Michaels Celebrates Mother's Day with Gift Workshops and Contest

    IRVING, TX, April 14, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Michaels, North America's largest arts and crafts specialty retailer, celebrates mom's special day with a week-long series of in-store Mother's Day gift-making events and a Mother's Day contest on its Facebook page.

The contest starts Friday, April 15. Fans can upload a photo to the Mother's Day contest tab on Michaels' Facebook page and embellish it with tools in the Facebook application. Fans can then encourage family and friends to visit the page gallery and vote on their photo project. The photo with the most votes by 11:59am EDT on May 7 will win the grand prize of a $500 Michaels gift card and a $250 Michaels custom framing gift card. Ten runners-up will win a $100 Michaels gift card. Winners will be announced May 9 on Michaels' Facebook page. The official contest rules are at http://apps.facebook.com/michaels-mothersday/rules.

The workshops, in all 1000+ U.S. & Canada stores, will each feature a free or low cost gift project for kids of all ages:

- Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. - noon: Make a personalized apron or T-shirt for mom. Free decorating supplies with purchase of shirt or apron. Ages 3 & up.
- Sunday, May 1, 1 - 3 p.m.: The Knack Free Family Event: Make a bracelet for mom for Mother's Day and watch 2 exciting new demos. Ages 14 and up.
- Tuesday, May 3, 6 - 8 p.m.: The Knack Family Event: Make a card for Mother's Day. Free supplies with purchase of flower. Ages 3 and up.
- Wednesday, May 4, 6 - 8 p.m.: The Knack Family Event: Make a frame for Mother's Day. Free decorating supplies with purchase of frame. Ages 3 and up.
- Thursday, May 5, 6 - 8 p.m.: Make mom a clever t-shirt necklace. Free supplies with purchase of t-shirt. Ages 14 and up.
- Friday, May 6, 6 - 8 p.m.: The Knack Family Event: Make a clay pot jewelry holder. Free supplies with purchase of clay pot. Ages 3 and up.
- Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m. - noon: Celebrate National Scrapbook Day! Preserve special family memories with a scrapbook page for Mother's Day. Free. Ages 14 and up.

"Our Mother's Day projects are fun for the whole family to make, and the children get such a sense of accomplishment and pride from giving mom a gift they made," said Michaels' Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Paula Puleo. "Personal, handmade gifts are so much more meaningful to the recipient, and our workshops and online projects have lots of great ideas for making that special gift."

Michaels also has framing and craft kits in stores to create personalized gifts for mom, from shadow boxes, ready-to-finish frames and MOM and Grandma and Me frames to stepping stone kits, ready-to-finish ceramic mugs and photo plates.

Mother's Day gift ideas, instructions and materials lists can be found at www.michaels.com/mothersday. Michaels gift cards are also available for purchase online or in stores.

About Michaels
Irving, Texas-based Michaels Stores, Inc. is North America's largest specialty retailer of arts, crafts, framing, floral, wall decor, and seasonal merchandise for the hobbyist and do-it-yourself home decorator. The company currently owns and operates more than 1,045 Michaels stores in 49 states and Canada, and over 140 Aaron Brothers stores, and produces ten exclusive private brands including Recollections, Studio Decor, Bead Landing, Creatology, Ashland, Celebrate It, Art Minds, Artist's Loft, Craft Smart and Loops & Threads. For more information visit www.Michaels.com.

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