I know, two posts in one day, right? After the onslaught of posts that I subjected ya'll to in July during CHA, I really, really tried my best to keep it to one post a day in August (and, honestly? Hopefully for the rest of the year!), but then I just had to go craft shopping with Mom over the weekend and found some great stuff at the big box stores! I know how much you guys hate it (and I know because you let me know- haha!) when I post this stuff after it's too late for you to grab it for yourselves, so I'm being super-prompt today in hopes of avoiding being beaten over the head with someone's ATG gun. :)

So last weekend Mom and I found ourselves out doing a bit of shopping. It started out innocently enough- I'd read on the 2Peas message board that the new Amy Tan date roller stamp by American Crafts had been spotted in JoAnn stores. I have a serious weakness for date stamps, which I try to justify by telling myself that they're really not that expensive and that I do use one of them on every layout.

The thing is, when I found the date stamp, it was hanging on a rack with this...

...and all of this (plus a few more things from Amy's first collection with American Crafts). I'd held off on buying the Sketchbook collection when it first came out since I was designing for Scrapbook Circle at the time and they included a ton of it in their March kit. When I spotted it at JoAnn, though, and found that it was 30% off, I picked up just a few more pieces...plus, of course, the date stamp! Just a note- the papers in the pad are single-sided.

Just a warning- not every JoAnn store is carrying this collection. My own local store doesn't have it, so I had to hunt it down at a store near Nashville, TN. It was sort of like the great Basic Grey Serendipity and Shine On hunt that I embarked on earlier this spring- it turned out that only certain stores were carrying those lines, and on a trip to visit my parents one weekend Darren was kind enough to stop off at that very same store for me, and then he was the one who found it on an endcap! I can't say for sure that all the stores that carried the Basic Grey exclusives will also have the Amy Tan Sketchbook stuff, but it's worth a shot, and you can find that list of stores here on Basic Grey's site.

I would have been happy enough with just the Amy Tan items, but then I rounded a corner and ran smack into the Sizzix display, where everything was 40% off. That was on Friday, and I'm not sure that sale is still going on (I promised, I posted as fast as I could!!), but you can always use coupons!

The two sets of embossing folders I picked up have great, versatile designs, and I was super happy about the peacock one! I've been kind into peacock feather motifs lately.

And I'm all kinds of excited about this foliage die! I've been wanting something that would easily cut out leaf sprays to tuck into layers on my layouts since I scrap photos of flowers so often. This is the kind of thing that I could cut on my Silhouette, of course, but the design is so small and intricate that I think it would drive me crazy trying to peel it off the mat without tearing it. Since I see myself using this one a lot (I've already used it on a layout, actually!), I didn't mind picking up an actual die for it.

With the damage done at JoAnn, I decided we should also hop over to Hobby Lobby. Now, I haven't been in a Hobby Lobby in a while because for the longest time I would go in and there was nothing new. Nothing. This time, though? There were lots of new pretties to look at! Crate Paper has three paper pads there featuring the Story Teller, Random, and Farmhouse (not pictured because I still need to go back and pick it up) collections. These papers are the same cardstock weight you're accustomed to in premium papers, but they're single-sided instead of double.

Dear Lizzy Neapolitan was also represented in the same format- perhaps this is something new from the American Crafts family of brands? Though I doubt we'll ever see this from Studio Calico since their partnership with AC is just production and distribution, instead of an outright acquisition like Crate Paper and Pebbles.

My Mind's Eye has several new paper pads at Hobby Lobby, as well. Some are the heavy-weight pads with 48+ sheets featuring glitter and premium prints, but the ones that really caught my eye were the 180 sheet value packs of lighter-weight papers (I know the cover says it's cardstock, but, no, it's really not). To be honest? I don't mind the light weight papers one bit- I find that it all looks pretty much the same once I've got it on a layout and in a page protector in an album. :)

This Bramble Rose collection from My Mind's Eye simply had to come home with me (though I didn't buy it when shopping with Mom- Darren went with me to our local Hobby Lobby after I got home and even used a coupon for me). The prints in this stack remind me very much of Miss Caroline, though it's most definitely not based on the same designs. I did a quick search, and this doesn't appear to be one of MME's older collections that's been reprinted for a big box store, so maybe we're seeing a few new designs trickle out this way, too?

