CHA Winter.

Right now in Anaheim California hundreds of crafters are coming together for the Craft and Hobby Association Winter show, and among them are our very own Sarah Lynn and Jodine from our Paper Crafts Department!

They are working hard with all of your favorite companies to place orders and check out all that will be coming to Crafts Direct in the coming months. Even though we all would love to be there checking it all out in person too, Sarah and Jodine have been sending us peeks of a few things that have caught their eye over the past few days - and of course we wanted to share them with you too!

 A very cute tote bag created using burlap from Canvas Corp.:

A new size of the very popular Smash books by K&Company:

A photo tray embellished with the Simple Stories Fabulous line:

A few projects using the Fancy Pants Wave Searcher line:

A layout from October Afternoon's Cake Walk line:

Some fun projects from Doodlebug & their Hello Spring line:

My Mind's Eye gorgeous Miss Caroline line:

Frame using the Simple Stories Fabulous line:

Paradise line by Little Yellow Bicycle:

Splash Line by Little Yellow Bicycle:

Tea for Two line by Cosmo Cricket:

This and That line by Fancy Pants:

 Washi Tape from We R Memory Keepers:

Sarah Lynn also send us this quick video of an album they saw at the Simple Stories booth:

 

So fun to see all the new products...and now we are all very anxious to see it start arriving at the store too!!

2012 Charity Program.

Last week I shared where our totals ended up for our Charity of the Month program in 2011, and today I want to share with you the plans for the program in 2012.

Because of the huge success of the program and also the needs of many different charities throughout our community we have changed the program slightly going forward. For our customers nothing will change - with a donation of $1 to the charity you will still receive 40% off one item - but instead of having only one charity a month we are adding more charities to the line up for 2012. This will allow us to help even more charities and thus more people throughout the new year.

Below you will find the list of the charities that have been selected for 2012 as well as the dates that any donations will go to that particular charity. We are very excited for another great year of giving back to the local community through our Charity of the Week program!

2011 Charity of the Month.

This week we had our last charity of 2011 come in to receive a check for the amount that was raised by the Crafts Direct customers during the month of December. So now the totals - and photos - are in!

Thanks to all of our WONDERFUL customers, our first year of implementing our Charity of the Month program we raised an astonishing $150,000 for charities local to the St. Cloud area. We are so proud of what our customers have allowed us to do with this program and so thankful for it's success in helping the charities that received the donations.

THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PROGRAM IN 2011!!

March Class Calendar.

Our March class calendar is now available online!  Check out some of the fun things we are offering- we would love to have you join us for some creative time or to learn something new. You can view the class calendar here. If you would like to register for a class please call us at 320.654.0907 or stop in and speak to someone at customer service.

Fragrance of the Month.

Just wanted to pop in today and share with you our Yankee Candle Fragrance of the Month, which is Lemon Lavendar. Right now you can purchase the 22oz classic jar for only $14.98 (the regular price is $25.99).

We also have a few of the new Yankee spring fragrances available, including Lemonade and True Rose. They would be perfect to add a little spring time to your home or office!

You can find all of our candles in our Gifts Department at the front of the store by the Coffee Shop.

Valentine's Projects.

On February 1st we are going to start our "14 Days of Love" blog series to share with you some of our favorite Valentine project ideas, but today I also wanted to share with you some of the fun projects and decor pieces our Seasonal Department has put together for Valentine's Day!

These projects only require a few supplies and can easily be put together by anyone (as most of them only require applying vinyl and filling them up with treats).

If you want to add a little pink or red to your home or office I'm sure you can find an idea you love out of this bunch:

Quilt Ventures Class: Frosty Fellow

There are still openings in our Quilt Ventures Class: Frosty Fellow. It starts tomorrow evening at 6pm. The fee is $25 dollars plus supplies and is a 2 session class, with the second session being held Thursday, Jan. 26. If you are interested in signing up, stop in or give us a call at 320-654-0907. You will receive a coupon for 20% off your supplies, when you register. To see other classes we are offering check out our classes & events calendar here.

Hanging Frames.

Do you have a small wall space that needs just a 'little something'? Or do you want to create a cute gift or valentine for someone that you know they will love?

Our hanging frames would be perfect!! They don't take up much room, they display a 4x6 photo (no photo resizing needed!), and they can easily be altered to match any decor colors or project theme.

Here are a few of the samples we have created recently:

I hope you find some inspiration in them or are inspired with an idea of your own!!

New in Fabrics.

Today I am excited to share some new items from our Fabrics department with you!!

First up - new tweed stripe yarn from Vanna's collection. Love the colors available and the color combos of the stripes!! You can find these colors (and more!) in aisle 29.

We also just received in these four new Candlewicking Pillow kits. Apparently this is something we carried years ago - but just now got some new kits in. I love the designs and the neutral color palate of them!! You can find them in aisle 23.

Next, if you love the Lots to Love Dolls...we now have Lots to Love Bath Dolls. They are a bit smaller than the other dolls and come with cute outfits and ducks. We have these four styles/colors available and you can find them on a back endcap in our fabrics department.

 

And finally for any of you that sew or quilt, you can find some really cute Valentine and St. Patrick Day fabrics for your upcoming projects on a back endcap in our fabrics department as well.

 

New in Gifts.

We have a few new items in our Gifts Department that I wanted to share with you today.

First up, we now have some new Primitives by Kathy box signs available. Lots of different options for both sayings and sizes of the box signs. Below are a couple of shots of some of the new ones we have:

The Gift Department also has a large selection of new scarves available. The scarf room is stocked full of new patterns, styles, and colors to choose from.

New Memo & Calendar Boards.

Today I wanted to share with you a few new samples of our memo/calendar boards that Sarah Lynn created.

If you happen to have one that was decorated with a Christmas theme - now is the perfect time to simply swap out the paper and embellishments and create a new look for the upcoming season/month. And if you don't have one already - this is a really easy, fun way to get crafty and also a useful piece to add to your home!