Archiver’s

From what I’ve heard they are going out of business??? I stopped shopping at ALL Archiver’s because their service is TERRIBLE!!! For all the years I’ve shopped there, no one ever welcomes me when I walk in the door. There could be five employees standing around when I walk in and yet no one turns to welcome me. I loved the selection. Then they switched an entire one side of the store to making copies… I was super excited to take some photos there to get them copied when I was down a printer and the lady there wanted nothing to do with me — REALLY!!! I walked out empty handed. For many years I wanted to go to Minnesota for their weekend crop but not after that experience. I will now continue to shop at their competitor as well as online. Survival of the fittest and apparently management had no interest in the customer experience at their stores. Oh well…

Archiver’s is way over priced for sure. I think I will stick with my Creative Memories consultant. The only reason I like them is because they have Disney items. You can get fun paper and embellishments at Joann’s or Michael’s.

OK — I have a confession.
I sometimes opt not to go dancing downtown or out to the bar on a Friday/​Saturday night because… well … sometimes, I would rather diligently work on piecing together my wedding scrapbook at Archiver’s.
Yes, I am 27 years old. And yes, I often go to Archiver’s for the Scrap Mania nights. I am a self-​proclaimed scrapper.
A group of friends that I know through work discovered our common interest five years ago, and we have maintained a somewhat regular monthly meet-​up at this business ever since. No doubt, we are the youngest patrons here on the weekend.
I remember when I first started going to the Scrap Mania nights and it used to be that the $ 5/​person for admission translated into $ 5 of merchandise when checking out of the store. Then the $ 5 admission evolved into a 20 percent off merchandise deal. And now in recent months, that admission fee still goes toward the discount, but they now offer snacks and more raffle giveaways.
I love what the event has become now. In fact, I just won some Trendy Tape last night, as well as tried Dove Cookies and Cream chocolates for the first time.
My only gripe is that, overall, the prices are expensive for the products here compared to craft stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby.
The best part about going to Archiver’s is the camaraderie and extra help/​suggestions on how to put pages together. Not to mention, we get free use of the paper cutters!

I love Archivers!!! Ive been coming to Archivers for years for my scrapbooking, invitation and paper crafting needs! I have also taken a Holiday Gift Tag class (at the Gurnee location), which was excellent as well.
Archivers has a wide variety of paper, stamps, embelishments, etc. for your scrapbooking and card making needs. The staff is well trained and creative, so if you need any ideas… just ask! They also have seasonal ideas and examples for you from gift tags, to cards to little gift ideas!
Their prices are pretty comparable to other stores. Sign up for their email list! You get an email almost every week with awesome coupons! (buy 5 sheets of paper, get 5 free and 30% off coupons… you can use both at the same time!!!).
They have tons of classes every month you can take and also have plenty of scrapbooking tables if you just want to come and finish up some projects!!!
Love this place!!!

I love paper and paper crafts. If I considered myself a paper addict, then Archiver’s would so obviously be my pusher. Archiver’s carries my favorite brand of craft paper and stamping supplies.
Archiver’s is also very good at updating their supplies with the latest and greatest in the paper craft world – keeping up with the latest trends and colors from some of the more popular designers. That being said, there is always a full discount section with lots of great deals on the rick-​rack and «bling» for your paper crafts – always be sure to check out that section. If you also have a case of «paper craft block», just wander around a while for some inspiration because there are a lot of samples and craft ideas to look at too.
I finally attended one of their Scrapmania nights with a few of my other paper addict friends and it was a really nice evening. I was surprised that it wasn’t that crowded, but I’m sure that might not be the norm. My group of 4 got to share a huge table that had enough space for each of us to work on our projects. You can use their die-​cut machines and you get 20% off all merchandise that night as well. They do allow drinks with lids, but no food in the craft area. There is a fridge for folks to store food and eat in the small kitchen area. There’s a Panera and a Qdoba right next door where we you can also take a small snack break.

I am a regular at Archivers. Last Christmas season, I took a class for calender making. The price of the class ($ 20) included all the materials needed to make the calender. I walked in with my pictures, some stickers and embellishments and finished my project within three hours. I was the only one in the class so I got one on one attention. My boyfriend loved the handmade gift. Archivers has the best selection of gorgeous background papers for scrapbooks and cards. Even on busy days, the employees are always helpful and available.
The reason I am knocking off a star for the rating is the high prices of the store. For card stock, stickers, and albums I usually check Hobby Lobby first. That being said, Archivers has the best selection of beautiful, unusual papers, stickers, and stamps.

I would of given 5 stars … but I think they are overpriced. I will only go there if I am looking for something specific.

Update: Officially annoyed with Archiver’s. I placed a special order for some cardstock (the same cardstock I mentioned in my previous review that they NEVER have), as well as some envelopes for my wedding invitations. They said it would take 7 – 10 days. After 2 weeks I had heard nothing (and had basically been sitting around for 2 weeks not working on my invitations because I needed the supplies I ordered). I decided to call and asked if my order was in because I hadn’t heard anything. Guess what — it was sitting there, waiting for me. Nice. Real nice. I wonder how long it had been there. And why didn’t anyone call me?
I will stick to Memories and Beyond and Michael’s for my craft needs from now on.

I’m usually in this part of the strip mall for Golf Galaxy or Qdoba. It’s in between the Dollar Tree and Plato’s Closet so there’s plenty of parking. The hard part is getting out of the mall near the Toys R Us or merging into traffic onto Butterfield.
The store is pretty well stocked. They have some display items at the front. Picture albums to the immediate right then stamping and embossing items further on as well as tape and cutting supplies. On the left side are new or seasonal supplies followed by various paper and stickers. They are organized by scrapbooking categories, such as baby boy/​girl, sports, travel, and beach. The back middle is the workroom which has classes on weekends but can also be used for projects using their tools. Staff is pretty friendly, especially for a newbie guy like me. I give it 4 stars because they used to have a pretty big clearance section which is gone. 79 cents for paper is pretty cheap, but 25 cents is better when you’re buying a bunch of things.

Archivers has everything you need for inspiration and completion of scrapbooking, stamping and paper crafting.
They have all sorts of albums to get started if you’re new to scrapbooking. They also have the scissors, mounting squares, etc. that you will need for basic scrapbooking. My favorite things are their huge selection of 8.5×11 and 12×12 papers and their stamps. They have lots of different textures of papers — textures, embossed, vellum, etc. They also have lots of stickers and special occasion stickers and other things to decorate your pages. Tons of stamps if you’re just starting out or are doing holiday cards or invitations.
They also have a room in the back of the store that is used for classes. I think you can bring your projects in to work on them in the store, too.
Sign up for their mailing list and you’ll get newsletters not that often — every couple of months or so — that include coupons for free stuff and discounts off your entire purchase!

Wow… this is the ultimate place to come for your scrap booking, stamping, crafting needs. I LOVE it here. Everything is organized so well, the store is so clean (almost spooky how clean it is!), and the staff is so friendly. Yes, it’s full of soccer moms, but occasionally you get a cool city-​girl in there like myself.
The classes here are top notch, and include all of your materials, and a printed out step-​by-​step direction sheet so you can re-​create your master piece at home!
You also can use their materials (die-​cutting machine, markers, glue, etc.) if you promise to clean up, and buy their paper to use in the die-​cutting machine. Well worth the price in paper!
Be sure to stop by on Friday or Saturday night, as they have a «scrap-​mania» where for $ 15 bucks, includes a «door-​prize» dinner (which I believe is pizza) and loads of fun. Anyone out this way that would want to go, message me so we can try this together!
I’ll have to find the website and post it, because you can order many of their items online…