Bounced Out of the Craft Store

Dear AC Moore,

Thank you for all the years of good service and quality merchandise. It seems I am always looking for just the right item but unable to find exactly what I want. Your stores have allowed me to make what ever it was I was looking for, therefore allowing me to have exactly what I was looking for.

Tonight all of that changed. I will now purchase the items I need on line with another supplier or at Ben Franklin if I need it right away. Why this sudden change?

I know it was almost time for the store to close but I knew exactly what I wanted and where it was (invitation ink stamp). My little girl and I scurried between two employees who were standing fixed in their spots blocking the isle a good deal and reached the stamps (2nd isle in on the left). Quickly I grabbed the stamp I need and a very sweet voice came over the intercom saying “It is now 8:58 and our store will be closing in two minutes. Please bring your purchases to the register.” I was not the only customer in the store. I saw a couple go in just ahead of us. As I bent down to reached for the over sized black ink pad I heard a store clerk say in a very stern voice “Put. That. Back. We. Are. Closed. You‘re gonna have-ta leave.” She was standing at the end of the isle with her arms folded and a very cross look on her face.

She didn’t give me a chance to say anything about the fact that we were ready, the two minutes left announcement or that I would be using a credit card so no one would have to recount their pre-counted registers. I slowly placed the stamp back in it’s place and kept my eyes fixed on the employee as if she were a wild animal and any sudden moves would result in a fatality. I kept Snow White strategically behind me, incase the creature decided to attack.

As Snow White and I walked past the registers to the exist there were 6 or more employees all standing close together with their arms folded, angry-someone-pissed-in-my-cherios-this-morning, haven’t eaten anything all day because of it AND I’m-gonna-eat-you-and-your-little-girl-too looks on their faces It was a mixer of the God Father’s body guards and the Wicket Witch from the Wizard of Oz.

I knew the store was closing and I was going to be quick and not inconvenience anyone. Apparently, they do not want my business and I am personally not welcome.

I admit I went in to the store just before it closed but to be told by an employee “Put. That. Back. We. Are. Closed. You‘re gonna have-ta leave.” That was completely uncalled for. On top of that to have the Giodo squad form a line? Did they really think that little Snow White all dressed in pink was such a danger? What was so important that it couldn’t wait until the store closed?

Not only will I not do my own personal shopping there but I will no longer purchase supplies for our Brownie and Girl Scout Troops at your store. I will also tell my parents who will tell all the organizations they participate in who will no doubt advise them to stop using your stores. My sister and brothers will also do the same. I plan on telling everyone I work with about my experience at your store. The last time a store pissed me off in such a manner (actually it was worse) they were out of business the very next month (smaller East coast chain). I am by no means saying I have “pull” but word of mouth carries more weight than any other form of advertisement. Should those who read this post stop buying from their local AC Moore? Only if your service is as poor as what was experienced by me on this night.

In retrospect…..

I had planned to use Fans as invitations for Snow White’s Birthday party. This way she could discretely pass out invitations at school where she sees most of her friends. The fans I ordered (because no one way out here in the country has paper fans) arrived with printing on both sides. Thus I would not have been able to use the meanie AC Moore invitation ink stamp.

Was this God’s way of saying to me “You have spent ENOUGH on this party! Stop it already!”

Given that I did a break down of last year’s expenses for Snow White birthday bash I will do the same this year. You wont believe what I went through to get it all together this year. The party looks simple enough from the photos I posted but there are so many more photos I didn’t post.

P.S. I haven’t visited the AC Moore shop since that dreadful night. Still a bit pissed at the pissy attitude.

Crafty Day

Monday, Memorial Day,

(will write about Sunday later…power outage lost file)

Since we are away from relatives, over coming my fears of actually having a car payment rather than paying cash and basically doing Memorial Day weekend on our own we dive into to crafts. ManSon and Oldest Daughter are off with friends. Snow White and I brave the shopping strips expecting them to be closed due to the holiday. To our surprise all stores are open! We rush into AC More and fill up our cart with much needed items to create a wonderful end of year thank you gift from Snow White to her teacher. A gift card to the local Olive Garden would have sufficed but a crafty gift from the heart seems more personal. I thought the projects would take up most of the day but turns out Snow White has become a wiz at crafts. Quick drying paint was also a culprit in her finishing so quickly.

First on Snow White’s agenda… the Box. She picked out a good sized hinged box. I picked out a clay flower pot. We made our way through the isles picking out things she liked such as stickers of puppies and flowers and other miscellaneous things from the scrap booking sections. Then we made our way to the paint area. I asked Snow White what she wanted to make of the box and flower pot. The flower pot would be for flowers on teacher’s desk and the box would be for whatnots she has no drawers for. Still the paint selections were a bit fuzzy to me at the time but I knew they would make a nice addition to our craft paint selection at home. One final item was a turtle she saw hanging on to a pottery planter.

After our little crafters extrusion we decided to go out for dinner. Snow White requested a restaurant we had seen on our way to the craft store, Cheese Burger in Paradise. We have a few rules for dining out. You should pick a restaurant you have not tried and a dish you never had before. Apparently she loves gumbo and Cheese Burger in Paradise. She could not stop saying the word paradise. This place looks like paradise, the food is like a tropical island of paradise, Madagascar movie Paradise was reveled when the lion liked sushi and it was under an umbrella just like this! Look at my fruit! Paradise fruit! This is paradise! Our table of the ocean and land is paradise.

When we were home we laid out all of our new supplies. I am very proud of her creativity. I have to say even as an adult there were moments I thought “Wait! Let Mommy help you!” but she had more confidence in herself than I had realized. I let her do her own thing and then waited on the side lines to fix it. I came to the realization, she knows what she wants to do and she can achieve it! She did let me pain the flower pot and put the flower stems in. That was all. One thing I really wanted to do was paint over the blue drip on the front of the box. Okay, maybe you have to look hard to see it…bottom corner of the box. She would not let me. They are her projects and I no choice but to let her do them as she likes. She is 8 years old after all.

Garden of Knowlege

Teacher's Box


Since Snow White was afraid her precious gifts would be distroyed on the school bus I brought them to her class during my lunch hour. The teacher was thrilled! After all the students had a chance to see them up close she put the flowers on her desk and took the box home to use as a jewelry box.