Braving Divisoria for Craft Supplies

I was finally able to convince my husband to accompany me to Divisoria a.k.a Divi, the bargain shopping capital of the Philippines, last weekend. It was my daughter's schedule to stay at her grandpa and grandma's place, my inlaws', for the day so we're free to brave the jungle that is Divi. 

We hate driving there because of the heavy traffic but commute wasn't an option since it's too hard to carry heavy bags of our purchases when inside a crowded jeepney or train. So we went and drove to Divi, prepared to endure the congested roads of Manila, and as expected there were traffic jams everywhere and it took us almost three hours to get there. We parked at Tutuban Center where we also spent about 30 minutes roaming around just to get a parking space. 

I wasn't at all surprised that Divi's much more crowded now since it's already October and people are going about their Christmas shopping already. We went straight to Tabora St. which is where the shops selling craft supplies are located.

Several shops along Tabora St. sell yarns and crochet threads of different brands. I always use crochet thread for my projects instead of chunky yarns so I bought three boxes of Monaco crochet thread balls in solid colors and one box of multicolor ones, there are twelve balls per box. Checking out a few shops, their prices for a ball of this brand range from Php 30-33 for solid colors and Php 32-36 for multicolor balls and discounts are given if you buy by the dozen. I got mine for Php 315 per box of the solid colors and Php 350 for the multicolor. Even without discounts, the prices are so much cheaper compared to those sold at craft stores in the mall with prices ranging from Php 50-60.

I have this cross stitch project in progress that still requires about thirty more embroidery floss skeins so I brought with me a list of the colors I needed and searched for a shop selling DMC. I didn't look around much to compare prices among the shops there since I only needed a few, I bought all these from the first shop I saw with a DMC sign. Each skein costs Php 14 and only Php 13.50 if you buy twelve pieces or more. 

Now, comparing again to mall prices, the craft stores I frequent for embroidery floss are DMC Creative World in Megamall which sells for Php 16.75 each skein and Heavenly Stitchin' Moments in SM North Edsa selling each skein for Php 19, the price difference isn't much. So I would just prefer going to the mall for my cross stitch needs, it's not worth it going to Divi for this.

Still along Tabora St., I got these different sized wooden hoops and feathers. I think you can guess what these are for. You're right, dreamcatchers! I'm planning to make lots of dreamcatchers for Christmas, nothing says "love" like a handcrafted gift.

I haven't checked the diameter of each hoop yet but I have three sizes and I think the biggest one is 6 inches in diameter. The smallest one costs Php 7 each, next one is Php 8, and the biggest is Php 10 apiece. I bought ten pieces for each size.

The feathers are connected to a string like a feather boa which is around 1 meter long and costs Php 70. There were other colors available but I just chose white since I'm still not sure about the color combinations I'll be doing for my project and I think white would work for all. 

These pebbles are for my wire tree projects. Each pack is Php 30 but you can buy four packs for Php 100. I got these from a shop on the second level of 168 Mall. 

These bonsai pots are also for my wire trees. They're still wrapped in newspaper and kept safe since I won't be using them yet. I'll start making wire trees next month, also for Christmas gifts. These pots I bought range from Php 50 - Php 80 and I got them from Anding's Toy Store at Tutuban Center. 

Lastly, I got these lovely papers from Geppco Paper Supply. I bought a 250-sheet pack of colored paper for only Php 150, 100-sheet pack of card stock for Php 165, and two packs of colored paper with patterns, there are 120 sheets in each pack which costs Php 125. 

That big roll in the photo is a roll of five chipboards, of course they don't come in rolls, I just asked the sales assistant there what is the thickest chipboard that we could roll up so it would be easy for us to carry. The boards are priced according to thickness or weight, prices range from Php 5 - 30, I think they have about ten different groups, the one I got is Php 13 each board. The size of the board is 26" x 38".

They also have piles and piles of gift wrapping paper and there were so many different designs to choose from. They sell for a minimum of twenty-five sheets per design for Php 70, that's only Php 2.80 per sheet. I only bought two designs which I'm not sure where to use yet. 

I found out about this store from a blog called Life as Eu Know It, it has a picture of Geppco along with other shops in Divi that you might find helpful if you're planning to go there. Another blog that's a great guide when it comes to Divisoria bargain hunting is Ang Istorya Ng Divisoria which has lots of helpful photos and information that you can use.

So if you're planning to visit Divisoria, you gotta do it soon, it's starting to get crazy in there since Christmas is just around the corner. This would be my first and last visit there this year, anyway, my craft supplies are good for the next few months. 

Thanks for reading. Bye!