Missing Michael's or Hobby Lobby?

Well, I'm not going to lie. I really REALLY miss my favorite craft stores from the U.S.! A LOT! But there are supplies to be had if you know where to look. This is, by no means, a complete list of places, but it's a good start. There's probably a fabric or art supply store in your town. And you know, if you're really crafty, you're likely to find items that you'd like to craft at any variety of places!

First, on base, we do have the Arts and Crafts Center. It is small, but offers a pretty wide-range of supplies. Scrapbooking, knitting, jewerly making, and stamping supplies, and more are available at the craft store. They also offer a handful of classes, like photography, jewelry making, and card making. There are occassional children's classes that my kids LOVE!

It has to be said that the craft store is on the pricey side. I love and frequent it, but I know that I am paying for the convenience of having supplies readily available.

I will say though, for the products I buy {mostly paper products and stickers}, they carry high quality brands. So I'm sure that drives the prices upward a bit too.

Also, if there are particular items that you are looking for, they are very open to suggestions and custom ordering.

Like them on Facebook to get up-to-date information on their classes and new stock!



The next stop is the BX. Its craft supplies are, meh. Limited. There is one aisle with primarily Martha Stewart craft supplies and small amount of crafting paper. Again, what they have is good quality, but there really is very little.

Leaving base, two stops not too far from the gate are CenterCasa and Bricofer. Both are on SS-13 and both have promising crafty goodness!

CenterCasa is a home supply store...dishes, pillows, frames, decorations, etc. It has a lot to offer that I will cover later in a post dedicated soley to it, but for now let's focus on the "craft" aisle. They offer a lot of artificial flowers and flower arranging supplies.

 

      Lots of artificial
          flowers!

They also have a decent selection of ribbon {not really what you'd use for hairbows, more for decorations and other crafts}.

Paints and Brushes

The last stop for today is Bricofer. Bricofer is a chain of hardware stores. The two I've visited both have well-stocked craft aisles. These pictures are from the Bricofer on SS-13 in Pordenone, which is the nearest to base, but you may live closer to a different Bricofer so look around your area. I tend to shop at the one in Spilimbergo which is smaller but closer to my house in Maniago.

Bricofer carries craft paints and painting supplies, stencils, beads, glitters, and decoupage supplies. They also have a pretty good selection of picture frames. A lot of what they carry isn't to my taste, but when I'm searching for craft supplies I keep my mind and eyes open!

Stencils and Paints

Decoupage Papers

Other places that I've found a variety of crafting supplies, while I'm here far far away from my true love, are garden stores and local department stores. Of course you can always order online if you are needing specific items, but if you're short on time it's good to know there are a few local options.

Happy Crafting!