(One caveat: if you are creating scrapbooks intended to last decades, you'll want to consider the longevity and acid content of items you incorporate in your pages. Avoid things that will yellow, fade, crumble over time, or damage other elements.)
So by all means be inspired the following list of suggestions, but I encourage you to visit your local dollar store and see what other treasures you discover!
To keep this as useful as possible, I've omitted from this list anything you might find in the office supplies or crafting supplies aisles, unless I am proposing an "off label" use for them. You don't need me telling you how to use colorful paperclips, ribbon, or googly-eyes.
- Award Ribbons. Those cheesy 1st/2nd/3rd place award ribbons (often found in the party supplies aisle) or faux Olympic medals (found in the toy aisle) are a great way to add dimension to spreads having to do with competitions - from legit sports competitions or spelling competitions, to less formal family competitions (ex: best gingerbread house).
- Band-aids (esp. novelty band-aids). Great for a spread about a boo-boo; also, a way to lighten the tone of a spread dedicated to a serious medical issue. (Nothing like Scooby Doo bandaids to add a little whimsy to a spread about a prolonged recovery or hospital stay.)
- Bandanas. The store carries bandanas in a variety of colors, which can be cut up and used in a variety of creative ways - as border, as matte, or as braided strips/ribbons. While you're at it, you might check out some of the other textiles in the store - neck scarves, quilting squares - to see if any of them might be repurposed.
- Bingo cards. I love using bingo cards in spreads. The ones they sell at the dollar store won't be customized for specific holidays like the ones at the dollar store, but you can easily fix that by covering the numbers with circles/squares that display the words/symbols you want. You can find ways to use bingo cards for literally any holiday or event.
- Bobby pins. These make a cute embellishment for spreads about hairstyling, fashion, or primping for events/weddings.
- Books. While I would normally hesitate to endorse tearing books apart, $1 books are fair game. Childrens' books can contain wonderful illustrations, perfect for repurposing; or, use the pages intact as background elements. TIP: using stamps in conjunction with typed pages can create some amazing effects
- Bubble wands. Those plastic wands that kids use to create bubbles out of dishwashing soap come in a variety of sizes and styles these days, suitable for providing a bit of nostalgia to spreads about childhood, baby baths, car washes, after-wedding processions, hot tubs, or other bubbly occasions.
- Buttons. Buttons works as extremely flexible embellishments - you can use them to create borders, mattes, or to add interest to corners. I've even used swirls of small black buttons to indicate the path of a bumblebee across a page.
- Calendars (especially picture calendars). Use the photos in spreads as background elements, or use the calendar pages themselves to document the events of a month (ex: the practice schedule for a sports team, the planting schedule for a garden, the performance schedule for theater production.)
- Candy Packaging/Wrappers. These can be used in a literal way - in a spread about Halloween, for instance, but they can be even more fun when used out of context: a Payday wrapper for a spread about your first job; a Babe Ruth wrapper for a spread about seeing the Baseball Hall of Fame; a Butterfingers wrapper for a spread about breaking something ...
- Car fresheners. They're flat, they're varied, and they're totally kitchy! Incorporate them in a spread about buying a new car, taking a road trip, or pick a particular design as use it literally - how fun would it be to create a whole forest of car freshener trees?
- CDs/DVDs (blank). Buy blank ones, then customize them with Sharpie markers. Great for spreads about music, movies, or family movie nights.
- Checkers. Every dollar store in the U.S. carries a cheap checkers game - I think it may be a contractual requirement. :-) Use the checkers board as a background with our without the chips, or use the chips without the background. Your spread doesn't have to be about checkers, either - the grid background can be a fun way to divide up the page and separate photos (one embellishment per box); the chips can be "bedazzled" with paint or glitter to create dimensional elements.
- Colorforms. These can be a great source for themed stickers, like Peanuts or Disney. They won't actually stick to paper, but a little adhesive will fix that - or, better yet, include part/all of the Colorforms background in your spread for a winsome bit of nostalgia.
