Women's Showcase.

Tomorrow Crafts Direct will be taking part in the Women's Showcase event at the St. Cloud Civic Center from 9am-4pm. We will have a booth at the event and will be offering the four projects below as free Make and Takes at our booth from 9am-12pm and 1-4pm.

We will also have lots of project ideas and store samples on display at the booth, which will be decorated with half a Christmas theme and half a Fall/Halloween theme. You'll definitely want to stop by for tons of creative inspiration and of course to leave with a few cute projects too.

More information about the event can be found here. We hope to see you there!

Snowman Cube Photo Holder

Autumn Greetings Tile.

I've Got My Eye on You Tube.

Let it Snow Wood Plaque.

Holly Day Card Chaos.

Mark your calendars for our first ever Holly Day Card Chaos!!

The event will be held on Saturday, October 29th and will consist of six full hours of card making...where you will create 20 different cards by the end of the day.

Registration opens on Monday, October 3rd at 9am and will be open to 80 participants (40 open for online registration and 40 in store).

More information can be found on the flyer below as well as on our FAQ's page.

Cricut Swarm still has openings

There are still openings in our Cricut Swarm. If you are interested in attending you can register online here.

Starbella Yarn Scarf.

Today I wanted to share this amazing scarf sample we just put out at the store.

It was made by simply knitting a skein of the Starbella Yarn, and because of the texture and type of the yarn it creates this very cute ruffled look. The pattern we followed is on the Starbella label and both the sample and the yarn itself can be found in aisle 29 of the store. The pattern for the scarf can be found here for crochet or here for knit.

Cricut Swarm.

Mark your calendars for the next Cricut Swarm, which will be held the weekend of October 14th-16th. Registration opens on Sunday, September 25th at 7pm (registration is online only). More information can be found on the flyer below as well as on our FAQ's page, where you can also find and bookmark the link to the registration site.

We hope to see you there!!

Fall Candles.

Just in time for the cooler fall days we have stocked up on the new fall scents in our candle department.

We have six new scents in our Beanpod line for fall: Gingerbread, Roasted Pear, Minty Spruce, Maple Pumpkin Muffin, Holiday Memories, and Autumn Trail. They come as a 16 oz. jar for $21.99, or as a 2.3 oz. tube of Soy Beads for $3.99.

We also recently added this beautiful new Yankee Candle display to our store. We have new fall scents available from Yankee as well, including the Scent of the Month: Autumn Wreath which is on sale through the end of the month for just $14.98 for a 22 oz. jar.

In addition to the scent of the month we also have all of our 22 oz. Yankee candles on sale for $16.98, which is a great deal! 

 

There is definitely a lot of new things to check out...and a scent I'm sure for everyone. Come in soon and pick out the one for you.

Meet Our Instructors: Season

 

 

 

Instructor: Season

How long have you been an instructor at Crafts Direct? About 3 years.

What classes do you teach: Beading

When did you start beading: A little over 20 years ago.

What is your favorite aisle at Crafts Direct? The beading aisle.

 

The necklace above is the project Season will be teaching at this month's Beading 201 class. You can join her on Tuesday September 27th from 6-9pm to make this project. More information on this class can be found here.

Meet Our Instructors: Sarah K.

Sarah Kalkbrenner is the Knit & Crochet instructor at Crafts Direct and has been for nearly 3 years. She learned to knit and crochet as a child and was taught just the basics so she learned a lot from trial and error, making her a great resource to help figure out your projects and patterns at Knit & Crochet Nights. Sarah lives in Little Falls with her husband Eric, her cat Mia and two guinea pigs, Henny and Nellie, and her brand new addition: Napoleon the Angora bunny.
Sarah loves to bring her knitting and crocheting with her everywhere she goes. One of her favorite projects is her Featherweight Cardigan (shown in the profile picture). Sarah knit it with two strands of laceweight yarn held together and loves the versatility. She also thinks this project reminded her what she could do if she set her mind to it since she knit the entire sweater in less than a month last November for National Knit a Sweater Month (NanKniSweMo). Sarah also enjoys spinning her own yarn, baking and scrapbooking. She will try almost any technique and almost any craft once thanks to her adventurous spirit. She blogs about her adventures in yarn and fiber at www.kalketteknits.blogspot.com.

Meet Our Instructors: Genna

 Hello~ I'm Genna Migala and I currently reside in Sauk Rapids with my husband Jason and my son Jackson. I teach the Cricut 102 class along with the Cricut Gypsy Class. I have been an instructor at Crafts Direct for 3 years and have thoroughly enjoyed helping everyone figure out how to use their cricut machines. I have been crafting for about 12 years and my friends would say I am a Cricut junkie. I currently have a total of 7 cricut machines and roughly 250 cricut cartridges. Although, I love the entire papercrafts section at Crafts Direct I would have to say that the cricut area is my favorite. I really love getting inspiration from a variety of places including online blogs and message forums. One of the great things about having a cricut is that it can be used in a wide range of areas in scrapbooking, card making, and home decor. If I have to pick three items I could not live with out I would have to say my cricut products are number one but then I would say a good trimmer and adhesive. Have a good trimmer and adhesive that you like can make all the difference when working on projects.

Meet Our Instructors: Sarah Lynn

 

 

My name is Sarah Lynn Larson, and I teach the Card Chaos class here at Crafts Direct.  I'm originally from Mapleton, Minnesota and have lived in St. Cloud for 9 years.  I attended SCSU, and graduated with an Elementary Education degree.  I have been working at Crafts Direct for seven years.  As well as teaching the Card Chaos class, I am also the Assistant Team Leader and one of the buyers in the Paper Crafts Department.

In my spare time I enjoy scrapbooking, card making, and recently have started embroidery.  I also enjoy traveling, as well as spending time with my family and friends.

Meet Our Instructors: Karen

I started with Crafts Direct when they were located in Marketplace Center almost 10 years ago. It was there I truly began my love for quilting. What an enjoyable life journey it has been. I watched and learned from other quilters, began reading books and magazines even attending different classes/retreats and well, the rest speaks for its self. When I look at my quilts, I see family memories, the satisfaction of creating something with my own hands, and the gained skills or inspirations that last a lifetime. If I am not quilting, you will find me socializing (imagine that!) decorating, gardening, exploring watercolor, playing with 3 beautiful granddaughters or 2 boxer granddogs, even spending time in a pop-up camper cooking over a fire!

Join us for Quilt 101 if you are a beginner, Quilt Venture if you are ready to create a project and meet other quilters or come to Tutoring on Thursdays if you need help with your project or just some encouragement. I would love to share my skills, experiences, and knowledge with you.

Meet Our Instructors: Michelle

Hello my name is Michelle,  I have been married to my husband for 23 years.  We are now a retired military family and have 3 wonderful children with our first grandchild on the way. I am not ashamed to say I am a “scrapin’ stampin’ card making” addict.

I have been at Crafts Direct for about 3 years. I love to create, learn and share my experiences with others. Throughout our moves I have been an instructor of scrapbooking, paper crafting and stamping.

My hobbies include collecting new scrapping/card making tools and equipment. I dabble in jewelry making, embroidery, cross-stitch, sewing, with repurposing things to fit my craft needs along with a splattering of paint here and there.

My favorite things in my craft room are fellow crafters along with the Cricut, Gypsy, Cutttlebug, rubber stamps and my paper collection.

Hope to meet you soon ~ Happy crafting.

Meet Our Instructors: Marcia

  

My name is Marcia Bieniek and I teach the Wilton Method Cake Decorating classes.  I have been married for 40 years and have three sons.  Two of them are married and I have 5 grandchildren.  Two are in college and three are in elementary school.  I once owned a bakery called the Country Connection Bakery.  I ran it for 13 years before entering the work force.  I currently work for Walmart as the Invoice Clerk.  I have worked there for 20 years.  My hobbies are scrapbooking and baking along with spending time with my grandkids.  They are my world.  Cake decorating is a way to express your creativity and at the same time bring joy to someone.  Teaching allows me to share my talent and help others create that joy in their world.  At the same time I can take pride in the fact that I was able to share that creativity with others. I hope to see you at my next class!

Meet Our Instructors

Since we are all in 'back to school' mode this month we thought it would be a great time to introduce you to some of the instructors we have here at Crafts Direct.

Each day we will share a little bit about the instructors that help us offer the best classes around...and who genuinely love to share their knowledge with others. A big thank you to our instructors for all you do throughout the year - and for sharing a little something about yourselves here too.

Hope you enjoy getting to know them all. And as always our complete class calendar can be found here on our website, we would love to see you at a class soon!

