it up between the wall and the back of the table. I stapled a ribbon to the front of the table to hold it down. I stamp all over it until it is sticky and messy. Then I just pull a new section down and tear off the old. I also cover my tables with the newsprint when I hold events and clubs. No sticky glue on my tables to scrub off! Plus, everyone enjoys being able to do a "test run" or stamp off the edge of their projects. I take a roll with me when I do workshops, too. I figure that it would have been thrown away anyway, so I'm recycling in a way! It works great! Here's a picture of it in action! Chocolate Chip Heaven by stampinmomma517 at Splitcoaststampers
I use a big desk calender mat, I get them at the dollar store for $1 ea. and work on the same page until there is hardly a clean spot on it.
I also use the SU grid paper but I have never bought it, I save all the sheets that people have used when they come to a show at my house, the demo is going to throw them in the trash anyways and there are very few ink marks on them so I end up with 6-8 sheets every couple of months.
__________________ With God all things are possible
I was a stamping cheapskate, but I ended up buying the Stampin' Up! grid paper, and I LOVE it! The grid is helpful, I love that I can throw it away after use (and I use it a lot before tossing). I'm still amazed that I ever bought it because I was so cheap about stamping (notice I say "was"--I buy a lot more now!), but I never regretted buying it!
I use legal size manilla folders. I can stamp off when I need to, and it's great fro embossing. I dumpt the excess powder on the folder and the crease makes it easy to pour back into the bottle.
I use an old faded bed sheet to cover my "craft" (actually dining room) table. Depending on what I'm doing, I may also use a craft mat, sheets of white card stock, sheets of white copy paper, or newspaper for messy stuff. For instance, when doing leaf prints with acrylic paints, I use white GP cardstock to do test prints before making the final prints for the project. For a crayon batik techniqe I covered my trusty faded sheet with newspapers to collect the acrylic paint that went off the edges of the watercolor paper.
stampin up mat with a piece of legal copy paper i got from work. (huge stack they where just going to get rid of and it was close to the same size of the SU grid paper)
__________________ I've waited my whole life to flirt with the MOUSE
I have kitchen counter tops in my scrap/stamp room and everything come off them with a swipe of a sponge. I use old printer paper to stamp off on. I'm considering the SU grid paper.
I've always used my Creative Memories Self healing cutting mat, but kept getting ink on it, so I put a piece of 12 x 12 cardboard on top of it. I've always kept the cardboard that comes in the decorative paper packs.
I didn't really know why I kept them, but now I'm glad I did. I guess I'm recycling too.
This is what I do too - I have two large self-healing mats from the quilting department at the joann. One is for the messy/every day stuff, and one is for the final stage of putting cards together, and I clean both with staz-on stamp cleaner and water. I saved not only the chipboard backs but also the covers from all those DCWV stacks I bought with my J's discount and still have a huge stack!
I save all of the scrap copy paper that our family goes through so that I can reuse it as an under layer. I also use a large plastic mat and a foam mat that i got for $1 at Michaels. Hmmm... maybe I go a little overboard ;)
i buy cloth backed vinyl tablecloths from wal-mart or shopko ($3 or so) and then use the Stampin' Up grid paper tablet... when my tablecloth gets too sticky and inked up, i just throw it away (i usually change it 2-4 times a year)... fun to read what everyone uses!
katie b
I have one of those flexible cutting boards. It's great because I can fold it to slide scraps into the bin, it wipes right off, I can cut on it, and for the big messes, it goes into the dishwasher!!:-D
I have a whole box full of outdated spec book pages that they were just going to toss in the recycling bin at my old job -- it's gonna last me for years, LOL! Before that I used old computer printouts and misprints, but supplies of that quickly dwindled when I started using the "print preview" feature to avoid getting sheets with a line or two of useless text when printing web pages from the internet. Twenty sheets of the SU! grid paper are on their way courtesy of a Yahoo! demo group I'm part of, though, so I plan to use some of that at upcoming customer events!
__________________ Rachel Proud SU! demo and Sci-Fi Geek!
My Stampin' Up! blog "I'm a time traveler -- I point and laugh at archaeologists." 10th Doctor, "Silence in the Library"
I use the back sides of non confidential waste copies from work. I also have a box of pin feed printer paper that was headed to the dumpster that I will make good use of!
How funny. I also use a box of ancient pin feed printer paper that we've had for years that was headed to the dumpster at hubby's work.
I use 12x18 fun foam sheets. You can wipe them off. They provide cushion and even out whatever is under them. I had some that I used with my grandsons when they first began crafting with me. Now I never use anything else.
