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Okay my DH and I are off skiing in Big White next week and I am too excited. We fly into Seattle-and drive over the boarder, it's a kind of fly drive thing.
I am from the UK and whilst the skiing is pretty good in Europe the craft stores are at best ropey and hideously expensive. So I have birthday money, and will have a Valentine's gift owing and some spending money.
Now for the questions
I have a Costco card- Does Costco generally stock the Cricut or is it only on line- Does Costco at either Seattle or Kelowna stock crafting stuff?
Which should I visit Michaels or Joanns- are there coupons and are there any other stamp/craft stores I should visit.
Whilst I want to keep the majority of my stamp purchasing to SU for now as I am a new demo here in the UK if there are goodies to be found out there I want them!!
Mods sorry if this is in the wrong section but it's stamps and tools so I had to flip a coin.
I shop Costco frequently and have never seen the Cricut in the store. If I could only go to one store between J's and M's, I would pick M's. Even my J's superstore tends to be out of things. HTH!
Hey All of our Passes are closed due to avalance danger right now..there is so much snow it's record breaking! Where are you going over the border to? Whistler?:p my clients LOVE to ski and usually hit all of the passes around here. I have clients that also visit Whistler Resort year round because they love it so much!
Michaels will probably be where you will get the best prices on your cricut (about $20 less than Joann's) coupons? well they do have them but many times the cricut is not eligible. I have never seen the cricut at costco here..
If you are actually able to drive to Kelowna (Coquihalla highway still closed from what I heard last) there are also a couple of scrapbooking stores in Kelowna. The one that has rubber stamps is http://www.memorycrafts.ca/index.html
It's actually in Westbank when you're coming into Kelowna.
Good luck!
I'm not sure if there is a walmart in that part of the world, but I found the cricut expression machine at my walmart in texas for $280 and the original Cricut machine for $184, which is by far cheaper than JoAnn's, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby. JoAnn's has coupons this week that I got in an email. If you would like for me to forward to you, send me a PM with your email address and I'll forward to you. It cant be used on the machine or cartridiges, but can be used on the other cricut tools/supplies. Hope this helps.
FYI since you are flying into Seattle: there is a Joann's and a Mike's right near the airport at Southcenter. When leaving the airport, head towards the sign for all the highways. Go towards 405 and the first exit that is around the curve will be for Southcenter Pkwy. Get off there, follow signs. About 1/4 mile up, come to main light with big shopping center in front of you. Turn Right at this light on Southcenter Parkway. About 3/4 mile down road is Joann's on right and Michael's across the street on left. I really prefer Joann's (this is a big, bright and clean one) but you can hit both this way for they are facing each other almost directly. There is also a Costco about a mile up the road from here. If you want directions to it, let me know.
Hope you have a great trip to this area and good luck driving! The passes are currently open but the snow has been unbelievable for that area this season. Our closest ski area at the Summitt has had 34 feet of snow already! Whew! Enjoy Big White!
before you fly into Seattle, make sure to check that the highways in BC are open & drivable. The Coquihalla ( Highway #5) has been closed since Saturday and currently says it is closed indefinitely due to avalanche risk.
Here is a site where you can check out the current conditions for the highways in BC and I would suggest having at least 2 alternate routes in case your main route is not available.
I would also maybe contact your accommodations in Big White and see what they have to say.
As for craft supplies - for big stores like Michael's, WalMart & Joann's - it is best to shop at them in the States as they have better prices than we do here in BC! I would suggest stopping at Walmart if you are wanting either a Cricut they are cheaper at Walmart than Michael's and you can't use the coupons on the actual machine or cartridge.
There are multiple Walmarts on the way from Seattle to the US/Canada border and there are even a couple of 24hr ones! I know that there is one in Bellingham (exit 256A - about 20 mins south of the US/Canada border) and also one in Tulalip (exit 202 on the I-5)
I hope that you guys get to enjoy your trip to the west coast and that you get to enjoy some wonderful skiing!
Wow thanks guys these replies are useful- especially the traffic reports!
The scrapping/card craft stuff is as exciting as the skiing- to me anyway, and I shall be printing off the replies before we go.
Theresa the site is going to be very useful and I shall certainly see what the accommodation says.
Cheri I will PM you.
You are all being just great!
Bellingham Washington has two great stores - Treasury of Memories (mostly scrapbooking and some clear stamps) and Stampadoodle(amazing selection of stamps, wood mounted only).
Once you are in Canada,there are two great shops approximately 30 minutes from the border that are well worth the visit. One is called Precious Memories (Clear stamps, Wood stamps, scrapbooking paper, Score-pal, punches, Copic Markers, Palette ink pads, Nestabilities and much much more) and the other is called Clipper Street (amazing selection of scrapbook paper and also clear and wood stamps). Here are their websites:
There is a really great stamping store just off the 99 in Surrey - Cloverdale - here is the link....http://www.countrylanebc.com/ . I am in Vancouver and it is about a 45 minute drive from me - fairly close to the US Canada border. Do check the hours - they have a fabulous selection of stamps and do - dad's but their hours are not long ( think they close at 5 pm ). Stampadoodle is a great stamping store, and right off the I -5...
We don't have Joann's in Canada, and our Walmarts probably carry different stuff than the ones in the US.. like we don't have Georgia Pacific Cardstock at our Walmarts. We also don't have Hobby Lobby or Archivers ( sigh! ). I haven't seen much stamping stuff at Costco near to where I live or the one just across the border - just to let you know.
