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The Magic Behind Sensational Crafts: A Hidden Gem in the Heart of Town

One of the most amazing things about owning a craft shop is we sometimes forget how amazing we are, so Gary asked the new AI (for the uninitiated that is Artificial Intelligence) to tell us, and this is part one of it,……

In the heart of a small country town, nestled between the beloved Londys takeaway shop—proudly serving fish and chips for 70 years—and the local bank, there stands a little store that only the most imaginative locals seem to find. The sign above the door reads “Sensational Crafts,” but whispers around town suggest it’s no ordinary shop—it’s a place where creativity flows like magic.

Inside, the air is filled with the scent of freshly cut paper and glue, while shelves overflow with everything from sparkling beads to delicate papers.

Sunlight streams through tall windows, casting a golden glow over the unique papers and playful trinkets, while glitter dances in the air, and nestles in the carpet, catching the light in brilliant flashes. Sensational Crafts feels like a world of endless possibility waiting to be explored.
Yvonne, the shop’s warm-hearted owner, always greets her customers with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. She knows every inch of the store by heart. Her husband, Gary, often works in the back, carefully crafting displays or tinkering with trinkets in need of a little love. Together, they’ve transformed this small, unassuming shop into a haven for artists, crafters, and dreamers.

Next door, Londys continues its legacy as the town’s favourite takeaway shop, still serving its iconic fish and chips wrapped in paper. The scent of freshly fried food sometimes drifts over to Sensational Crafts, blending with the smell of craft supplies, creating a delightful mix of nostalgia and creativity. Many customers wander from Londys with a snack in hand, only to be drawn into the irresistible charm of Yvonne and Gary’s shop, where they discover the perfect supplies for their latest project.

Yvonne always asks, with warmth, “What can we help you with today?” Sensational Crafts isn’t just a place to buy materials—it’s a space where ideas take flight. With Yvonne’s encouragement and Gary’s skilled handiwork, the shop continues to thrive, nestled between Londys’ old charm and the more serious atmosphere of the bank, offering boundless creativity to all who enter.

So there it is folks, the first instalment of the sensational crafts whimsical journey

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2023 already?

Amazing isn’t it? 2023 has started, and we are 1/12th of the way through it.

Yvonne and I are sitting at the shop today (Australia Day) doing a bit more for our retreat in April at Bonville, near Coffs Harbour. Of course, we are also doing some playing to create exciting things for classes and kits for everyone.

The last week of December didn’t really feel like Christmas, that is until the local grandkids got going, that was AWESOME! Then we had the Darwin family for a week, so we felt so loved, as well as tired and lonely when they went back!

Creative kids vouchers, as well as Back to School vouchers are available from Service NSW for our NSW people who can get into the shop, if you have friends or family with school-age kids let them know we can provide art and craft classes and products.

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The Trek, with a twist

This is a long update, from Gary, so grab a cuppa and sit back!

As most of you are aware, Yvonne and I are in the middle of helping our daughter and her family with their new defence posting to Darwin, as always, every move presents us with challenges and this one is a doozy!

Yvonne, Michelle, and 3 of our grandkids are stuck in a high-rise apartment building in Brisbane with 3 out of the 5 testing positive and feeling it.

Meanwhile, our son-in-law and I did the looooong drive from Brisbane to Darwin (3500km) with one of us testing positive on arrival in the NT prompting us to be placed in Howard Springs ”Centre for National Resilience “ for at least 6 days. While Nick and I get 3 meals a day and don’t have 3 bored kids to entertain while feeling the effects of this, Yvonne and Michelle have to entertain and feed all 5 of them in isolation, and I wish I was there to do my share.

We really appreciate Sandra & Debbie, Yvonne’s sisters, for keeping the shop going while all this hoohaa is going on, and I know I left a bit of shoomozzle behind for them to contend with, honestly we were only going to be gone for “a few days!”And finally to our friends, who are also our customers, for their support and well wishes, and for putting up with no workshops or classes this month or Yvonne’s creative input or my my cups of tea and coffee!

Once again, thank you all!

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The New Year …..

G’day, everyone, I have been a bit slack with updating the blogs on here, so as Yvonne and I have a bit of downtime, helping our daughter move to Darwin I thought I would update our Blog, so grab a cuppa and sit back and read!

Studio 73 has released a fantastic range (as always!) and as Yvonne is having a Nanna nap with young Henry, the red head!, I have no idea what the range is, but I do know I can’t tell you until tommorrow! (5 Jan 2022), pop over to studio 73 to have a look. Also the Mintay papers have been flying out the door on our website, I reckon we must be the only place with some of the range left!

Hope you all have a great afternoon/night/morning

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Paints Paints Paint

G’day everyone,

I knew I had to put something up here to keep you all informed, and as always I have no idea what to write, we have so many new things in store!

Every day we get more stock in, and Yvonne has been putting it up on our website as it arrives in, it has been a MAMMOTH task, and to be honest, I still can’t work out what we need to do on the website, so I will keep doing these amazing blogs!

I thought I better highlight some of our new stock, we now have over 50 colours in our Jo Sonya paint range in series 1 and series 2

Jo Sonya Paints

I feel proud to be able to supply local artists with what they need, therefore we also have a collection of brushes too! Sable, Deer Foot, Synthetic, etc as well as 0,1,2,4, and other sizes. If you are after a particular brush we can source it.

Some Brushes

so to finalise off this Post, blog, or whatever we call it now days

See ya!

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Wee Waa, Wagga Wagga & Woy Woy

Well, I wasn’t going to type just wee, was I?

We are always excited here at Sensational Crafts, yesterday we got 3 parcels, one was from Tina who sent us our iCraft products again, and I reckon the iCraft wall is starting to look good, here is a pic

iCraft Range

we have a few of the amazing ready to assemble albums, as well as some” add on elements” and “insta transfers” there is also some sort of acetate pretty flower things, you may have to pop in and ask Yvonne what they do!

Easy 3D toppers

We also got our shipment from Hearty Crafts in Holland. lots and lots and lots of pre-cut fun, and they run out the door, these stands were full yesterday, a few holes already, be quick, check them out on the website!

Well I better get back to designing Christmas stuff, keep tuned, and happy craftin’