Crafty Couponing... an entirely different type of Extreme

I am so excited to share this project with you today. After crafting all boy stuff in May for my son's birthday party I finally can get back to my own style and create what makes me really happy! I have two major hobbies crafting and couponing! Yup, I just love to save me some money on groceries so I can spend it on crafty goodies! I have to say when I saw the Lawn Fawn stamp set Sew Lovely I knew I had to use it to make my "Craft Fund" binder... er... coupon binder. LOL.

I think I will be the most stylish couponer out there. Let me show you a bit about this binder that I just love!
This Lawn Fawn stamp cluster is sew cute! The dress is created with a simple paper piecing technique and the button was simply stamped over the circle that was there from the patterned paper. I then colored over it with an opaque gold pen to hide the other lines from the paper. Did I mention I loved this Lawn Fawn set?
This is all just stamped on the patterned paper I chose for the cover. It was stamped using a mask over the paper pattern (the old world flourish). This will allow for the stamps to look like they were behind the pre-printed patterned paper images. Several masks were also used to make all of the spools and the sewing machine look like they are on top and in front of each other. Then I simply just colored it in with coordinating color markers. This truly is sew lovely! Now let's look inside!
Here it is... This binder started as a used binder. It had two pockets on each side. Each change of paper is so the pockets are still useable. The stamps in there are the same as the stamps on the outside but some different techniques. To recover the binder I used Helmar's 450 Quick Dry Adhesive... it works great gluing to plastics and paper. Tip: work in small areas... it dries really fast!

Check out this boarder! I love Lawn Fawn's acrylic stamps for this reason! I was able to make a nice rectangular boarder in a snap! The paper piecing is a little different here using an extra layer of paper. I have used the Helmar Acrylic Sealer to seal over all the paper piecing layers. This will help seal them in so that they don't start pealing off with all the wear and tare that this binder is expecting to get. I also used it all over the cover too to help protect it. I love that stuff!

After putting so much work into this binder I was really worried about it falling apart like most plastic binders do. So I reinforced the binding on the inside with some canvas ribbon. I stamped it with more of Lawn Fawn Stamps from the Sew Lovely set to decorate the binding. Also I used Helmar 's Acid Free Glue to adhere the ribbon to the binder this will help strengthen the binding with a flexible bond.

Here you can see the ribbon well. I adhered it to the front and inside using the Helmar's Quick-fix Adhesive Runner with its permanent bond it was just perfect! Nice smooth edges and oh my, it was so easy and quick to use! Love it!!

Would you like to see what the binder looked like before I altered it? YIKES!!!

Here it is again after! It makes me happy!

Like I mentioned before my other passion is saving money. Do you want to know how much I spent making this binder. Here is my supply list and how much I spent...

Helmar Products: FREE (Thanks Helmar once again! I am honored to be a part of your DT)

Lawn Fawn Stamps: FREE (Thanks Lawn Fawn for your generosity as a Helmar Preferred Partner!)

Stampin Up Paper Pack: FREE (a demonstrator friend gave it to me for a thank you for helping her out)

Brocade Template: FREE (Thanks to the Crafters Workshop, also a Helmar Preferred Partner)

Binder: Used - FREE

Cricut Cartridge: $14.60 (almost 300 images = $0.05 each) I used six letters totaling = $0.30

Pens/Markers: Gold pen $.99 (on clearance), Red SW marker $1.67 (discounted)

Ribbon: Canvas - 2" = $0.25, Black Satin - 7" = $1.51

Total Cost: $4.72 not bad...

Having the most stylish coupon binder in my coupon swap group... PRICELESS! Thanks for reading about my new favorite project and I hope you have a happy, scrappy day!