Day 3 of Fun Shopping...not shopped out yet.

Yes, more shopping and I am NOT shopped out yet.
Wayne and I went to Crafts Direct in St Cloud.
I usually go with my friend Sharon to this store when we come for our girls getaway. This is the first time Wayne was here with me.

ok, this is a no judging zone.
I have beautiful paper, I love beautiful paper, I don't need more beautiful paper, but they keep designing beautiful paper.
So I keep purchasing beautiful paper.
This paper is just so so pretty...I usually have an idea on what I plan to create when I purchase papers, but this time, nope....but I still bought it ;)

I also had to pick up these Tim Holtz alphabet foam stamps...they were so inexpensive, how could I not.
As well as these Kelly Creates month and weekly stamps....couldn't pass them up for the price as they were on clearance.

Then onto Crafts Direct outlet store.
They have such great deals...which they did again this time.
I was so happy to see these ephemera packages.
We never see them in our city, we usually have to wait for the Scrapbook Cottage to come with Crop & Create to get ephemera.

When we got into Minneapolis we headed to a Joanns.
I don't understand coupons rules.
Wayne was in line ahead of me (as I like to use coupons for every purchase) and theJoanns coupon needed to be used on an app...so I told him to use a competitors coupon that he had on his phone.
I was then called next, I had the same coupons, and the young man let me use 2 competitor coupons.
Where the teller Wayne had said he could only use a competitors coupon if he had the paper version, not his phone version.
I told him he should have not bought the ink....as I only purchase from big box stores when using a coupon.
So one of these inks was actually full price..every thing else I purchase is with a coupon, on sale or clearance.
I may buy a lot at one time...but I use coupons, teehee.

How awesome is Tuesday Morning!!
I love this store and look forward to seeing the goodies they have when we come here.
I was excited to see these Tim Holts stamps here..and of course a great price!!!

A quick run into Michaels for some more blending foam circles and another Distress Oxide ink (thank you Tim and Jennifer for your videos).

I also noticed that there was a new Hobby Lobby close to where we were, so guess what...I went in to check it out, teehee.
I picked up 2 more of these mini distress ink holders as I seem to be collecting them, lol
I also picked up these rose gold letters and these cute word stickers.

We enjoyed a lunch at Denny's and then supper at Red Lobster.
We will be enjoying leftover shrimp tonight in the hotel as we weren't as hungry as we thought.

I hope you all have a very creative day
I will share my shopping goodies with you tomorrow as phone coupons never run out, teehee.

Tracy 💗💗💗

Day 1 of Crafty Shopping

Wayne and I decided to go on a little get away to Duluth MN at the spur of the moment :)
So I picked up some American money, printed off some Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Joanns coupons and off we went :)
My main goal was to find a Brother Scan & Cut mat.
I was gifted a Brother Scan & Cut machine but I couldn't get it to scan an image...it would only cut the shapes that were programmed into the machine.
After weeks of asking questions on different forums, we all came to the conclusion that the mat I had (12x24) would not scan...the older machines couldn't scan on that size mat.

So our first stop once we got to Duluth, was Michael's.
I had read that some Michael's stores carry this product....but nope:(
But I did pick up this dotted journal as I heard it takes different types of mediums and I want to get back into my daily journaling and was hoping I could use this as my fauxbonichi in the new year.
I also picked up an R89 Copic marker, as when I used mine, the tip was dried up.
I changed the tip, but it was empty....I know I could purchase a refill, but I would need to order it and I plan on doing some colouring for Christmas tags and I need this colour :)

Next stop was Hobby Lobby.
I was so hoping I would find the Brother Scan & Cut mat here.
Sadly another disappointment :(
But I did find some stickers in the clearance area.
Yes that is all that I had found here....but my focus was on getting this mat, so I wasn't really looking for anything other then the mat...I was a bit obsessed.

Last crafty store was JoAnns.
Every store had a type of Cricut, but no Brothers!!!
I found this small hexagon punch I was looking for, but not Scan & Cut.
As I was paying for the punch I look behind the teller and in the locked cage what do I see....A Brother Scan N Cut machine....my heart starts to beat a little faster.
I ask the teller if they have the mats for the machine...which she responds "We don't carry anything by Brother"...huh?
I tell her it is behind her in the cage.
She then phones someone and then informs me it is in the sewing area!!!
I can not tell you how happy I was when I saw them there!!!!
Mission completed!

