Why I Sign up with Craft Suppliers Online

I rarely make a "great buy" the way some of my local crafting friends are able to do. They seem to luck out with yarn sales where they run 15 miles away and snatch up $80 worth of yarn. I never have $80 lying around so that I can do that.

However, when I get orders for some of my handmade projects, I love it when I hit a sale that helps me bring down my costs and increase my usually small profit. Today I hit a "goodie."

I have an order for 200 of my plastic canvas satin ribbon crosses. I have them priced almost to break-even point. I might have to raise the price in my shop by $.50 or $1 after the first of the year. I need to re-evaluate the cost of materials, Etsy fees, and PayPal fees.

However, this is a local order and I have no problem with my current general price for them. To make that many, I need 40 spools (assorted colors) of Spool o Ribbon (1/8"), 13 sheets of 7-hole plastic canvas, and 200 little zipper-closure baggies.

Normally, the ribbon is $.50 each. Michaels had it on sale, I noticed in the online weekly ad, at 3 for $1, this week. In addition, because I am on their email list, two days ago I received a coupon which I printed out that offered $5 off on purchases $25 or more, with some restrictions. I printed that coupon and I read ALL the fine print. I didn't see anything eliminating general sale items, just "clearance" items. So, this morning, Frank and I drove down to see what I could do.

Not only did I get those spools of ribbon for $.33 each (instead of $.50 each), but I was allowed the $5 off, as well. I think I saved $6.80 on the ribbon and $5 with the coupon, and $.55 in tax, or $12.35 in all. Not bad for small ticket items. I saved approximately 30% of my normal costs.

I do not need to complete these until close to Christmas, but I know my finances are very tight, so this was really important. Plus, once the supplies are in the house, I will definitely work on them every chance I get - the payment for the order will really look good to me and help with the bills late in November or early in December.

I am signed up with Michaels, Joann's, Oriental Trading and some yarn companies. Hey, we do what we gotta do.

Meanwhile, for a change, I have some bragging I can do when our Friday morning charity crafters get together - yayyyy!