I went to Wal-Mart.
See, here's the problem: Wal-Mart is evil. But Wal-Mart also appears to have an exclusive on some Sterilite containers that I love -- they come in lots of sizes, all the sizes stack on each other, the handles latch over the lids to keep them on -- everything I want in plastic boxes! They sure as heck have Sterilite labels on them, but they don't show up anywhere but Wal-Mart, not even on the Sterilite website! So to Wal-Mart I go.
I'll try to remember to take a picture of the boxes for the next WOYWW or something.
And since I was there already, of course I had to go check out the crafting section. There was a whole display of Halloween-y Studio G stuff -- mini stamp sets, mini punches, a bunch of other stuff I didn't pay attention to -- all at $.97 apiece.
So I picked up a couple of little stamp sets. While making the All Hallow's Eve bookmark I had rather wished for a smaller bat, so I picked up a set with a teeny haunted house and teeny bats (and a teeny crescent moon). I'd been seeing challenges involving candy and treats popping up, so I grabbed a little candy-themed set -- not so much for the "CANDY" sentiment or the candy corn as the wrapped candy, which is nicely non-seasonal. Also, I am a sucker for corvids, so I picked up the set with a raven, a witch hat, and some witch legs. I have no intention of making squished-Wicked-Witch-of-the-East bookmarks, but I suppose if I did this would be an awesome find.
I also grabbed a teeny skull punch. I don't expect much of it, but it might come in handy for challenges of a gothic or pirate-y sort.
Then I gravitated over to the clearance section, because unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess, for my conscience and my storage space) there was nothing else of stampy interest.
But over in the clearance section, there were colorful leather things!
I saw the browns and reds first and wasn't really convinced. Suede cord is nice, and suede cord in a bunch of colors is nicer, but... I wandered away and came back to think about it again. Then I spotted the blues and greens! (I'm not blind -- the clearance section was just unorganized and they weren't together.) I'm rather more of a sucker for blues and greens than reds and oranges, you see. So I got the blues and greens, and at that point, why not get the reds and browns as well?
We're not quite sure whether it's real suede or not. It looks real, but it doesn't smell like leather. It doesn't really smell like anything. (I expect it will smell like leather after it's been stored with the rest of the leather for a while, though. So there's that taken care of.)
Wal-Mart mini haul:
While I was putting together last week's State of the Stash, I got distracted browsing the internet. This trying-to-find-links-to-list-products stuff is dangerous. If you find the right link immediately, that's fine. But if you have to sort through related links... it's not good, folks.
The TPC Studio trend from last week therefore continues this week. I found some cute cat stamps ('cause I definitely don't have enough cat stamps) and a fun-looking alphabet set on Etsy at YEChopShop:
I didn't order the card; it's a lovely thank-you from YEChopShop. That's one of the fun things about ordering from little Etsy or even ebay stores -- the personal touches. I don't think I could run one properly; I'm not sure I would really want to thank someone who'd spent about $10 including shipping... (i.e. myself). Clearly the proprietor of YEChopShop is a much better and more gracious person than I am.
Don't worry; I knew the alphabet stamps would come loose in a bag. What I didn't know, though, was that they would look so much like delicious gummy candies! Observe, I've put some gummies in a bag, and they look just as delicious as the alphabet stamps:
I managed to convince myself they (er, the stamps, not the gummies) were really truly stamps and not candy for long enough to separate them and put them onto a leftover backing sheet (obviously the alphabet stamps are not actually TPC Studios Sewing Rubber Cling Stamps). Of course, the plastic isn't indexed, but when the stamps are stained so colorfully, they're pretty easy to see. (I know some people don't like stained stamps, but I'm just fine with 'em.) Now they look less like candy.
YEChopShop didn't have this set listed as being from any particular company, but I've tracked it down: it's the Pattern Alphabet from Hero Arts.
YEChopShop mini haul:
And here's some more TPC Studios. If it helps, I'm pretty sure I won't be acquiring any this coming week.
The adorable winter set comes from cupcakesandchaos on ebay, although you will note it includes neither cupcakes nor chaos. Again we see the delight of buying things from an actual person: a handwritten note and a freebie sticker set came in my little package! It's a very flattering sticker set, too, because I can choose to apply all those lovely adjectives to myself.
Er, not literally, I haven't been wearing these stickers as nametags or anything. Although I suppose I could...
cupcakesandchaos mini haul:
In using-stash-up news, I made a bookmark 100% from scraps (Join the Dance), which makes me feel happy although it really doesn't make much of a dent. I've got two more bookmarks that aren't quite posted yet, one of which uses new stamps from last week and one of which features the skater from the TPC Winter Activities set I've just shown you. So although I may be acquiring at a greater rate than I'm using, I am at least using what I'm acquiring!
What about you? Did you pick up any exciting (or just excitingly cheap) new stash this week? If you have a haul post or video I'd love to see it. Even better, did you use up a scrap heap of stash you already owned, or ink up a lonely and neglected stamp? Leave me a link!