Wayne has a few stores he likes to check out when we come here.
There isn't a Cabela"s here and now there is no longer a Gander Mountain, so we went to Menards.
I seem to always find something there as well.
I saw this Family frame...isn't so sweet.

I always have work gloves in my jeep, but these ones are insulated, so they will keep my fingers warm this winter and they are just so pretty :)

I ran into the Dollar Tree to look for some books I might like.
I didn't find any books, but I picked up these cute dimensional stickers for some little kid cards as well as this calendar.
I have this exact one for myself, then my daughter Ashley commented on how much she liked it, so I picked her up this one.

Then it was time for dinner.
We always go to Red Lobster and I always get the Shrimp Trio.
But the last few times, the pasta was either crispy, the sauce in the pasta was watery and one time my shrimp was raw.
So I decided to change it up.
I love shrimp, but not a fan of most other types of sea food.
But Wayne convinced me to get this dish.
I loved the shrimp, the garlic potatoes and I kind of liked the lobster.
I didn't love the crab...I had a bit of it, but gave the rest to Wayne.

Before coming back to the hotel, we stopped off at Target to pick up some pop (soda for you Southerners, teehee).
You all know you can't go into Target without looking through their dollar spot area.
I picked up these wood pieces...I couldn't make them for the prices they were selling them at.

I also picked up this fun music note banner.
I think I may need to pick up another one if I want to decorate it up with a festive word.
I also picked up these gift tags....I love the ones with the wooden snowflakes.

That is the end of my shopping for today.
Tomorrow will be more fun for me as I won't be on a mission to find that mat, lol.

I hope you all have a very Creative day :)

Tracy :)

Girls Creative Shopping Getaway

Every year my friend Sharon and I go on a little getaway and do some damage in the craft stores.
We head to Hinckley Grand Casino.
Sharon loves to gamble and I love the free room that her gambling provides for us ;)
We look so forward to this little trip every year.

I am not sure if you are aware, but I was in a no spend challenge with a few friends.
Well I am out of that challenge as of Monday, lol
But I am proud to say I was one of the last ones that were still in this challenge.

We started off in Michaels in Duluth.
I was so excited that I found this planner punch!!
I thought for sure I would need to order it on-line if I wanted it.
Not only did I find it, I got to use my coupon, and Sharon used hers on this extra punches.
So excited to try it.

Picked up a couple of packages of these HeidI Swapp stickers and ephemera pieces to use in my planner.
And some wooden pieces to use on some pages and for my fairy garden.

Next stop was to Hobby Lobby.
I found this pretty paper pack and a few pretty sheets of paper.
I know, I know..I don't need anymore paper...but look how pretty they are ;)

My daughter loves letter boards and picked up the Heidi Swapp one when she was here a couple of weeks ago.
But once she got home, she had wished she had picked up these bigger letters, so I grabbed them for her.

They have a JoAnns here and I couldn't go there without picking up something, so I grabbed these pretty papers...I am thinking a layout about my dad (minus the pink paper..I just liked the colour).

Back to Hobby Lobby for another look around.
And look, I found some more goodies ;)
Love the colours of this and it was 50% off...how could I not?!

I needed a camera to put the finishing touch on a layout I did last week when Debbie and I were away at Mink Mountain.
The other packages just jumped in my cart...I couldn't just leave them there.

I saw these Monthly letter board words, and thought Ashley would like them as well...and well, they were on sale.

I ran into TJ Max as Ashley had picked up a pretty cover/folder for letter sized note pads.

Hers if different than this one, but I love the saying on this one.

I always have such big plans, lol.

Ran into the mall to pick up chocolate covered pretzels for Heather as this is the only item she asks for, so decided to check out Barns and Noble.
I can always find a note book or 2 in there.
Isn't this just so pretty :)

As well as this one ;)

We had so much fun!!!

But just you wait until my next post, as we went to Crafts Direct in St Cloud....Love that store!