I love the mix of the florals right into the woodgrain pattern, and there are tons of different chevron prints, as well!

This next 180 sheet stack is something a bit more familiar- Lost & Found Two (the original Lost & Found is also available in the same format, but that's been in the store for a while now).

Again, these are thinner papers, but those who didn't like the glitter prints in the original line might like the fact that there's not a speck of glitter in sight here! I pulled out one of the few sheets that I bought from Lost & Found Two for a side-by-side comparison, and I have to say that I actually like it more without the glitter, too, so I'm glad that I didn't buy it all when it first came out!

Hobby Lobby has much, much more than just new Crate Paper, My Mind's Eye, and American Crafts in stock now! What's pictured above is what came home with me, but they also have some older Cosmo Cricket lines (Circa 1938 and Salt Air) in paper pad format, Pink Paislee Spring Jubilee and Prairie Hill collection packs, lots of new Fancy Pants (I even spotted the brand-new-at-Summer-CHA Hopscotch in the mix!), newer Bo Bunny, Teresa Collins' Halloween collection, This & That by Echo Park, and so much more. I know I'm forgetting some, but, trust me, there's a lot that's new and exciting in the store!

I've also had a good find or two at Michaels lately (I went while I was on travel last week), including French General by Jolee's Boutique on clearance at 75% off. They also have several paper pads branded under their Recollections line that look a tad bit...familiar. :) My Mind's Eye has licensed the Miss Caroline collection to them (I've held off on buying it, though, hoping that it'll also come out in the 180 sheet format), and American Crafts has licensed Amy Tan's Sketchbook line. You'll find both pads under different names in stores, but many of the patterns are the same- they even added some fun vellum prints and sticker sheets to Sketchbook!

I did pick up this beauty while I was there- it's named Mosaic Memories under the Recollections brand, but the prints are My Mind's Eye's Stella and Rose collection! I was so happy to find this since I didn't pick up many of the original papers when they first came out.

So, what about you guys? Any exciting big box store scores lately? For someone like me that doesn't have much of a local store to go to, these were really fun finds!

new my mind's eye and echo park at two peas (with lots of woodgrain)

I'll admit it, I've been shoppping. And I always feel better about shopping if I can enable others in the process, so I thought I'd share a few of my recent acquisitions from the new arrivals at Two Peas in a Bucket. Some of the new CHA lines are starting to trickle in already, and I'm determined to stick to the shopping list that I posted last week (in fact, I've already bumped a couple of things off of it!). I'm pretty happy, though, that some of my favorite wishlist items were the first to arrive in stock!

I was very excited to see Everyday Eclectic finally hitting Two Peas. This line wasn't technically a CHA Summer release since we've known it was coming for a while, but it was no less exciting to see Allison Kreft Abad's new line (she designed for Hambly Screen Prints before they shut down) finally show up in print. I'm especially enamored of the woodgrain and camera prints, though I did splurge and order the whole collection pack on this one.

 

 

 

My Mind's Eye's summer CHA mega-release, The Sweetest Thing, is also available in stores- mere days after the end of the trade show, no less! This line is filled with gorgeous papers- the floral print below reminds me of Sassafras, and of course I love that woodgrain, too- stamps (those doilies are amazing), and of course the washi tape and brads that we all love. I've linked up just a few of my favorites below, and you can see the whole collection here.

 

 

 

 

 

Two Peas has also started carrying washi tapes from Freckled Fawn, though these patterns hit the store after I'd already placed my order- grrr! That's okay, though- they're sitting in my cart, patiently waiting for my next order. The geeky math print is very Big Bang Theory, no? And the woodgrain...well, you know I love that, right?

 

 

According to UPS tracking my box should be here on Saturday. I'm not sure if I'll have time to make layouts before I go out of town next week, but you can be the new goodies will accompany me to the hotel for some after-work scrapping. If all goes well, I'll have some new projects with these pretties to share the week after next!

scrapbook shopping in march

So last time I posted a Stop and Scrap box, I mentioned that because I'm now getting smaller shipments from them I might stop doing the shopping posts...and several of you replied and asked me to keep them up! So I've decided that I'll do one a month and round up whatever goodies I get in my Stop and Scrap box(es) along with anything cool I find at Tuesday Morning. Sound good?

