Advantages: PLEASE IGNORE THE RATINGS AS THEY REFER TO THE WEBSITE
Disadvantages: PLEASE IGNORE THE RATINGS AS THEY REFER TO THE WEBSITE

...; although I'm no artist I've bought paints, card and paper to use for my other pastimes. There is also a large section of ready made frames as well as a framing service for all your craft needs. ~~~ Prices ~~~ The prices in HobbyCraft are very competitive. For cross stitch they stock both Anchor and DMC threads and the prices are a few pence cheaper than in other stores although not as cheap as you can get mail order. For my rubber stamping I have found a great range of stamps and I've found the prices again to be slightly cheaper than elsewhere. If you are looking for cards, paper and sundries you will find not only are the prices competitive the size of the store allows them to carry such a wide range that you always find the item you need. There is also a large number of sale bins around the store where you will find everyday craft... Read review

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Advantages: Craft projects with clear instructions, supplier directory by area, value for money
Disadvantages: Too many adverts to cope with!

...the reader to "Meet the Team": Natasha Read, Deputy Editor; Holly Markham, Regulars Editor; and Lorraine Luximon, Editorial Assistant. I quite liked this very small section as it allows you to put a face to the names of the employees working hard to bring the reader the very latest from the world of crafts. The Content: = So, what crafts are covered? The main projects this month range from good old card making and scrap-booking to decorating ceramic mugs and knitting. Overall I would say that this magazine is best suited to card makers, scrap-bookers, and any other craft which involves using paper. Most of the projects involve a greeting card but the design is then applied to other areas such as decorating a wooden box or creating pages for scrapbooks. Most of the advertisements are for craft retailers, most of them focusing... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Everything ever budding craft person could want.
Disadvantages: Not all Areas have a shop nearby

...If you are a budding arts,or or just crazy about dolls houses,maybe you love knitting,or even make you own wedding accessories.Is card makig your thing or even cross stitch.If so the this is most definatly the Art and Craft Sperstore for you. Me,I am craft crazy,I love any craft,and will try anything new. am that obsessed I have an 8ft by 6ft shed full of craft stuff and a stack in my bedroom. The first time I went to Hobbycraft with ym husband,he went into sheer panic because he knew the credit card was about to take a very bad beating.That particular time I did extremely well I think,I only spent £75.00 on Craft stuff. The list of products they actually sell would be impossible for me to list in this review. So,I am going to try and list as many of the crafts and hobbies they cover,obviously I cannot remember them all... Read review

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Advantages: Raising money for good causes, having fun
Disadvantages: Can take up a lot of your time!

...Having just seen the other articles about handmade crafts, I thought I'd jot down some experiences I've had trying to make crafts for charity stalls I run occasionally. For these stalls we get a lot of unwanted bric-a-brac kindly donated but some handmade crafts help improve the look (and our prices). Firstly, I am not a gifted artist. The opposite in fact. I tried making some Xmas cards once but found even cutting out shapes evenly was too much for my clumsy hands. So I needed crafts that required no drawing/cutting skill. As this is raising money for charity I didn't want a great outlay we couldn't recoup so the crafts had to cost little to make to maximise the charity's profit. You also need crafts which produce a product of high enough quality to be saleable (it may be for charity but people won't buy just anything). I had... Read review

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Advantages: Full of inspiring ideas, everything for artists and makers of all things, open late
Disadvantages: Finding what you're after can be tricky, lots of tempting things for kids

...of the rainbow. Handy if you want to mount a print or drawing yourself. They also sell the knives to give your mount a fancy bevelled edge. A whole aisle is devoted to sketch pads, size, paper to support watercolours, oils, pastels etc. To complete the picture, you can peruse an excellent selection of frames in gilt, aluminium plus various wood and paint finishes. There are box frames for framing 3D displays, frames for displaying multiple photos, and glassless ones for canvases or boards. Haven't got a picture? No worries - they have a selection of posters featuring masterpieces by the likes of Monet, Picasso and relatively unknown modern day artists and photographers. Instructional books and videos help the beginner to the advanced involved in painting and drawing or various specialist arts and crafts pastimes. -CRAFTS... Read review

