Big Box Craft Stores

Agreed, it’s sad. I try to look up and visit any LSS when I travel because it’s so fun to browse in person.

It’s been awhile since I checked, but the ones near me have some papers, some stamps and dies, and electronic cutters, vinyl, etc. Vinyl is used by some scrapbookers instead of card stock. You can get a more delicate cut with vinyl.

Their stock for scrapbooking is minimal, but there are some things, or at least were the last time that I was there.

Craft stores cater to whatever craft is popular. They carry minimal stock for the less popular crafts. I suspect that either fewer people are doing traditional scrapbooking, or they are buying more online.

It's basically the same around here in the Dallas area.

Hobby Lobby - basically they have stickers, thin open stock paper, some albums and their own brand of paper pads (solids and pattern). They also have their own line of embellishments but selection is pretty limited around me. No stamps or dies anymore and no Tim Holtz products anymore.

Michael's - I got a $25 gift card to Michael's and truly could not find anything to buy except foam tape (and it was terrible foam tape at that). My Michael's (which is less than 5 miles from their corporate office) has solid cardstock packs, a small bit of Tim Holtz ink products, planner products and a small amount of stickers. They rarely even have those value paper pads they used to carry. They did still have albums.

Joann's - I don't have one in my immediate area but there is one about 25 minutes from me that I visited not too long ago. They had new Tim Holtz Halloween and Christmas products (stamps, dies, sprays), lots of pattern paper (open stock and paper pads, Hero Arts stamps and inks, lots of Fiskar's products. I feel like Joann's had the best selection of what I like around here except they don't really have albums in store.

We have a great LSS about an hour away and she tends to carry new products (Pinkfresh, 49th & Market, Simple Stories) plus she carries a ton of Tim Holtz/Dina Wakely/Ranger products. I usually go visit her store when I go to my craft retreat a few times a year.

It appears that maybe Joann stores inventory varies by store? I recently moved. I used to live within driving distance of the Joann store in Cedar City, Utah, and that store was usually well stocked with a variety of scrapbooking and paper crafting supplies -- but there are a lot of scrapbookers in Utah, so local demand for these products is high there.

Here in my new location, I haven't found a Joann within reasonable driving distance. There's a Hobby Lobby that I haven't been to, but it's a long drive to get to it. Unless I'm in a hurry to have something, I'd usually rather shop online than get in the car and drive for miles. These days, shipping costs are high, but gas prices to fill the car up are, too.

The Joann’s nearest to me has no crafting items. One a bit further away has a lot of AC paper. They also carry dies including Sizzix and Hero arts.

Hobby Lobby has reduced their stock. A lot less stamps and dies. They still have a lot of single sheet paper and paper pads. They carry cardstock as well. Also some Tim Holtz products including a small selection of distress ink.

Michaels sucks.