There's a Change In the Air

No, not in the temperature - that is still registering pretty high around here but the summertime "monsoons" are cooling it down a bit! Oh the joys of a Florida summer!!! The change is happening in the aisles of my local craft stores. That is always where you see it first because we crafters must get busy way before the rest of the world.

I have picked up a few things in HL and Michaels recently - not anything awesome, but I am always looking for fillers - like I really need anything else to fill my house...but, I digress.

The above pedestal and votive holder were on sale for 50% off at Michaels. I can see the pedestal nestled in a grouping with maybe a pumpkin or perhaps a crow on it. We'll see. The votive holder is tiny and I think it would look cute with a battery candle on a shelf in one of the bathrooms. And yes, I decorate the bathrooms - down to a Halloween shower curtain. Was there ever any question that I would? The good thing about that is that there really must not be many people who go that far, so I can always pick up that kind of thing for a song the day after a holiday!

I also picked up some ravens on pedestals at HL for 50% off. Does anyone else ever have trouble with HL's check out? They do not use SKUs on their registers so the cashiers have to know the sales EVERY week! When the store first opened, this was a nightmare! Then, as the cashiers (and the customers) became used to the system, things fell into place for awhile. Recently, my store has had tons of new cashiers. The last 3 times I have been there, I have had an issue at check-out. No offense to young people who don't do crafts, but what are you doing working in a craft store??? Their table top frames - including novelty - are always 50% off. Actually, why don't they just cut the prices in half and give the cashiers one less thing to remember? But again, I digress.

In any case, I have had 2 cashiers insist my frames were full price - haven't EVER paid full price for a frame in HL since the days the doors first opened. Also, I was buying resin ravens which someone insisted was carved wood and not on sale. Now, I am a SHOPPER. And I am a crafter. I know my stuff and almost never buy anything that isn't on sale...especially at HL where everything is almost on sale every other week. Any way, I found one of the "older" workers and things got straightened out in each case, but it took my time and effort as they were not even willing to call someone to be sure they WEREN'T WRONG! Don't know why I'm off on this tangent when I should be happy with my glimpse of Halloween, but somehow these kind of things are beginning to get to me because they are happening more and more frequently. Could it be because there aren't many people older than me left in the world - seems like everyone is younger! In any case, I won't leave HL because of their massive inventory so I should just "go with the flow" and be happy.

I am still waiting for the specialty shops and boutiques to bring out their Halloween Then I will know it is really on it's way. I am checking frequently in Micanopy and will hit The Barn soon, so I will let you know Stay tuned!