How To Get Free Magazines For Craft Projects

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A favorite activity of residents living in our memory care unit is making collages from pictures clipped out of magazines. Besides having fun, I believe this project benefits our residents in several ways:

• Art projects that involve drawing or painting often intimidate residents. However, anyone can make a beautiful collage.

• The pictures trigger memories. When I ask a resident to tell me about a particular picture, they often recall a story about their childhood, family, or a joyful event in their life.

• This craft project is very inexpensive. (I’ll tell you more about that in a minute!)

• The collages spark conversations between residents as they compare pictures. They also laugh together when someone finds a particularly funny picture.

• Family members show interest in the pictures chosen by their loved one. The collages often trigger happy memories for them, too.

• When we hang the collages in the residents’ rooms, it sparks conversations between the residents and staff.

You can ask residents to clip out their own pictures from magazines. However, we find it works best to have volunteers cut them out in advance. I like to pre-cut the pictures at my house while I watch the evening news on TV.

So, where do you get the magazines to make collages? Ask people to donate their old magazines, or the nursing home can pay for subscriptions. But today I’ll let you in on a little secret for getting all the magazines you can possibly need at absolutely no cost.

Magazine publishers face lots of competition these days. Many people read stories and articles online instead of holding a real magazine in their hands. To justify asking advertisers to pay for ads, magazines need lots of subscribers.

As a result, publishers increase readership by giving some of their subscriptions away for free. Of course, they also hope you pay for a regular subscription after your free year ends.

Below is a list of my three favorite places to get free magazine subscriptions. I’ve ordered magazines from these companies for several years. They’ve never billed me for a single one. My subscriptions include Family Circle, Weight Watchers, Sports Illustrated, Family Fun, Good Housekeeping, Parents, and Real Simple. Many other options are available, too.

Recyclebank 

You earn points for reading articles, taking quizzes, or making a pledge to recycle in your community. This is a great way to learn more about protecting the environment while earning points. You redeem the points for magazine subscriptions, cents-off coupons, gift cards, and other prizes.

ValueMags

After you sign up for your free subscriptions, they list other offers. Just skip those if you’re not interested.

FreeBizMag

You fill out a survey and qualify for certain magazines based on your job. I only recall being turned down for one magazine because of my occupation. That was a gourmet cooking magazine.

Do you have a favorite source for getting craft supplies for your residents? Please let me know in the comment section.

Just for fun: