My favourite place to idle away time.

I have mixed feelings about Michael's. On the one hand, it's magical place, the Toys 'R' Us of crafters. Pencil crayons? Check. Stationary? Check. Yarn? Check. Clay, pots, wood, embroidery thread, scrapbooking, spray paint? Check, check, check, and CHECK. The sheer variety of things in one location makes this an easy place to spend time and money.

On the other hand, for someone who's grown up in craft stores, the quality of their stock is about average, and they don't carry a lot of specialized supplies. Their staff also generally don't have much more expertise than the average person would, so it's important to go in knowing what you need. They carry good entry-level supplies and some staples, but I'll always go to my local yarn store or woodshop for most of my needs. Also, their prices are pretty unreasonable if you don't use the coupons.

Great merchandise, but make sure you're buying something you can ONLY get in art store, otherwise the old rules apply of being waay overpriced. For speciality items, there's nowhere else! But for craft basics save your pennies and go to Walmart or another budget store.

Great to pop in when there's a sale or for inspiration!