Huge HAUL - Target & Michael's!

The boyfriend and I took a mini-trip tonight over the border to OH last night, for Target (said in French accent) and Panera Bread (two places that, sadly, we do not have in our hometown)! I had thought that I may look through the crafting aisle at Target, since I haven’t in so long. I found some great stuff, which then inspired me to visit a nearby Michael’s. Well…let’s just say I spent more money than I should have, but they were deals I COULD NOT pass up! ;) …this is something I find myself saying quite often…. Haha

SO – I’ll start with Target!

-Making Memories Embellishment Suitcase (“Passport” line)

- 2 packages Colorbok Chipboard Alphas in bright pink
- Making Memories Canvas Flowers (“Passport” line)
- Card Making Kit
- 10 pack Ultra Fine pt. Sharpies, rainbow colors
- 4 storage tins with labels
- $1 Spot Stamp Set
- 2 Rainbow Brite scratch pads

I thought this looked SO cute. It comes in this sturdy cardboard suitcase themed box, which will be great for storing embellishments once I glue it (it’s slightly dilapidated). It includes die-cuts, buttons, and paper flowers, all vintage travel themed. It even has die-cuts of postcards, which will be great when I get around to doing my Favorite Things album – (I collect postcards!)

These were each 99 cents in the craft aisle! I’m trying to steer away from getting too many letters, but this pink glitter just screams Lady Gaga, and as I’ve mentioned, I’ve got a 2-page Glee/ Lady Gaga spread in the works! Great find!

I just thought these were so cute, and the muted colors are very versatile!

I have noticed this at the $1 spot several times on my last few trips to Target, but I put it back every time because I just plain didn’t/don’t need it. BUT, they had one of these clearance signs where all the ‘yellow’ dot things are 1/2 price, so it was only 50 cents! Hard to be beat that – I’m sure I’ll get that much good out of it!

So let me explain the Sharpies… All of my scrapbooking markers/pens are dried up. I’ve been on the hunt for a way to replace them by getting a quality product, but not dropping a huge amount of cash on them. I keep hearing of Copics, and while they look amazing, they’re just so pricey and I really can’t afford those right now. Well, I found this great Youtube video (will add link later) in which this lady compares the final product of Sharpies to Copics, and they look great. I have always had a lot of Sharpies, but it never occurred to me to use them for archive crafting because I’m pretty sure they’re not acid-free. Well, here’s how I feel about that…at a certain point it just seems crazy. These were on sale for $5, regularly priced $11.79. I don’t care that much about acid.

These are another great $1 Spot find, also 1/2 off, so I got all 4 for $2. I thought they’d be nice to store embellishments in and label. Cute appearance on my shelf, too! :)

This is something I’d probably ordinarily put back, but for $.50 (12.5 cents per stamp!), you’re darn tootin’ I’ll find a way to use them.

I had been on the hunt for little scratch pads with just plain white paper (not lined), which is quite a task, even during back-to-school time! Finally I found these in the (you guessed it) $1 Spot, for $.50 each. They’re so I can scribble layout doodles when I get ideas.

That finishes my Target haul! I was really happy with my finds from my favorite store. I thought it was great that I found some small items for SO cheap and got out on reasonable budget. Then I decided to take a look around Michaels. Ha.

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MICHAEL’S HAUL:

2 sets of Prima Flowers. I find that I never ever buy these because even though they’re so pretty, they’re SO pricey! These were both 40% off, so this seemed like a no-brainer. (Regular price $9.99 and $6.99; Sale $5.99 and $4.19)

I LOVE PEANUTS! I don’t have a real use for these, but my mom and I will share them to put on the postcards we send, and they were a buck each. :)

How beautiful are these colors?? I thought they would make perfect centers for the prima flowers already sitting in my cart. ;) They were so cheap for $2.99 already, and at 40% off they came up at $1.79 – WOW.

These were all a buck each. I love the mod-looking twiggies and roses. I don’t have a ‘new address’ and won’t for several years as far as I know, but when the time comes, I’ll be all set!

This is a Martha Stewart Rotary Cutter. Does that mean anything to you? I didn’t mean much to me. LOL. It was clearanced down to $2.99 (not sure of original price), and it’s a scalloped design which is a look I love. I tested it and it seems to work really well, without the jagged feeling that scissors give. Fine by me!

These brads were both also 40% off making them $1.79. I had never found brads that tiny! Had to give them a whirl. I have feeling they are so tiny it might be frustrating..but we’ll see. :) The Studio G ink pad was also part of their $1 stuff – I have used these before and love them (although they dry up quickly) for their finished embossed look!

These 3D stickers were both $1.99, so $1.19 after 40% off. The theatre theme is for a page in my Glee book, and the love birds don’t have an official destination yet, though I think they’d be great in a quote book I began way back when and would like to finish. :)

I just thought these were pretty, and when there are small sticker sets that come in sheets of 2, my mom and I get them to split with one another. :) $1.99

These are to store my ridiculously massive amounts of tangled ribbon in. $9.99 regular price, on sale for $5.99, so 2 bucks each. Not bad! Hopefully they will be a little better organized this way! I do love my organization…

This leads to me to the best bargains, and very exciting purchases! Both by Tim Holtz, not surprisingly (I just love that guy’s stuff…). I’m just assuming that these things are getting clearanced out and done away with. Not sure how I feel about that, because I really love grungeboard…hope it’s not going away!! =/ But, happy to get such affordable prices.

I had heard about this hammer before at my favorite scrapbook store in the entire world, Wishful Thinking in Nashville, IN. It was 15 bucks, though, and I really had my eye on the Tiny Attacher at the time. It was marked down from $14.99 to $3.99, though, and I can’t turn that down. (I’m sure craft stores can see me coming a mile away LOL). Haven’t gotten a chance to try it out, but I’m looking forward to doing so.

YAY! I owned one set of grungeboard prior to this, and was so happy to find this marked down to $2.99 (from $9.99). I love this stuff! This particular set is ‘mixed minis’, so lots of alphabets and assorted small “elements”.

So…the moral of this blog post would be, my boyfriend should not leave me unattended in Michael’s when there is a huge sale on and only ~45 minutes of shopping time until they close. (HELLOOOO anxiety = throwing things into cart!!!) BUT, I’m happy about the purchases I made, even if they were under pressure! I CAN’T WAIT to get scrappy. Back-to-school time of year = the beginning of my new job(s)! This is very exciting for me, but I’m ready to settle into a schedule so that I can have a routine to work craft time in to.

Thanks for reading this lengthy haul post! :)
xoxo