I have read all the posts with interest, but still can't decide. Help! My DH is building me a new work table with custom drawers etc. He does beautiful work and I know it will be marvelous. I can have any kind of top I want and don't know if I want an oak top (to match the rest of the cabinet) covered with a glass or acrylic sheet, or a laminate piece with the oak border around it to match my sewing work work table. No matter which I use, I will have a few pieces of old style computer paper under where I actually stamp, but I tend to be rather messy and don't always remember to roll out my plastic covering, so I do get ink and paint drops on the top of my table. Right now I have a piece of masonite as a temporary top which stains easily. The laminate top I have on my sewing surface is white, which if I went that way, I would try to match. Don't know how well that would clean up with inks and such. Glass can break and acrylic can scratch, but both would clean up easily. Has anyone out there tried different surfaces and can give me a comparison or opinion? Thanks in advance.
I have read all the posts with interest, but still can't decide. Help! My DH is building me a new work table with custom drawers etc. He does beautiful work and I know it will be marvelous. I can have any kind of top I want and don't know if I want an oak top (to match the rest of the cabinet) covered with a glass or acrylic sheet, or a laminate piece with the oak border around it to match my sewing work work table. No matter which I use, I will have a few pieces of old style computer paper under where I actually stamp, but I tend to be rather messy and don't always remember to roll out my plastic covering, so I do get ink and paint drops on the top of my table. Right now I have a piece of masonite as a temporary top which stains easily. The laminate top I have on my sewing surface is white, which if I went that way, I would try to match. Don't know how well that would clean up with inks and such. Glass can break and acrylic can scratch, but both would clean up easily. Has anyone out there tried different surfaces and can give me a comparison or opinion? Thanks in advance.
I'd vote for a glass top on top of your surface. It's cheap and easy to replace. Plus, it's easy to clean. It's a work surface, so it will get messed up eventually, so go for what's easy to use, clean, and replace.
My desk is my MIL's old dining table so I beat the tar out of it. It came dented and messed up (and with her blessing to destroy), so I don't worry if I get something on it. I do still put scratch paper under what I'm doing, though I'm not as vigilant as I was when I was using my nice dining table (I used an old fitted sheet to protect that plus put a cutting mat on top plus scratch paper on top of that).
__________________ I'm a natural blonde. God just dyed my hair brown. -me My Blog
I use newsprint that I buy as "roll ends " from a printer of the community newspaper. When the roll gets too small they must change it or it will jam the printing press. They sell the roll ends cheaply. A roll end has hundreds of feet of newsprint and I pay under $5 for one.
I lay the big roll of paper on my table and use a yardstick and an xacto knife to make deep cuts lengthwise . (From top to bottom) Then the sheets are all the same size and ready to use. I don't cut it all at once, I just cut a few dozen sheets at a time.
Barbara
I like to recycle things so I found the perfect thing to cover my table. We use the large laminated wall calendars at work to keep track of vacations, so I grabbed last year's calendar and have that on my table. What's neat is that I can jot down notes with a dry erase marker for myself as well. Its pretty big (24x36 I think) and pretty much covers my table. We had a couple so I grabbed both and will cut the second one up to use to store my clear stamps on in a binder. Gotta love repurposed materials.
Another vote for scrap printer paper. I makes me nuts when I print out a map or a coupon or whatever and there is at least one sheet of paper that is unnecessary. I save them and use them when I stamp. Then I don't feel guilty about grabbing a fresh one any time I want. It was headed for the trash anyway! i do like the idea of laminating an SU grid sheet.
I use a huge roll of paper I got at Ikea in the kid's section. It is supposed to be used on an easel. I leave the big part of the roll on the floor behind the desk and pull it up over the desk. Then I can just rip off what gets to used up. I hope this makes sense. It's really handy and seems like it will last forever.
I do what Amber does. I have a 2x3' self healing mat that I got in the sewing section at WalMart. I think it was about $35. That sits on top of my wood desk, and a pad of grid paper on top of that. It works wonderfully.
You could get a slab of glass to put on first for further protection.. that way the glass won't get as banged up. Let us know what you decide to go with!
Since your DH is skilled and will be making a beautiful piece of furniture, I suggest having him make a top to match the desk. Then use something to protect the surface, such as the glass suggested above. That way you always have a beautiful piece of furniture that you could use in another room, or even pass down to someone else some day, and yet it will still be functional for you to use now.
I stamp on a solid old door that I took from a house that we lived in previously. I painted it and crackle finished it and then I covered the top side of the door with vinyl that I purchased at a fabric store. I can still see my pretty table top, but it is protected. The vinyl allows you to wipe up spills and drips as needed, and if the vinyl ever gets beyond repair, I can replace it. I still stamp on many of the things mentioned above depending on what technique I am doing, but if I ever want my table top to show, I still have that option. Let us know what you decide!
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