Michaels

This is a great place to get baking AND artistic supplies. They have regular sales and coupons, so there’s no reason to pay full price on anything.
If you can get the attention of staff, they’re usually pretty helpful.

My mom was always really into crafting when I was a kid and would frequently take me down to the local art store down a mile or so from our house – named ‘Which Craft’, of course – to stock up on supplies. I remember sitting there for hours picking out projects to do with her (papier mâché dinosaurs = YESSS) and pointing out patterns for costumes she’d excitedly make me.
I’m over a thousand miles away from those days both literally and figuratively, but something about walking into Michael’s makes those memories come flooding back full force.
Perhaps it’s the typical scents of wicker, fake flowers and seasonal merchandise that fills all craft stores; perhaps it’s the vivid, sweet excitement of being surrounded by aisles of endless potential. Regardless, it never fails to put a smile on my face when I walk through the doors.
Michael’s never fails to have good sales on (surprisingly) pricier items like oil paint, beads, sculptor grade clay and canvases. I’ve taken advantage of their coupons during these sales and walked out with 300+ dollars of merchandise for 90 bucks – true story, brotum.
If you’re into doing multiple things like I am, I highly recommend making sure you do a quick sweep for the materials for of all of them if you have the time.
I’ve been shopping for beads and found the prices a little on the rape-​y side only to go a couple aisles over to see that the sale they had on clay was raptor-​balls amazing and well worth the trip.
I’ll break down my opinion on some of the areas I tend to frequent:
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Beads:
Huge selection of basic ‘builder’ beads, but their pendants/​focal beads are somewhat lacking. You won’t find anything unique (such as you would at, say, Beadniks) but it’s a solid selection for a beginner or casual enthusiast.
Stock up on the more expensive gemstone and crystal beads when they’re on one of their kickass 50−60% off sales and nab the focal beads elsewhere. You’ll save a ton and your end product will feel a lot more expensive than it actually was. The quality of the wire they sell here is nothing short of heinous, though, and fades/​snaps faster than my ex.
Canvases/​Paints:
Their selection is a touch more diluted than a pure art store (obviously), but they have reasonable prices on huge display quality canvases. If you’re looking to save a bit of money on paint but don’t want to sacrifice on the integrity of your finished product, their mid-​grade ‘Windsor & Newton’ brand is sufficient in most cases, producing rich tones and favorable color retention. If you do plan on springing for the top notch stuff and you don’t spooge Ben Franklins, the colors go on ‘selective sales’ (meaning that not all of them often go on one big sweeping sale).
Clay:
A wide variety of clay ranging from ‘let’s buy this cheap neon shit to keep the kids occupied so we can hump or eat Taco Bell’ to ‘I’m going to eat some Taco Bell after I faithfully recreate the exterior of the Sistine Chapel’ quality.
–Tons– of BOGO sales in this department, so keep your eyes open.
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Even though I know it’s a chain, I don’t want to see it bite the big one. Places like these are slowly going the way of the buffalo, I think, and it would be a shame to see the end of a hands-​on era as we delve ever deeper into the digital age.
My suggestion? Take up a hobby even if you’ve never considered doing so before. You’ll be terrible at it in the beginning (I’m a realist, gais), but you just might discover a part of yourself you never knew existed.
Also, papier mâché dinosaurs. Make them with your kids or… alone. I won’t judge.

Michael’s has a really wide selection but frequently they will be completely out of stock of exactly the one item I need. The store also gives off a cluttered feel because a lot of the front displays seem to get piled up in a disorganized manner. The staff is friendly and pretty willing to help you out if you ask, although I’ve noticed that the people on the cake decorating side seem to repetitively check in with you whereas the people on the needle crafts side seem to not be very present (or they bustle past you as though you are part of the display). Interesting divide.
Something I don’t like about Michael’s as a company is the amount of coupons they spew. Why not save a few trees and just lower your prices instead of forcing this coupon juggling act? Maybe what I’m saying is that this pales in comparison to a locally owned yarn store, which is pretty obvious from the get-​go.

Our local Michael’s. Always plenty of fun things, great sales & new projects to get into. We like their frame selection. Plenty of parking.