You might be surprised at what you can get from different businesses. Local businesses especially are often happy to help out, especially if you are looking for supplies to use in a classroom or with a community group such as girl scouts or boys scouts. Not only does making donations of supplies make them look good in the community, they can also use it as a tax write off at the end of the year.

Some business' trash might be your crafting treasure.


You may not always get these treasures for free, but you can usually get them for next to nothing. Think about all the businesses you know about and what they might be able to offer. For example:

• An upholstery shop might have old sample books, fabric scraps, and foam pieces they might be willing to part with.
• Home improvement or wallpaper stores might have a collection of old wallpaper sample books.
• A carpentry shop might be able to give you some nice wood scraps or even bags of sawdust you can use to make sawdust clay.
• Check to see if your paint or home improvement store has any paint that was mixed and then not wanted.

I am sure you can think of many more places that might be able to donate their scraps and trash. What places are in or near your town? Share your suggestions and tips using this simple form.
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