Go with the gut feeling .....

On vacation for a couple of weeks and I knew sometime during my break from work that I wanted to go to two recycle stores that I like to shop at.... one is in Greensboro and the other is in Durham.. not sure when I would end up going until . . . both stores are closed on Mondays so while I was working in the craft room this Monday I decided I wanted to go to these stores the next day -- so asked DH if he wanted to go along and he said he would so we headed out on Tuesday morning around 8AM to make the trip to Greensboro to the Reconsidered Goods store there.  My PIC (stamping Partner In Crime) had come across this store last year and she told me about it and I have been there a few times.

This store has craft items -- yarns, paints, fabrics, patterns, and they also have a stamping/scrapbooking section. DH dropped me off and he went to get gas for the car and he said he would come in when he was finished if he did not see me outside the store waiting for him.... I went in and got a cart and headed back to the stamping/scrapbooking section. Since I had last shopped there they have reorganized that section and are moving things around - there was a woman there moving things around while I was shopping. I checked the stamps and the steel ruled dies first and worked my way over to a shelf next to where she was working and at the bottom of this shelf were two large baskets that held thin metal dies and die sets. I pulled out one of the baskets and put it in my cart and looked through that and much to my surprise I found die sets from Anna Griffin. The first die set I found was her Gazebo die set:

I was shocked to find this die set there and esp with the $2.00 price tag..... I like the Anna Griffin dies she sells but they are too expensive for my craft room so I do not own any of her dies.... many of her dies are beautiful, very detailed, and I found Heartfelt Creations sold many die sets that were similar to hers with the ornate look or details and with shopping their booth at the stamp shows and show specials, I own a lot of their die sets. Also in one of these baskets was her Purse Card die set and that was $2.00 so I also brought that home:

I plan on making an insert for that Purse die set to make it into a treat holder and it is very detailed and is cute. Also picked up the Teacup Pop Up die set for $2.50. Also her Basket Pop Up die set that was $3.00. 

Her Teacup die set:

As I looked through that first basket I also found other dies and die sets at similar prices:

The above photos are dies/die sets I found in the two baskets at the bottom on the shelf. When I finished looking at those I went around the corner to where they had sorted card stocks in solids and prints hoping to find a print for one of the altered holiday clip boards I am working on.... Looked through the printed card stock and found three sheets I liked so those went in the cart.... I went back around to the area I had just shopped at and straight ahead on the floor was a large bin with different supplies in it. On the top was a drawer from a white cubbie and that had stencils and rulers and tools like that stacked in the drawer. Next to the drawer were larger items -- smaller trimmers and such. I finished looking at that and I stepped back to turn my cart around and I glanced at the bin to see what I could see that was under the white drawer at the top. 

I went back over and picked up the drawer and there was the stash........ lots of clear plastic envelopes and these were all Anna Griffin dies -- some were die sets alone in a plastic envelope, other envelopes had like die sets in them, etc. Here are some photos of the dies/die sets I brought home:

In the bin were envelopes with multiple die sets:

This envelope is labeled Pockets and there are Anna Griffin pocket dies, slimline pocket dies, corner pocket dies, as well as pocket dies from other companies -- Spellbinders, Heartfelt Creations, and other unmarked pocket dies:

Another envelope is labeled Flips/Fantastic Flips and this envelope has 8 die sets in it with the project sheets and that was marked $8.00:

and on the bottom.... there it was -- the thickest and heaviest envelope of them all -- and the most expensive at $13.00 -- ALL Halloween..... Happy me that I brought that home -- inside that envelope is the Anna Griffin Spiders & Specters die set, the Halloween Embellishment die set, Scaredy Cat die set, the Halloween cut and emboss folder set, (two different sets), and lots of other Halloween dies -- Echo Park, Spellbinders, Diamond Press... Also four stamp sets and loose die sets, etc:

This envelope was loaded:

The majority of these die sets are on the original packaging sheets and do not look used. Once I came home I looked up all the die sets on line to be sure I have all pieces and happily I do. I was happy to find these Anna Griffin dies at such cheap prices as I know her die sets are pricey. There were so many die sets to choose from at the store but I was careful to bring home dies I know I will use and not just buy any die set because the prices were so good.... 

DH came in the store and came over to find me and we walked through the rest of the store and then I checked out. They have a little rewards card at that store and they stamp it each time you buy things. I now have a full card so my next purchase I will get $10.00 off as a full card equals the discount the next time I shop.... 

We left there and headed home -- with DH driving I was able to go through all my new-to-my-craft room items so that was fun.  On our way home we veered off our route to stop in Durham to shop at the Scrap Exchange, another recycle store. This store has craft items but lots of other items as well. I usually shop over in the fabric/yarn section, jewelry/beads, and also the stamping area. This time I started in the stamping area and I found an oval stencil set from WaffleFlower and that was marked as 25 cents and I found a wooden stamp I liked for $1.00. Walked over to the plastic bins/storage area and there they were --- the clear refrigerator bins like I use in my craft room to store various items - 

Largest bin was $2 and the others were $1 or 75 cents each -- so for $6.50 I brought all these bins home, washed them, and they are ready for the craft room:

Happy I listened to my hunch that I needed to shop these two stores on Tuesday.. MORE than happy with all I brought home and will be busy cleaning up from all my Easter projects as well as getting my new-to-my-craft room items organized and put away for future projects! Esp happy that I have some Anna Griffin die sets in my stash and hope to get lots of use of those for projects and holiday projects ahead!