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Advantages: Great value craft magazine
Disadvantages: Available through 'do crafts' stockists

...‘do crafts’ Creativity is a glossy craft magazine produced by the company ‘do crafts’ and sold by stockists of their products. For the most part it is aimed at the card-making and scrap-booking markets which are so popular at the moment, but this month they have also included some jewellery making as well. Inside you will find information about new products and suggestions on how they can be used for the best effect. As with most craft magazines there are many card and scrapbook designs complete with step-by-step instructions – rubber-stamping, embossing, decoupage, quilling and beadwork - but plenty more besides. For instance there are ‘give away’ pages; the current magazine has over £900’s worth including: Rubber Stamps, Papermania Embellishment Sets, Die-cut shapes and Outline Stickers, Embossing Powders and Paper... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: God ideas, plenty to try, clear instructions
Disadvantages: Some materials might be hard to source

...Creative Digital Crafts is subtitled Creating Crafts Using Digital Photos and Art. Unlike most books that cover digital photography, this one is packed full of ways to use your images in rather more creative ways than just sticking them in an album. If you're the sort of person who enjoys crafts and customising things with your own little flourish then Creative Digital Crafts will be right up your street. The author, Helen Bradley has put together thirty projects grouped under four categories, Decal, Fabric, Novelty Paper and Heat Transfer projects. Very helpfully, the book starts with a list of the projects with each being graded for computer skill and craft skill levels so you can easily see which ones are suitable for beginners or might be of interest to more advanced users. The first thing that struck me was the number... Read review

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Advantages: so much choice
Disadvantages: want to buy extra items once you are there

...) and found children’s craft sets, dolls houses and furniture, cross stitch, wool, make your own wedding stationary sets, painting supplies, drawing supplies, cake making and decorating, books, model making sets, sewing boxes, pottery supplies, ribbons, paper, card and much, much more. Just about everything you can imagine! We bought a bag of pom poms, a bag of eyes, sequins, paper, gel pens (Megan’s treat), a storage container, charcoals and a couple of books one on how to make cards and the other about fun children’s activities throughout the year. The aisles were all well stocked and nicely presented. The areas were all clearly labelled and items were easy to find. The store was spacious and well lit and comfortable for pushing a pram. I found the staff friendly and there were no queues at the checkouts. Hobbycraft also run... Read review

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Advantages: Lots of craft items to choose from
Disadvantages: Can get expensive

...is full of craft items and books. Some examples are: Card blanks, embellishments, rubber stamps, ink pads, tools, craft kits, card, scrapbooking papers, etc. When you receive the catalogue your obligation is to buy a minimum of one item per catalogue, not including the introductory offer items. This is pretty easy to stick to as the choice of goods on offer is very good. BUT it can work out expensive due to the Postage & Packing charge that you have to pay, if you were to only buy one small item. The postage and packing charge is £3.50 which sounds quite expensive, but if you were to order several items at once, then this is really quite reasonable. It is £3.50 no matter what you order. Sometimes they do special offers where if you buy 2 or more items, you can buy a special item at a hugely reduced price, for example... Read review

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Advantages: spacious and lots of choice. friendly sales staff
Disadvantages: financial advisors appear to try to sell you more services on top of price

...for a drink and it was a very hot day. after I complained apologies were made and they informed me that they had discussed my financial agreement with another women who answered to my name. They even showed me the completed paper work to justiy their mistakes! on the day i should have recieved my car I got a phone call to say the car would not start and I recieved my car 3 days after the original sale of agreement. After recieving my car i have had it in the garage 4 times before the problem was solved- a cracked fuel pipe. When I informed Car craft they said it was not their problem as the manufacturers warrantee covered the work and it was now solved.... Read review

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