Until my next share, I hope you all have a very creative day :)

Tracy :)

A day trip to Minneapolis and a haul

On the second day of our weekend trip, Wayne and I left really early from Duluth to drive to Minneapolis :)
1st stop was Cabalas...which is one of Wayne's favourite stores.
I used to love it until they stopped selling their Bear Claw chocolate bars :(
But I did pick up a warm red plaid throw blanket :)

When we left it had stopped snowing, but the roads weren't clear...but he is used to driving on these type of road conditions, so he drove while I crocheted another baby afghan :)

Our next stop was one of my stores....Blicks.
I picked up some Gamsol as I am almost out and some art journal mediums to play with :)

We then went to Mall of America for some yummy banana caramel crepes and cinibon sticks...soooo yummy.
Yes, we only stopped in at MOA for food, lol.
Then we headed to Joann's and I picked up some more art journaling supplies ;)
They let me use so many coupons...I really did good :)

Our last stop on our way back to our hotel in Duluth was Pine City Scrapbooking.

I love this store, so much to look at and I like how they have their products displayed.

Sadly we didn't have a lot of time to browse in that store as we had a bit of a drive still ahead of us.

We went to 5 Guys for supper....oh I wish I had one of their burgers and order of fries right now!!

I hope you all have a very creative day :)

Tracy :)

Day 2.... shopping shopping shopping

Today was the day that we have been waiting for all year!
Our shopping trip to Crafts Direct!!!
There is just so much in this store and so much fun to look at everything in it.
I found some goodies...and look...a new trimmer!!
It was a really good price :)

I know, I know, I don't need anymore papers, but these are so pretty.
The black and gold papers really caught my eye...not my usually picks, but am excited to create with them...and hey, we are suppose to step out of our comfort zone when creating right ;)

We also checked out Crafts Direct Warehouse.
The papers were all 4 for .25c  Pretty good deal in my book.
My friend Myra was here last week and they were .10c each...an even better deal.

Here are some more goodies from the warehouse.
Yes, I went a little bit baby crazy on the papers and embellishments, but its just so fun.
I really like the dies I picked up :)

We went to a Michael's and the teller let me use a seperate coupon on my paper packs..bonus :)
I have been wanting these bloosom stickers for years, but didn't want to pay the money for them, as they were crazy pricey....but I got them today as they were a really good price :)
I know I need more paper like I need more washi...or should I say, I need more washi like I need more paper....but both are just to darn pretty :)

Found another Hobby Lobby after driving around the whole city.
Seriously the people in this city do not know how to give directions.
My GPS wasn't finding the store (I think it may have been a new store) and after a few of the ladies telling us to turn right for the next 3 streets and us ending up at a dead end, we took matters into our own hands and just drove around until we found it.

Last shopping stop was at JoAnns.
Everything in the store was either 40 or 50% off!!!
Or even cheaper.

Here is Sharon and I excited to go into Crafts Direct :)
It was hot and windy today...can you tell, lol.

On the way I spotting the Oscar Mayer wiener van and did a bit of a detour to get a couple of pictures of it.
Not everyday you see this :)

We didn't get to go to Pine City Scrapbookers as we spent to much time looking for stores, lol.
But guess what we are doing tomorrow :)
Pine City and crafting all day:)

Hope you all have a very creative day :)

Tracy :)

More Shop, shop, shopping

 Another full day of shopping…..love shopping, teehee.
We left the hotel at 6:20am…I fell asleep on our drive to Rogers MN.
Our first stop was at Cabela's. I was very sad as they didn't have any chocolate Bear Claws :(
I had finished my last one the other day as I knew we were coming here.
I was planning on stocking up…but no such luck.

Our next stop was Joanns :)

I found a few Tim Holtz products…oh yes and a bit of washi tape ;)

I always look forward to checking out Blick's.

I was looking for some Black Gesso.

I purchased this huge container for .20c more than one of the tiny containers.

I can share this with my friends :)

We then went to Ikea.
I picked up a couple of floor lamps….this was all I was looking for and was happy to find them for $8.95 each.
I will share those when I get home and set them up :)
Guess what I found at Ikea as well….washi tape, teehee.
The wings stamp is from Hobby Lobby when we got back to Duluth.

We also hit up a Tuesday Morning.
This one usually doesn't have much, but I found a few goodies :)
Yes, those are a couple of journals….but I may take the pages out, and use them for notes or for when I write letters.

Found another Hobby Lobby :)
Wayne didn't think I would be long, so he stayed in the jeep…surprise, I found more ;)
I love anything with the months or days on it, so when I saw these Month stickers, and they were under $2.00 for a set of 2 I picked them up….good thing I really checked them out, as there was only 1/2 a month in a pages…so I needed 2 different packages to make up a year…weird eh?

