Michaels seems to have really leveled up their merchandising efforts in the scrapbooking department lately. Just six weeks or so after posting about the massive influx of new product from major manufacturers like Simple Stories and My Mind's Eye, I'm back with another set of pictures, this time of some new Heidi Swapp masks and Recollections date and phrase stamps.

I first learned about the Heidi's new masks on her blog, and I didn't really expect the Michaels closest to my office (the older one in town that is sooooo slow to get new items in) to have them yet, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they were indeed there! My store had them in the regular scrapbooking aisles (with the rubber stamps) and not on an endcap or in the special display with the other Heidi Swapp products, so you might have to poke around a bit to find them.

There are sixteen masks in the new collection- eight 12x12 (priced at $5.99) and eight 6x6 (priced at $3.99). I had my trusty iPhone in hand and took pictures of them all, starting with the 12x12 masks:





The 6x6 masks are all unique designs, rather than being scaled-down versions of the 12x12 masks.

Here's a closer look at the eight 6x6 masks, starting with my favorite- the confetti template that gives you the choice of hearts, stars, or circles.





I happened to look over to my left as I was taking these photos, and what should I spot right next to the masks but the new Recollections branded roller date stamps? Many of the phrases on the first two are very similar to the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan and Studio Calico Classic Calico 3 date stamps that have been out for a while, but the years on these do go back to 2007 as the others were originally intended to do. If you didn't pick up the originals because of the year issue, you might want to hunt these down!

This birthday themed stamp looks to be original (I can't think of any previous collections it matches, at least), so it came home with me.

A pair of roller phrase stamps has also joined the Recollections lineup. The first stamp pictured below has several phrases in common with the Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm stamp released at CHA Winter 2013, but the one below it looks to be mostly original.

I did pick up a few of the Heidi Swapp templates and have been busily playing with them in my scrap room over the last few days. I hope to have a layout or two to share soon!

new my mind's eye, k & company, simple stories, sn@p, and more at michaels!

There's been a bit of buzz on the forums lately about all the new products hitting Michael's stores, so yesterday after church I decided to pop in to the store on the south end of town (the "good" Michaels, since the one near me doesn't get the fun stuff right away...if ever), and while I was there I snapped some photos with my iPhone to share with you all! A few of them came out just a touch blurred, but here we go, anyway. :) You can click on any of the photos to see a larger view in Flickr.

Two of the colorways (Bluebell and Tangerine) from the My Mind's Eye The Sweetest Thing collection popped up in stores, including 6x6 pads, enamel dots, wood and chipboard button sets, layered stickers, brads, and chipboard embellishments. All of the embellishments are $3.99 a package, and the paper pads are $5.99.







If you're familiar with My Mind's eye's usual brad packs, they've split them into two to get the price point down for the displays, meaning that you'll actually pay more overall for these if you purchase them separately. They've also bundled the three sticker sheets from the collection into one pack, and if you're looking for the paper to go with these, Michael's has had a rebranded 180 sheet paper pad ($19.99) for The Sweetest Thing (with the thinner paper sheets) in stores for a couple of months now.



They're also stocking a new, bright, colorful line by K&Company called Handmade. Here's a peek at the embellishments...







...and the paper pads, which come in both a 12x12 pad and a spiral bound 8.5x11 notebook.











The biggest surprise for me on this trip was the journaling card sets from Me and My Big Ideas. I'd heard of them, but wasn't sure what to expect. As soon as I saw them, though, I fell straight up in love!! The packs are $4.99 each and include 72 cards- a perfect size and amount for a mini kit, and a configuration that I wish that Becky Higgins would release her kits in! There are lots of styles to choose from, and I've shown you the backs of a couple more packages below. Oh, and the backs of all the cards are neutral grids, so if there's a design or two you don't like in a pack, they're still totally usable.









MAMBI has also released their own sets of Pocket Pages, including one that is identical to Project Life's Design A (and a few other PL designs, as well).







And, yes, the buzz was indeed correct- Sn@p by Simple Stories has arrived at Michaels! This is the older release from Summer 2012's CHA, but you'll find the pockets, paper, embellishments, notecards, page protectors, and even the albums here! The only item my store was out of stock on was the letter stickers, but there was a peg on the display for them.













Michaels also has some new additions to the Recollections embellishment line- the one that always looks like Prima in a different package. There are lots of flowers, bling, and the other embellishments that you'd expect in Prima lines, including their new wood veneer shapes.









They also have a display of lovely vintage-style embellishments with lots of sparkly bits.

Heidi Swapp's collection has been at Michaels for a month or two now, but I thought I'd snap a photo of the paper pads, anyway. Notice that Fabulous Girl pad on the bottom left? That's actually the Simple Stories Fabulous collection, just rebranded. Recollections has added glitter to many of the pages, though, so I didn't pick it up. I absolutely would have otherwise!

The last stop on this little tour is the new rack of washi tape designs, all under Michaels Recollections line.





It's good to see some fresh items hitting stores- especially products that I haven't seen elsewhere like the Me and My Big Ideas cards!

Aside: if you were expecting a Project Life post today, it's been delayed. I have lots of new Project Life pages (and regular layouts!) finished, but I can't share them yet since they were for assignments. I'll have one on Friday with the Citrus Twist reveal!