Subway Art.

Last week we received some new vinyl and over the weekend I worked on some store samples to share with you. I really love how they turned out!

Lately we have been seeing a lot of these Subway Art pieces and with these vinyl options the ability to make your own just got much easier.

The vinyl comes on one single sheet and we ordered them specifically to fit onto the canvas or wood pieces that we already have available in the store. So really all you need is to decide what vinyl you like the best, what you want to put it on, and possibly a paint color. The process of making them is just as simple. In the case of the canvas samples I just painted the canvases using Ceramcoat paint and a foam brush, then once it was dry centered and applied the vinyl. The vinyl on the wood square was even easier. I added the vinyl right to the piece as it and then embellished with a few paper flowers and buttons.

I have a hard time choosing but I'm wondering....which one is your favorite?

Stamp of the Month.

The Great Impressions Stamp of the Month for September is all set up between aisles 9 & 10 on the middle endcap in our Paper Crafts department.

This month the stamps will get you all set to create some really cute Halloween cards and projects.

 

The stamp of the month is this background stamp and is available for $6.50 (half off the original price).

Below are the coordinating stamps available this month. These range in price from $4.49-$11.99.


More information about the Stamp of the Month can be found on the blog post HERE. Additionally, more information can also be found on the Great Impressions website HERE.

Towel of the Month.

Today I'm excited to tell you a little bit about a new monthly program we are starting this month, called the Towel of the Month program!

On the first of each month our fabric department will be offering a prepackaged kit that will include 1 towel, 1 instruction sheet, and floss in the color used for the sample. The only thing you will have to supply (which you probably already have) is an embroidery hoop, tracing pens or Fabri-Solvy and a needle.

The kits will follow themes for each month of the year, so for September we have the design below that will be perfect to have ready for the month of October.


You can find the kits on the endcap of aisle 23 in the store. The kits are available for only $6.99 each!

Also be sure to follow or bookmark the blog for updates each month on the latest Towel of the Month kit.

Back to School.

If you're anything like me, the start of school always seems to sneak up out of nowhere. Between enjoying those last few free days of summer and slowing gathering the necessary supplies somehow the first day is here before you know it.

This week I attended the school open house event for my kids, met all their teachers, and was immediately in a panic about what we should make each of them for a back to school gift.

But in the time frame of a few hours yesterday we came up with some really fun ideas for teacher gifts - and of course I wanted to share them with all of you as well.

Now my only problem is deciding which one to make for their teachers this weekend!

Teaching Touches Lives glass block: Simply adhere a piece of pattern paper to the back of a glass block, add vinyl to the front, tie a ribbon around, and fill with some glass beads. I think this would look great on any teacher's desk!

Back to School Mason Jars: Simple mason jars embellished with chalkboard paint, crayons, and some ribbon.

Pencil Tubes: Fill plastic tubes with treats or cover with paper to create the look of pencil. More information on this project can be found here.


Colored Pencil Vase: For this project we just surrounded a glass vase with colored pencils and tied a ruler ribbon around the outside. We placed artificial flowers in the vase but it would work with a bouquet of fresh flowers as well.

Decorated Notepad/Pencil Holder: We offer these pencil holders and a variety of styles of notebooks plain - for theses samples we just decorated them up a bit with pattern paper and a few embellishments.

"Grind" Gift Card Holder: Again using the plastic tubes, we filled one up with coffee beans (you could also use chocolate covered espresso beans) and added a gift tag and a coffee shop gift card with ribbon. Really simple but so cute!

#1 Teacher Pencil Block: For this project we drilled nine small holes in the top of a wood block, painted the block white, and then added some pattern paper, ribbon, and a cute message using alphabet stickers. Again, a project that I think would be a fun addition to any teacher's desk!


Hope you all have a great holiday weekend...and that if you are a caregiver, student, or teacher that you have a wonderful first day back at school!!

Gumpaste & Fondant Cake Decorating.

If you've ever wanted to learn how to decorate your baking with gumpaste or fondant icing, now is the time!

We still have some spots available in our Course 3 Cake decorating class, which will cover the techniques of using these icings and start you on your way in creating flowers, bows, embellished borders, and more.

The class is offered on Sunday September 11th, from 1-3 pm. Stop in or call to register for your spot in this fun class today!

More information about this class, as well as our full class calendar, can be found on our Events Page.