The Scrap Box

Fun place to dig around! Like organized dumpster diving :) Get great ideas for crafts and projects!

Customer service was very friendly and helpful. They have such a wide variety of scraps. I wish they had more practical art supplies also. But, I did manage to find a couple different options to make my toddler a pretty decent sensory table on the cheap. Customer service is pretty decent. It is also nice that they have an art station in the front were your child can work on an art project for free.

Crafty, creative paradise! Fill a bag for $ 5? Yes, please. Giant rolls of paper? Why not? Beads, buttons, material, ribbon, tubes of all sizes and material, foam for miles… there’s something for everyone. $ 4 minimum to pay with a credit card, but I can’t imagine spending less than $ 4 here. ;)

Most of this shop is random odds and ends, sold by the bag, for doing funky arts-​and-​crafts stuff… but I mean really random. Ever gotten electronics or camera gear packed in die-​cut foam? This place has huge bins of the trimmings — the foam from inside the cut-​out, or between two pieces.
No corn cobs, no dried corn ears, and minimal cloth — just lots of foam-​like things.

Great place to go to for winter and rainy day projects supplies. So many different random items to put into your $ 6 or $ 4 paper bag. The kids will just love the endless possibilities that they get from the scrap of businesses they can create into art. It is worth it to check it out.

Not a full service place like Michaels but I like to avoid big box craft stores when possible. They had what I needed: a piece of cream colored board for matting a picture for two dollars. And other cool things, like super cheap paper rolls. Prices are super low.

I love this store and miss it greatly now that I’m no loner in the area. So cheap and so great for getting craft supplies. Especially in the age of pinterest, where there are tons of ideas for making art with various things like toilet paper tubes, it’s a creative cornucopia.

The Scrap Box is basically a place where you can buy things you would normally find for free, for cheap.
That’s not to say it’s not helpful or worth visiting, though! The thing is, it has has a pretty wide range of stuff that might otherwise take you months of packratting or days of scavenging at various sites to get. So maybe it’s just better to go here and pay a quarter for that huge paper tube or bag of buttons. Get all your odds and ends in one fell swoop.
These are the things I like most about the place:
— well organized: for a miscellaneous store, it does an excellent job keeping itself clean, organized, and not overwhelming (in fact, it may do a little too good of a job as I found it to be sparse at times).
— the free room: granted you get what you pay for, but last time I was in I got a huge bag of nothing but baby food jars which are perfect for spices and baking miniature pies. As I don’t have a rug rat of my own, this was a perfect way to get a hold of teenie tiny jars (I admit my addiction to all things miniaturized — am I alone in this?).
— crazy things you can’t even identify: oh yes, there are very strange little pieces of plastic and other material that definitely have some sort of purpose but hell if I can tell you what — I can imagine it would be fun to string these together and make some avant garde fashion garment. Or use them as stage props. Or create some mystery sci-​fi themed birthday part for the kids (or young-​at-​hearts).
I saw a sign saying they are no longer taking donations of fabric which although I can understand, bums me out. They do still have a few piles of neatly folded fabric but the designer in me wanted a gigantic pool full to swim in.
Also, just a head’s up that they have different summer hours (they cut their day short by an hour and close up at 5pm). Might be best to call ahead if you’re going in the evening, especially since it’s a bit of a trek out of town.
All in all, not too shabby and I found what I was looking for. I found it to be more kindergarten craft supply than treasure trove, though.

Scrappy delights!
If you’re crafty, you’ve got a kid, you’re a teacher, or you’re like me and run a lot of promo tables where kids hang out then get to the scrap box immediately and get your supply on!
Donated bits of odds and ends are in full stock here for your arty needs. Big bins of foam circles, sticky back cork, old greeting cards, labels, paper (sold by inch stacks!), cardboard tubes, buckets, plastic bottles, etc etc. All available here for the taking.
Some of the items are sold by piece (and rarely is anything over a dollar) while the back room houses loads of items in bulk that are available to purchase by the bag full ($ 6.50 for a large bag will get you a WHOLE LOTTA stuff). A $ 25 yearly membership will get you discounts on the bagged goods if you’re a frequent shopper.
Examples of what you can do with the (somewhat industrial) supplies line the walls in inspiring ways. If you’re into recycling or green arts and crafts, supplement your collection with a visit to the Scrap Box. Their wares may not be as shiny as the stuff you buy at Michael’s but the price for basic items can’t be beat!

Leave it up to Ann Arbor-​ites to come up with this kind of a place! Not only is it the perfect place for crafty types, this place is like a shrine to the recycle/​upcycle craze. They have a whole bunch of donated/​gifted «stuff» (at very reasonable prices) that you and/​or your kids can make cool crafts from: stickers, to papers, to plastic bottle caps and some new stuff, too (an hour glass clock or a tape measure kitchen timer, perhaps?)! Shopping here is like going on a treasure hunt– you never know what you might come across.
They also do kids birthday parties AND accept donations! I was just there and dropped off a trunk load of old designer fabric sample books– I’m so glad they wont be taking up space in some mountain of trash and will (possibly) help someone to create their masterpiece (mostly I am glad they are not freeloading rides from me anymore ;-)). I highly recommend this place as a fun, different Saturday afternoon activity– or any time you’re in the mood to treasure hunt.

What a cool idea for an arts and craft supply store! It’s not just a place to pick up supplies for your kids to do crafts but also a clever way of recycling and reusing leftover materials.
Community members donate scraps of fabric and wood and plastic and so on, and it’s grouped into bins and shelves by the people who run The Scrap Box. Then, others can come in and buy supplies like bits of colored foam, shiny beads, or old greeting card fronts, and use them in arts and crafts projects. They also have a bulk room where you can pay a flat fee for as much stuff as you can fit in a bag.
If I was running a daycare or teaching a Vacation Bible School class or throwing any kind of party or event for kids, I would make this place my first stop. The day I was there, the kids looked just as fascinated with all the strange odds and ends as their Moms did.
The staff have also nicely made available a small selection of stuff that kids can play with inside the store while their parents shop. All the stuff that’s fair game for this is on a shelving unit near the door.
It’s not just for kids but also for adults and kids at heart. For instance, I found a stack of really cool posters for a Detroit Art Museum exhibit being sold for a dollar each.