Cut down on costs but not the uniqueness of your jewelry designs by adding fiber to the mix. Hemp, waxed linen cord, rat tail, ribbon, even yarn can supply you with interesting media to work with and still be relatively inexpensive to work with.
When you incorporate fiber that often means knots, and I have a number of standard knotting techniques to get your started as you experiment with fiber and save money making jewelry:
How to Make a Lark’s Head Knot
How to Make a Double Half-Hitch Knot
For more knotting tutorials and some fiber jewelry projects, head over to my Macrame Section.