One of the things that sometimes stops people from allowing themselves to try a new creative endeavor is the cost of getting the supplies. If you've never tried a thing, you have no idea if you will be good at it. It can feel like a waste of money if you purchase things and then don't enjoy those particular items or if you feel you aren't good enough to merit the expense, especially if you had to make some sacrifices to get those supplies. There are a few tricks that can help you out if you are on a budget.
I'm not going to tell you to have confidence in your abilities. For someone new to crafting it's like having faith that without any knowledge of cooking you'll just magically manage to create the perfect glazed duck. Nope. Not going to happen. It's the same with being creative. Anyone can be creative, but you have to allow yourself to be creative whether or not you feel like you have tons of talent. You can develop confidence as you try new things, but you have to allow yourself to mess up. Even professional artists started out by copying basic shapes like circles and squares over, and over. And even those looked pretty bad for some of those artists. When you start to create, don't put pressure on yourself to produce a professional-level result. Think of it as just getting to know your materials, how they work, and the different things you can do with them.
Now, for beginning creative ventures--especially if you've never really done anything past elementary school art--you don't need to worry about getting the best quality supplies. You're in the "getting acquainted" phase with the art supplies. Here are a few places you can find some craft supplies for very reasonable prices. Depending on your budget, keep in mind you might have to just purchase one or two things here and there, but it can still be done even if it takes time.
Thrift shops: these places often hold hidden crafty gems. Look for unused fabric, yarn, sometimes even colored pencils and crayons. It's good to get in the habit of checking your local thrift shops because you never know what will be there. Inventory changes constantly.
Amazon.com: you are probably already familiar with Amazon, but you might not have thought to check them for colored pencils, fabrics, craft paper, stamps, paint or other craft supplies. You can usually find some decent items for a fair price. (Click the watercolor paints to go right to Amazon if you want.)
Craft stores: stores like Michael's, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn, and others in your area sometimes have very good sales, coupons, or clearance sections. I usually shop here for my craft business supplies, as well as clay. I'm pretty picky about polymer clay, and only use Sculpey, Premo, or Fimo. There are frequent sales, but you can also use a coupon and purchase just one small pack of clay, which will be less than $3 with a coupon.
Dollar stores: don't forget that many dollar stores carry some art and school supplies. Don't turn up your nose at kiddie colored pencils and markers. You can actually do some cool things with those, and you may even find some other craft supplies as well. Dollar Tree is one of my favorites because everything there is just $1. That means your money for crafts might go a bit farther.
Wish.com: lots of people are trying this website (I have not tried this one yet, so it's up to you) and it seems to be a legit way to get items that are similar to popular craft products like Copics (alcohol-based markers), for a much more reasonable price. To be safe, I probably would avoid electronic gadgets, but for things like fabric, colored pencils, etc. they should still work well enough for you to learn some techniques. You'll have to create an account to view products. The above link should take you to a selection of fabrics, but that's just an example of some of the things available on the website.
Yard/Garage Sales: sometimes people have odd things in their yard or garage sales. You never know if you might find a craft table, storage containers, or even paints, oil pastels, easels, or other things which are still totally fine to use and will save you a bundle. Don't overlook the everyday things you might be able to use from what you already have as well. Twist ties, empty jars, old buttons, clothes with holes. All of those can be used for projects, or to store craft items.
If you do end up with some products, but you don't really know where to begin, I recommend searching for how to use the product you have on YouTube. You'll find many videos of tips and tricks, and it may give you ideas on what you can try. I found a video about watercolor painting, since that's my own next creative endeavor for fun. This artist is amazing, so feel free to subscribe to her and follow her on social media if you want.
What special tricks do you use for crafting on a budget? Share in the comments! :)