- Coloring books. Use the pages to illustrate child-themed scrapbook pages - like a Disney coloring book for an album commemorating a family Disney vacation. (Remember that cheap coloring book paper isn't going to be acid free, so you'll want to spray the page with an acid-removing product before using it.)
- Comic books. Use covers for spreads about a favorite superhero, superhero experience (ex: a themed amusement park ride), or superhero movie. Or use random pages to illustrate child-themed pages
- Clay. Create your own customized embellishments by flattening out a circle of clay and then embossing it with your favorite stamp(s).
- Envelopes. Affix to your spreads as a way to store extra photos, momentoes, or tags with journaling.
- Flash cards (all kinds). Dollar stores generally sell a variety of flash card sets - not just math review, but animal flash cards, alphabet flash cards, dinosaur flash cards - even "famous places" flash cards. Depending on the set, these can be used for baby/child spreads, school spreads, museum spreads, or museum spreads.
- Garden labels/spikes. I picked up a package of stainless steel garden spikes and then had to go back and buy another later, because I was using them for so many spreads ... none of them, by the way, having to do with gardening. They work as labels, as signs, as border elements; your imagination is the limit.
- Greeting cards. At $1 per card, dimensional greeting cards can replace those expensive dimensional stickers that the craft stores sell. (Another good place to look for dimensional elements: the gift bag aisle.)
- Handwriting paper (or handwriting strips, the ones teachers use). Remember those pads of paper with wide lines to be used by children who are learning their letters? Pages from the pad would make an adorable backdrop for spreads about school, or cut out strips to use with your own handwriting to create eye-catching titles. (As before, remember that cheap lined paper isn't going to be acid free, so you'll want to spray the page with an acid-removing product before using it.)
- "Hello, My Name Is" stickers. Such a cute idea for spreads about conferences, events, meetings, or even the first day of school.
- Jewelry. Cheap chains and charms that lose their silver after a few wearings can make perfect scrapbook embellishments because - without the body oils - their inexpensive metallic paints last forever. I'm especially drawn to simple chains (they make great embellishments), charm necklaces and bracelets (you can leave them intact or remove the charms to use separately), and interesting earring dangles.
- Jigsaw puzzles. At $1 each, choose puzzles with a picture that related to a spread you are creating - a farm scene for a visit to the petting zoo, a ferris wheel for a trip to the amusement park, a picture of the Eiffel Tower for a trip to Paris. Then use the pieces separately or partially illustrated to create borders, embellishments, or frames. What to do with the pieces you don't use? Turn them upsidedown, paint them, and use them as embellishments elsewhere.
- Magnifying glass (toy). Those cheap, flat toy magnifying lenses sold in the toy article can be used in any number of ways - to enlarge an embellishment, an ad in a newspaper, a face in a picture, or the gems in an engagement ring!
- Nail polish. Use as paint in spreads that have to do with manicures, fashion, or primping for a wedding/special event. (I've used nail polish to bedazzle page titles and borders too.)
- Needle & thread. Spice up any page by sewing pieces of paper together, or creating stitched borders for photos
- Paper doll books. Check to see what's available - at various times I've found "African American heroes" paper doll books, "Military heroes" paper doll books, and "Scientist" paper doll books - all of which would be easy to incorporate into spreads.
- Party banners, napkins & wall hangings. Skip the expensive themed paper and incorporate actual party supplies instead. Birthday spreads are an obvious use, but you can also find party supplies for your graduation, wedding/baby shower, New Years, and Over the Hill spreads.
- Play money. So many possibilities! Use play money to spice up spreads about your first job, allowance, waiting for the ice cream man, or a really great weekend in Las Vegas.
- Playing cards. Use these to embellish spreads devoted to game nights, magic shows, or weekends in Vegas. Or use individual cards in a more targeted way - the Queen of Hearts for a spread about boyfriends, a full house for a spread about an event that filled your house with people.
- Pins. Ordinary sewing pins can be used in a variety of ways: to attach items to paper, of course, but also as a way to add bows and affix embellishments to a spread. They also make interesting photo corners.
