{Clearance Sale}

The word "sale" alone can get most people excited but add in the word "clearance" and you send most peoples' hearts racing! Throw in a coupon on top of that clearance sale and we are now talking about the 'perfect storm'!

This was my reaction when I heard everyone talking about a big yarn clearance at Jo-Ann's in my FB Crochet Group.  Day after day people were posting pictures of their bounty ~ shopping carts full of skeins for a $1 or less.

Oh I did my best not too look!
Oh I did my best not to drool!
Oh I did my best to resist the urge to go and buy my own shopping cart full of yarn!

The last straw for me was when I searched my Jo-Ann's mobile app and saw that I had a 15% off my total order coupon ~ it pushed me over the edge.  Yes I'm a sucker for a good coupon.

Once I was finally there I didn't go straight to the yarn section as you may have expected I would do.  Nope I followed my usually routine when I go to Jo-Ann's.  I start in the front and work my way around the store so that I don't miss anything, especially items on sale or even, dare I say, on clearance!  I found wooden cutouts that I use to make diaper cakes on sale and grabbed a bunch of those.  (By a bunch I mean over 20!)

I then continued on to the fabric section, still anticipating the yarn section where I would found my bounty of "clearance" yarn.  I found some pretty fabric in the remnants bin to make fabric flowers. The line for getting fabric cut was about 15 deep so I passed on looking at the bolts of fabric and went for the ready to buy stuff.  This would also get me to the yarn section a lot faster!!  (Are you starting to understand how I think?  ..... I didn't think so!)

Finally I hit the yarn section.  I took a deep breathe and rounded the corner to find the first aisle filled with people.  My heart skipped a beat thinking that there must be some good stuff on clearance!  I couldn't get down that aisle so I moved on to the next one.  I even left my cart behind so I could navigate quickly through the crowds.

I started scanning the bins for red tags and low prices.  Nothing.  I kept going further down the aisle.  Still no red tags.  I must be down the wrong aisle.  They must have the clearance items in a separate display, on an end-cap perhaps.  I moved back to the first aisle.  There is it ~ a red tag!!  Finally I can breathe.  I reach down to see what color yarn is in the bin and I notice the price.  WHAT???  $2.97 is not what I was expecting.  It's okay that's just one bin, I will move on to the next one.  There has to be some that are less than a $1 ~ the crochet ladies said so!!  Well I looked and looked ~ nothing less than $2.97.  You can imagine my feeling of being let down.  My hopes of a shopping cart full of yarn were GONE!

I reluctantly found my cart and pushed on further into the jewelry and scrapbook sections.  That's when I saw the check-out line.  There had to be at least 20 or more people waiting in line.  I had to make a decision to leave ~ hey I didn't get my cheap yarn after all ~ or stay and get some of the other supplies I needed.  That 15% coupon again helped me make the decision to stay.

One thing about shopping in a craft store is that everyone is a crafter in one way or another and will easily engage in a conversation about said crafts.  So I chatted with the lady behind me and before you know it I was at the register. I actually enjoyed my conversation with her and discovered that we had a mutual friend.  Yes, it's a small world and even smaller here in Delaware, where everyone is connected to someone.

I never did get my shopping cart full of yarn on clearance.  I guess the Rubbermaid tote of yarn that I have already will have to do.

Happy Crafting!

Beth

{DIY} 4th of July Tablescape

Anyone can craft!  You don’t need a degree in art or any special talent.  Crafting is easy and if you use the right materials, does not have to be expensive to be impressive! 

I will show you how to put together a patriotic tablescape that is perfect for

a 4^th of July BBQ, or a Welcome Home Party for a returning veteran. Using a couple of supplies from the Dollar Store, clean soup cans, and glass jars you will have a pretty table and no one has to know how easy or inexpensive it really was.

Here is a list of supplies that I used:

3 clean soup and fruit cans (10 oz to 20 oz cans would work perfectly)

2 clean glass jars with the labels removed (I used tomato sauce and salsa jars)

Patriotic paper napkins

Clear glass stones

Red, White & Blue M&M’s

Dollar Store flowers, flag and pin wheels

Red, White & Blue 5/8” satin ribbon (I bought one of each color)

To cover the cans, I opened the napkin up and folded it in half so that it would fit around the can I was using.  Tape one end on to the can and wrap the napkin around.  Cut off the excess napkin and tape down the other end.  Done!  Repeat on the rest of the cans.

I used glass jars for the candy and the flag centerpieces.  If you can find M&M’s sold by the color it’s a lot easier than separating them. (I had my son separate them out for me and let him eat some of the other colors as a treat.)  Layer them in your jar or put them in separate jars by color.  Add some ribbon to the edge of your jar and place pin wheels in the center of the M&M’s.  The kids will love these!

In the jar for the centerpiece, I used clear glass stones but small rocks or even rice would work as well.  Add red, white and blue ribbon around the glass and tie into a bow.  Add flowers and a flag and your centerpiece is ready for the table.

I also pulled out some of my bigger candles that I use around Christmas time and set them in a white serving tray.  Using the red, white and blue ribbon again to make a bow on each unifies them with the glass jar centerpieces. 

Raise your hand if you think you can do this? (See I told you could do it!) Your guests will be impressed how pretty your table looks for such little effort and very little money.  Start saving your cans and glass jars and check out the Dollar Store for red, white and blue items.  Use the ideas that I gave you or look around your house and get creative!  

Follow along with me for more DIY projects or crafts that will be fun and before you know it your inner “Craft Goddess” will be shining!

Craft on!

Beth

Crafty Blog!

Welcome to my new blog!  I'm looking forward to sharing all things crafty with you including fun projects, recipes, funny stories and just about anything else that catches my eye!

I'm really new at this 'blogging' thing so bear with me as I learn to navigate the software and set up the layout of the page.

Craft on!

Beth