Glad someone gave you the link to the Coquihalla - right now it is closed, but you can still travel on the number 1 Highway to Kelowna or take a lower road - the Hope - Princeton to get to Big White. (I think that is the number 3 Hwy - not sure )..
I have been to Kelowna fairly often - and sadly..............there are no stamping stores that I could find. They do have a Michaels and a Costco.
As a previous poster mentioned - there have been an unusual number of avalanches at Big White and other skiing places in BC lately - so just keep on top of that.
Oh, yes, I understand there is a Hobby Lobby somewhere in the Seattle area - you might want to Google it!!!
There is a really great stamping store just off the 99 in Surrey - Cloverdale - here is the link....http://www.countrylanebc.com/ . I am in Vancouver and it is about a 45 minute drive from me - fairly close to the US Canada border. Do check the hours - they have a fabulous selection of stamps and do - dad's but their hours are not long ( think they close at 5 pm ). Stampadoodle is a great stamping store, and right off the I -5...
We don't have Joann's in Canada, and our Walmarts probably carry different stuff than the ones in the US.. like we don't have Georgia Pacific Cardstock at our Walmarts. We also don't have Hobby Lobby or Archivers ( sigh! ). I haven't seen much stamping stuff at Costco near to where I live or the one just across the border - just to let you know.
Glad someone gave you the link to the Coquihalla - right now it is closed, but you can still travel on the number 1 Highway to Kelowna or take a lower road - the Hope - Princeton to get to Big White. (I think that is the number 3 Hwy - not sure )..
I have been to Kelowna fairly often - and sadly..............there are no stamping stores that I could find. They do have a Michaels and a Costco.
As a previous poster mentioned - there have been an unusual number of avalanches at Big White and other skiing places in BC lately - so just keep on top of that.
Oh, yes, I understand there is a Hobby Lobby somewhere in the Seattle area - you might want to Google it!!!
Deborah thanks for the tips about USA V Canada and who sells what, also thanks for the alternative routes we were going to spend today looking at alternate routes so that is helpful.
No tips other than what you already have.
Have fun, and remember you are never a stranger, there are SCS sisters all over!
Pop on from where ever you are and one of us will answer!
If you decide to stop by the Michael's or Joann's in Tukwila (which is right by the aiport, that a poster above mentioned) definitely take the time to stop by Impress and Paper Zone. They are both great stores...especially the Impress. here's their website http://www.impressrubberstamps.com/
FYI since you are flying into Seattle: there is a Joann's and a Mike's right near the airport at Southcenter. When leaving the airport, head towards the sign for all the highways. Go towards 405 and the first exit that is around the curve will be for Southcenter Pkwy. Get off there, follow signs. About 1/4 mile up, come to main light with big shopping center in front of you. Turn Right at this light on Southcenter Parkway. About 3/4 mile down road is Joann's on right and Michael's across the street on left. I really prefer Joann's (this is a big, bright and clean one) but you can hit both this way for they are facing each other almost directly. There is also a Costco about a mile up the road from here. If you want directions to it, let me know.
Hope you have a great trip to this area and good luck driving! The passes are currently open but the snow has been unbelievable for that area this season. Our closest ski area at the Summitt has had 34 feet of snow already! Whew! Enjoy Big White!
The same area also has a paper zone and an impress stamps - both worth a visit!
If you decide to stop by the Michael's or Joann's in Tukwila (which is right by the aiport, that a poster above mentioned) definitely take the time to stop by Impress and Paper Zone. They are both great stores...especially the Impress. here's their website http://www.impressrubberstamps.com/
Yep!!
Impress is AWESOME!! That would be my one and *only* stop!!!
It's like a candy store in there....:twisted:
debzi333- we don't have any hobby lobby here in the Seattle area, or in the west coast as far as I know.
I agree with both that Impress is the best! Paper Zone used to be right next door to Impress but they have recently moved. I beleive it is within a block or two but check with their site first if you have time to go. You will LOVE Impress though and that is their biggest store in Tukwilla (Southcenter)
Good luck. Have a safe flight and a great trip. Wave to all of us Seattlites on the way!
Okay I am back! I had a great time- and although by Friday Big White could have done with a dump of snow, we really enjoyed skiing in some glorious weather.
Now for the practicals-
I went to Michaels Joanns HL and Walmart
Walmart was a write off, I looked at the Expression and I pictured my ski stuff, boots bags etc and decided that there was no physical way I was getting one of those back home- but maybe next time!
I went to Joanns (which was a major contributor to my lack of space) and bought
Lunch tins
Papers
Chipboard sets
petal inks
vellum quotes and stickers
ribbons
albums
I stayed away from the stamps-as I am now an SU demo!
I bought sewing patterns
A paper cutter (the big Fiskars guillotine) my husband was so impressed by how much money I saved buying that there- that he was rambling about how I really go a discount on a paper cutter and the rest of the stuff for free- it's nice when they think that way!
I decided against returning to Michaels-all there sale stuff seemed related to coupons I didn't have so I couldn't bring myself to buy it.
I then shopped in Target for electronics- Sears and Barnes and Noble-we both love Barnes and Noble!
So there you have it- thanks for all of your tips guys they were really helpful!
Costco/Michaels/Joanns in Seattle or Kelowna