On our way back to Duluth, we always stop at Pine City Scrapbooking.
I love this store!!!
Wayne talked me into getting this dragonfly die/embossing I had my eye on for a while now.
Most everything else (besides the Prima girl stamps and the TH bat stencil) are dies…I have quite a few cards I am planning on making with those deer and tree dies :)

When we got back to Duluth, we were thinking of stopping off at Red Lobster again…but when we saw so many waiting outside, we decided to check out 5 guys instead.
After supper, we went to the mall to pick up a treat for Heather and then to Barnes & Noble.

Funny Story:
When we were leaving Joanns, just before Wayne was about to back up, there was a lady standing waiting for us to go, while Wayne was waiting for her to walk.
She didn't move, so Wayne put the jeep in park, so she would go…she still was waiting….so I waved her to go.
She then walked to my window…so I thought she was parked beside us.
I opened my window and apologized, while laughing saying I didn't realize that she was parked beside up.
Turns out…she didn't park beside us.
She said she was doing a Minnesota Nice and was letting us go first. But then noticed our licence plate and that we were from Canada. Then it made sense to her, as Canadians are known for being so courteous….her words not mine, lol.

We all had a good chuckle…then as she walked away, she apologized for the Jays loss, lol. She said she was rooting for them.

As much as I love to shop, I am looking forward to getting home and creating with my new goodies.

I hope you all had a creative day today :)

Tracy :)

Scrappy Adventure. Day 2

I'm like a kid at Christmas ;)
I had all my new crafty supplies surrounding me, so Sharon took a photo.
Is it sad that this makes me so happy ;)
Now don't look at those bags on the floor ;)
Those are home decorating supplies…and a couple of packages of cream horns ;)

One of the things we wanted to do on this trip was to check out Crafts Direct.

We have never been here, but I have read a some good things about it on 2peas.

It was about 1.5 hours from Hinckley, but so worth the drive :)

What I also loved about it (besides all the creative goodies inside) was the front of the building.

It looks like 7 adorable stores, where they are all one store once you enter the front doors :)

They had a lot of paper…and a lot of 6x6 paper pads.

The majority of these were under $4.00 each.

Don't judge me….I have a 6x6 addiction, but I don't have a problem ;)

I was so excited to see that they not only carried the Wink of Stella pens, but they also had clear :)

I am not an internet shopper, so have been waiting for the scrapbook stores, that I visit while on our trips, to have them. Every time I am here they are always sold out.

So excited to try them. 

I picked up a clear and a red. 

I found some more washi tape…again, no judging ;)

Also found some fun stamps :)

The cute witchy one to the top, I had seen at Pine City Scrapbookers yesterday, but didn't get it. 

Was going to get it tomorrow (as Sharon and I are going back there) but with my luck it would have been gone. 

On our way back from Crafts Direct, we stopped off at Jo-Anns.

I want to play around with chalk ink, so picked up a few colours.

I also grabbed this cool 3D sticker…thought I might do a zombie layout of when Ashley did some photography of them acting out Night of the Living Dead ;)

I did a mini album of that photo shoot, but not any scrapbook pages.

Also found me some peeps ;)

How long did it take me to finish off the whole package….weeellllll, under the time it took us to get back to the hotel.

Don't worry I didn't eat them all myself, Sharon got 1/2 of one ;)

Here is my haul from today :)

Here is Sharon's…such a light weight, lol 

A kid on Christmas morning ;)

I think its a good thing that we don't live near these stores ;)

Onto My Day:
Besides crafty shopping, we went to the casino for supper.
Then Sharon wanted to gamble…it was all too much for me to lose my $3.00, so I walked around the casino to get in some steps.
Until I realized that I probably looks suspicious walking around the casino, so found Sharon at a machine.
We enjoyed another hot tub tonight.
Tomorrow we are planning another trip to Pine City…oh yah, I forgot to share those goodies with you from yesterday. I will do that tomorrow.
We are also planning to do a bit of colouring.

Proud Tuesday.
I am proud that I still have some money left over to shop with tomorrow ;)
I am proud that I still got over 10,000 steps, considering it seems like I haven't walked much.

I hope you all had a very Creative Tuesday :)
I can't wait to play with all my goodies.
I didn't even bring a trimmer or adhesive with me…..and I call myself a crafter, teehee.

Tracy :)