Dollar Stores and Crafts

I am in love with “dollar” stores. There are chains in most major cities. They have different names but the idea is the same. Everything in the store is one dollar or less. I love them because I can easily count how much I’ve spent by glancing in my basket. I love them because they have a lot of things for anybody who does crafts.

The one I visited today sells 2 oz balls of fancy yarns in many different colors and textures. Amazingly, there is a big selection in the bins. They had little canvas craft-totes with several “outside” pockets on one side, perfect for small projects and their tools. They had 10-packs of 8x11 (or thereabouts) colored adhesive-backed foam. I love these for many reasons. I cut them into bookmark size and either stick self-adhesive foam shapes to them and add a piece of ribbon for a marker, or I put a crocheted bookmark on the adhesive side and it has stability. They had assorted packs of foam shapes. They had fancy-edged scissors. I saw beads and trims and much more. That was in this store.

Early this week, I visited another chain store and the selection was different but still good. In this store, they didn’t have the fancy yarn, but they had balls of cotton worsted yarn in several colors. This is an excellent price. In this store, they have sewing “notions” which the other store did not have.

Keep in mind that these stores often rely on closeouts and wholesale purchases. If you see something you like, you’d best buy it then. It might not be available next time you shop. With today’s prices, inflation, and the cost of getting to a store (gasoline) alone, it pays to shop these stores when we can.