- Post-it tabs. Use the tabs as decorative elements or to add journaling. For instance, I've used them add notes to a cruise ship agenda.
- Poster lettering. Alphabet stickers can cost a fortune at craft stores. Save some dough by using the alphabet stickers that you'll find in the poster section of the store.
- Receipt book. Our dollar store carries those basic receipt books beloved by strip mall restaurants and PTA fundraisers. Why not use a receipt to acknowledge the receipt of anything, from PUPPY! to NEW CAR! to ONE MORE YEAR OF UNDYING FRIENDSHIP.
- Twine. I love using coarse twine as an embellishment, and sometimes you can find twine in different colors.
- Ruler. Could be a great embellishment for a spread about school or anything else that involves measuring or math (construction, artwork ...)
- Seashells/rocks. Check out the floral aisle for net bags filled with filler stones that you can use for floral displays. Tiny seashells, rocks, and flat, light bits of broken mosaic stones can be used as embellishments ... and if you're really feeling crafty, you may even be able to figure out a way to use the net bags that they come in.
- Seasonal items. Make sure to check out the aisles devoted to seasonal merch - those MLK Jr. quote stickers, St. Patrick's Day green coins, Easter rabbit cutouts, strands of glittery 4th of July garland, memorial day poppy bouquets, Halloween ghost/spider cutouts, silk autumnal Thanksgiving silk leaves, Christmas to/from tags, LGTB pride buttons, Mothers Day paper crowns, Father Day mock ties, and Valentines day hearts in every imaginable texture (lace, corrugated, mirror, wood, painted, stained ...) can all be transformed into scrapbook embellishments.
- Seed packets. They're thin and often feature gorgeous photos or illustrations. Use them for spreads dedicated to gardening, flowers, or visits to parks.
- Shish kabob skewers. Paint them, stain them, and then use them for all sorts of things - as signposts, as separators, as bars from which to hang photos ....
- Silk florals. Pick the ones look like they will squish fairly flat for any spread that would be enhanced by flowers, leaves, or stems.
- Sticker books. I said I wouldn't be listing things found in the crafting or office supply aisle; what I'm referring to here are those children's activity books that come with pages full of stickers for affixing to the pages. An incredibly inexpensive way to acquire stickers, especially if you're looking for stickers related to a specific theme. (For instance, I've used the stickers from a Pokemon sticker book for a Pokemon birthday spread, and stickers from an "Our 50 states" book for several travel spreads.)
- Time/clock toys. Those flat little cardboard clocks with hands that move would make a charming embellishment for any spread about the passage of time.
- Tissue paper/wrapping paper. Take a look at the novelty tissue papers and consider how you might use them to create layered accents, shapes, or background elements. (Note that tissue paper is not acid-free, so don't let it touch any of your pictures directly.)
- Travel games (toys). Travel bingo, lift-the-window games, and license plate games make great embellishments for spreads about road trips.
- Treat bags. Check out those clear treat cellophane bags in the party or holiday aisle, fill them with sequins/glitter/beads or novelty confetti from the party aisle, and use them to bedazzle your spreads.
- Vinyl tiles/stickers/clings. These are sold as wall art, but there's no reason they can't be used as stickers, as long as you supply your own adhesive. At our local store they've begun selling vinyl tiles that are meant to work at faux kitchen backsplashes - they look like real, dimensional tiles in a variety of patterns. They looked amazing in a spread I did about a remodeling project.
- Window clings (gel or paper). They're not acid-free so you'll want to back them with acid-free paper, but I like using the transparent gel ones to create dimensional interest.
- Wire. Most of the time you don't need the specialty colored wire that comes from the craft store - simple metal wire from the hardware aisle will work just as well to create those metallic flourishes you're looking for.
- Yarn. This every-occasion embellishment can be used vertically, horizontally, as stitching, or even as photo corners - let your creativity be your guide.
- Zippers. A simple zipper can work as a fun way to divide a page into sections, or you can go more literal by using it as part of a page related to camping (as if looking out the front of a tent), snow, or fashion.