Speaking of Tuesday Morning, March was a really good month there! I popped in on a whim not even knowing if they had anything new, and lo and behold I came across these!

Yup, Tsukineko VersaColor ink pads (my very most favoritest stamping inks ever) for $3.49 each! And guess what? These aren't for me. :) I actually have most of these colors already, but Mom is getting into stamping and I thought these would be a great and inexpensive way to get her started. Luckily they had several different sets!

There were also a fair number of Basic Grey items to be had there, too, like these Glazed Brad sets for $1.49 each.

stop and scrap box | new pretties and clearance favorites

I love getting boxes from Stop and Scrap...but the way I order them is changing so this may be the last post like this that I write up. The change is for the better, though! You see, Stop and Scrap has made changes to the way they work (like moving to a new warehouse and taking on new partners) that have allowed them to both shorten shipping times and decrease the purchase amount required for free shipping from $100 to $50. The lower free shipping limit means that I'm splitting the preorders up a bit more (because, let's face it, I can spend $50 on a preorder from a company like October Afternoon easily), and subsequent boxes will be a bit more frequent, but smaller. I'm not sure if I should keep blogging them (or perhaps save them all up to blog at once after all the CHA orders are in?) or just discontinue these- I'm not sure how many "shopping" type posts I really want to put up here, you know? Maybe I should just do one a month with everything I've bought? We'll see...

Before I launch in to the new goodies, I'd like to take a second to remind you that Stop and Scrap has recently become a sponsor here, and you can find a special discount code for their store in the right hand sidebar of my blog.

As usual, My Mind's Eye came out with tons of gorgeous stuff that I just had to have. I don't usually go in for photo-realistic papers, but the woodgrains in the new Miss Caroline collection by Jen Allyson (seriously, this girl never makes anything that isn't spectacularly gorgeous- I also love her digital work at Design House Digital) are just awesome and will make for some great page backgrounds!

And, yes, this line includes lots of new brads and twine colors, too. :)

Isn't that butterfly sheet spectacular? And the doilies over the woodgrain- oh, my!

tuesday morning finds | february 2012

Last week Two Peas was all abuzz with the news that closeout retailer Tuesday Morning had received a new shipment of scrapbooking items. Tim Holtz's Configurations boxes were mentioned (at $5 each, no less!) along with K and Company goodies, so you know I had to go check it out- thank goodness my local store is less than a mile from the house!

I didn't find any of the Configurations boxes, but I did find a load of American Crafts items! These Precision Pen sets (seriously, these are my favorite journaling pens ever) were just $3.99 each (retail price is usually $9.99). Considering that I ordered just one .03 nib pen with my last Studio Calico order for $2.29, getting 5 of them for just under $4 is a great deal!

I also happened across American Crafts Stamp Markers for $4.99 a pack and picked up one of each color set. I'm happy to report that they work well (I've been curious to try them for years, so I was quite thrilled to have found them), though they do tend to stain clear stamps.

This package labeled "Christmas Markers" really holds a white pen and a small assortment of gold and silver pens. Totally useful for any season! And aren't those "Bits" tags cute? Just perfect for stamping and adding the date to a layout.

Speaking of stamps, I found a few packs of those, too, including a great birthday themed set and some travel stamps. All of these are also by American Crafts and were $1.99 each.

Every scrapper loves a deal on Thickers, right? These alphabets were priced at $1.99 each!

These 25 packs of paper (also from American Crafts) for $1.99 were somewhat legendary last year when they first appeared at Tuesday Morning. Guess what? I found more of them!!

In amongst the Love, I Do, Hello Sunshine, and Confetti papers, I found several Dear Lizzy packs, as well, including some from her Christmas, Spring, and Enchanted collections.

Now, you may be wondering why in the world I need 25 sheets of one paper design? Easy- I share! Some will go to my Mom, to my cousin, and to the girls I crop with at church. At $1.99 a pack (roughly the cost of two sheets of scrapbooking paper at regular price) they're a great deal no matter what!

I did find a few K and Company items, as well, including chipboard and paper from the Abrianna collection. I love the aqua and purple in this one!

There were many scrapping items there that I didn't pick up, including a pack of Tim Holtz paper, a few more K and Company designs, and several Heidi Grace 12x24 project pads. If you have a store near you, it might be worth making the trip right now to see what they have in stock!