When I go into a craft shop, I always – and I mean always – spend more than I planned to spend.  I think it’s the curse of the craft stores.  Either that or very clever marketing tactics.  In any case, my husband heaves a big sigh of resignation, squares his shoulders and looks to Heaven any time I mention hitting up a craft store when we got to the city.  I started thinking that perhaps I should consider creating a craft budget.  We budget everything else pretty tightly, but crafting is one place I allow myself to splurge.

A craft budget would help me avoid piles of unused supplies, like those felt sheets I bought two years ago to make felt critters for the kids, or the canvas and paints I bought more than five years ago to create paintings for the living room.  If I had a budget, I might be more discerning about the things I buy and thus make every purchase count.

What is a reasonable amount of money for a craft budget?  Technically, crafting is an entertainment and shouldn’t be given a high priority if money is tight, but you can’t belittle the value creativity has in your life, so it should be given at least some consideration.

Perhaps instead of a budget made in dollars, a budget made in projects would be more reasonable.  I know that realistically I cannot complete all the projects I want to, so if I limit myself on the number and size of projects, I will be able to complete each one and not have supplies going unused for years.

What do you think?  Do you have a craft budget?  Do you think one is necessary?