Don't be fooled - - -

Yesterday -- another BIG day for me and my PIC (stamping Partner In Crime)... With our Cuber driver (DH) off on one of his weekend swap meets it was she and I and we headed out at 5AM for a yearly event for us -- but first....

DON'T BE FOOLED:

Paper Crafters Muse -- this is a store in Matthews, NC (near Charlotte) and the store owner is Daphne. I LOVE her store a LOT and yesterday's visit there did NOT disappoint!!!  Her store is at: 1905 E. Rice Rd. in Matthews. This is a small store but don't be fooled by the size.... "Paper Crafters Muse" -- don't be fooled by the name .... this is NOT just a paper crafters store for scrapbooking and card making!! Inside --

This Wizard Of Oz collection is right by the front door as you walk in with lots of printed card stocks for inspiration. Here Daphne has a display of the new Color Burst Shimmers:

Always nice to see new products in use and what they really look like IRL and not just in a bottle... Plus Daphne will answer any questions you may have about how to use these new products and such so when you buy something you will know how to use it.... Here are photos of other projects she has on display on the walls of her store:

Tote bags, altered boxes, boards, etc.. Not only does she display cards, tags, journals but other items as well using products in her store. Another thing I like about her store displays:

I took a photo of this display board since it has winter cards, holiday cards, BOO Day cards, etc.. Not all card makers wait until a holiday week to make our cards. Many of us work on holiday cards and projects throughout the year and it is nice that Daphne keeps that in mind with her display boards. Here is a photo of one of the walls of the store:

Shopped her store yesterday and I picked up a die set from Lawn Fawn for the cutest little Easter basket and a second die set from Taylored Expressions:

Fun products for projects ahead.... Daphne carries SO many manufacturer products it is hard to decide WHAT to buy!!! But in the Spring - -  Daphne holds a yearly "Annual Craft Yard Sale" for her customers to sell no longer needed or used crafting supplies from their craft rooms. Daphne holds this sale in another store front at her plaza and the sellers in her sale rent tables and sell their own no longer needed/wanted craft items.  My PIC and I look forward to this sale every Spring and we save our dollars and pennies just for this sale. Each year items you find are different and you just never know what sellers are selling -- machines, card stocks, dies, stamps, inks, shimmer sprays, stencils, trims and bling, stickers, photo albums, storage items, etc.. Well. . .  the sale yesterday has to be the best one my PIC and I have shopped!! Here are photos of items I bought:

Could not believe the prices!! ONE DOLLAR each for new Carta Bella, Hero Arts, and Echo Park die sets??? Packs of flowers were $1 also... As I was paying for some of the dies and these punches that were 50 cents to a dollar each:

Out of the corner of my eye I see hot pink packaging fall on the floor at a table two tables down... I turn -- could it be???? I walk over to help the customer pick up what she had dropped and BINGO they were Heartfelt Creation stamp sets -- YAY!! So this decided the next table I would shop... Two ladies were selling their items at this table and they had Heartfelt Creation stamp sets... I had printed out my list of HC stamp/die sets I already owned to take to the sale so if I was lucky enough to find any Heartfelt products I would not be buying duplicates.. I pulled out my list and went through their bins of stamp sets and found a couple of die sets I did not have but wanted:

Each of these die sets were $5.00 which for Heartfelt Creation products this a great price! In another bin I found these stamp sets but no dies:

I held onto to these and went through the other stamp sets in that bin and there in the back -- all by itself -- was the matching die set for the Petunia set!! YAY!!

The orange sticker on these items meant the price was $3.00 each -- WOWSA!! So who would have guessed I would have found a die for the Petunia stamp set? Here is a photo of the original price stickers on this stamp and die set:

So paying $6.00 for the two was a great deal for this stamper! Happy me for sure.... I also bought Close To My Heart card stock for $5 for the bag and a pad of 12 x 12 Graphic 45 card stock (still sealed) for $5.00:

To think I had told my PIC while I was driving us to the sale that the ONLY thing I was hoping to find was the retired Postcard stamp from Stampin Up.... but other than that I did not have anything else I was wanting to buy -- haha!! But although I did not find the SU Postcard stamp to buy I did buy three SU stamp sets:

Painter's Palette and Best of Halloween -- paid $5 for each set. The Diagonal Stripe stamp was $3 so good deal for those. Bought a few packs of sealed SU card stock - for $5 each so a savings there from the regular SU price of $8.50 for a pack of 8 1/2 x 11 card stocks.... Love to buy "gently used" SU items -- saves me paying full price plus not having to pay their shipping and handling.... My last purchase at this sale was:

A Cheery Lynn die set and a new Creative Expressions die set - both $5 each..... so more great items to add to the craft room....

As I did last year I made a little basket of Easter treats for Daphne that I brought with me:

I used the SU Berry Basket die set and cut out a basket - did not use the handle for it though. I assembled the basket and used hot glue to add cotton ruffled trim around the top edge of the basket and added flowers to the front with lace/pearl bows on either side of the flowers. Inside the basket is white paper shred with a test tube treat holder I had made, a Cadbury Egg and holder, a tray of Hershey Nugget Candies, with bite size various candies in the basket. Used a clear bag to wrap this up and put one of the Easter tags I had made at the top of the bag with a bow.  Just a little something for Easter.

Before we left the sale I stopped in her store to thank her for holding this Annual Craft Yard Sale for us crafters.  A fun time for sure!!

My PIC and I left there and off to Olive Garden for us.... We brought our tote bags of 'new to us' goodies from the sale so we could see everything each of us bought. When she and I shop these sales we do not always shop the same tables at the same time. This way we can let each other know of items at other tables that we may be looking for. Also she is a scrapbooker and a card maker and does crops and such and I am a card maker and I am now getting into other things -- altering paper clips, tags, treat holders, etc.. It is always fun to see what each of us buys when we are all done as sometimes at the sales you are too busy to see what each is buying.

Sooooooooo... if you are in the area or traveling through the Charlotte area be sure to shop Daphne's store -- it will be well worth the trip!! If you are planning to make it a day trip shop Daphne's store and drive over to IKEA for storage for all you buy at her store !!   ;0)   Both my PIC and I commented yesterday that this was the FIRST time we have driven to the Charlotte area that we got home when it was still light out -- usually when DH is our Cuber driver we leave in the dark and get home in the darkER... ... hummmm.... certainly nice to get home early enough to unpack all our goodies and have already cut out my Lawn Fawn basket die -- Thanks Daphne!!!