Explaining My Topic
When deciding on what to discuss for my podcast, I picked the topic of Scrapbooking and Collages: The Art of Creative Hobbies On A Budget. I greatly enjoy these aforementioned hobbies, and I know how expensive artistic hobbies can be as a college student who has to stick to a budget. As such, I thought it would be beneficial to promote creative and self-expressive hobbies as a mental health outlet, while also showing that there are many ways to enjoy scrapbooking and collages using very inexpensive methods.
My Outline, Script, And Recording Plan
I wanted to be as detailed as possible when writing out the podcast, as it helps me stay organized and on topic. Thus, I utilized a pre-made outline layout for my podcast. Additionally, I will use a microphone from my University’s digital center, but use my phone for the rest of the recording process.
Outline
- 0-15 seconds: Podcast intro
- Intro music
- (Cute, up-beat royalty free music)
- Topic intro
- Hello, and welcome to Craftingly Creative! On today’s episode, we explore the art of scrapbooking and collages, a wonderful method of creative expression that won’t break the bank!
- Intro music
- 15-50 seconds: Set up and Explanation
- Background
- Nowadays, even basic items like food or clothing come with a painful price tag. However, I know its possible to enjoy arts and crafts without blowing through your weekly budget. Today’s topic is scrapbooking and collaging, two hobbies that allow for plenty of creative expression in many ways, but don’t require much money to create wonderful pieces of art.
- Why this topic is important
- I believe that our creative interests should not get lost in a sea of bills, gas, and weekly grocery receipts. However, our hobbies shouldn’t burden us further financially, but be another outlet to enjoy life and express oneself without money stresses.
- Background
- 50-120 seconds
- Mental health benefits of Scrapbooking
- As such, one economical hobby to pick up is scrapbooking. According to Fiorito, Geiger, and Routledge, scrapbooking is the art of creating personalized albums to preserve memories and other special moments. In this way, they suggest that scrapbooking can positively affect one’s mental health, boosting nostalgia, social connections, and can promote meaning. Such benefits makes scrapbooking the perfect for combating daily stresses without worrying about extravagant expenses.
- Mental health benefits of Collaging
- Additionally, another spendthrift art hobby for today’s discussion is collaging. The MoMA defines collaging as “the technique and the resulting work of art in which fragments of paper and other materials are…affixed to a supporting surface”. Moreover, collaging is similar to scrapbooking in its many mental health benefits. Seregina and Brockerhoff’s art-based research on collaging’s effect on its participants during the pandemic highlighted its benefits in heightening one’s sense of community, reflecting on emotional complexities, and a greater understanding of self and personal experiences. Altogether, the two hobbies are excellent outlets for dealing with work or personal responsibilites or a relaxing use of downtime after a hectic day.
- Mental health benefits of Scrapbooking
- 120-203 seconds
- Economic advice on Scrapbooking
- Along with their mental health benefits, scrapbooking and collaging offer many options to make the hobbies affordable, yet still enjoyable. For example, Jennifer Wilson’s of the Scrapbook Your Way podcast advice on scrapbooking cheaply shows that it does not take much to create wonderful pieces of art. Methods like using a printer to print scrapping supplies and using what you have on hand are particularly useful. Moreover, I suggest using free or reduced printing services at your local library to lessen the cost further. Additionally, take stock of everyday items you would usually discard and breathe new life into them via scrapbooking. Bottle caps, old paper scraps, ticket stubs, etc. All of these items you wouldn’t spare a second glance at are perfect additions to your art piece, and are all around you at no extra cost.
- Economic advice on Collaging
- Also, an article by Lindsey McGinnis notes thrifty options for collaging, specifically. She suggests collecting old books, magazines, brochures, and maps and using their pages which would otherwise collect dust. More often than not, these items are great additions to your art piece or can inspire your next one with the images and text they hold inside. And, don’t forget to expand your collages past 2D pieces like paper, as Artful Haven suggests. Outside materials like leaves or sticks, old buttons or fabric scraps, and dried flower petals are either free or inexpensive and add dimension to your art.
- Economic advice on Scrapbooking
- 203-232 seconds
- Advice from personal experience
- Finally, some personal suggestions I have is first visiting your local antique and thrift stores for discounted items. Many of these places sell old newspapers, postcards, and other fun items at low prices for your scrapbook or collage, which is a much cheaper alternative to buying newer, expensive crafting pieces on the internet.
- Also, don’t think you’re restricted to collaging or scrapbooking on fancy paper or photo albums. You can use old journals, line paper, or unconventional items like old records, cardboard, or even your own wall.
- Advice from personal experience
- 232-259 seconds
- Conclusion
- Overall, the creativity flexibility of scrapbooking and collaging is not just beneficial in improving one’s mental health and combating life’s daily stresses, especially if done economically. When using the materials around you, these two hobbies are low cost with wonderful returns.
- Acknowledgments
- A special thanks to the aforementioned researchers and crafters whose research and advice made this podcast possible
- Sign off
- Until next time, this was Arianna Salvador with Craftingly Creative!
- Conclusion
My Process So Far
Overall, my planning and recording process has been fun and fairly easy. Writing my outline felt similar to crafting a speech for my past Public Speaking class, so it was familiar territory for me. I was probably too wordy as usual, and will have to clean up my script before the final cut. The recording process was easy, but because I didn’t have a good microphone, the sound quality was not the greatest. I did find a lot of interesting websites and research when writing about my podcast topic though, which I found interesting!
Rough Draft Recording Of My Podcast Script
Links to Research I Found When Writing My Script
“Collage | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, https://www.moma.org/collection/terms/collage. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.
FioRito, Taylor A., et al. “Creative Nostalgia: Social and Psychological Benefits of Scrapbooking.” Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, vol. 38, no. 2, Apr. 2021, pp. 98–103. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2020.1748986.
Ivana. “A Beginner’s Guide to Collaging With Tips & Ideas.” Artful Haven, 10 Dec. 2024, https://artfulhaven.com/beginners-guide-to-collaging/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.
McGinnis, Lindsey. “Stick With It: Time-Saving Collage Hacks for Busy Art Teachers.” The Art of Education, 19 May 2025, https://theartofeducation.edu/2025/05/may-stick-with-it-time-saving-collage-hacks-for-busy-art-teachers/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.
Seregina, U., & Bröckerhoff, A. (2022). Collaging Covid Holidays: Using Collage as a Communal Method for Reflection and Research. Art-Based Research in the Context of a Global Pandemic (pp. 64-79). Routledge. https://doi-org.umw.idm.oclc.org/10.4324/9781003170518-5
Wilson, Jennifer. “SYW308 – 12 Clever Ideas for Budget-Friendly Scrapbooking – Simple Scrapper.” Simple Scrapper, 17 Sept. 2025, https://www.simplescrapper.com/syw308/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.