The store at 97th Street and Columbus Avenue in New York is the closely held chain's "first urban footprint," Chief Executive Officer John Menzer said in a telephone interview Oct. 16. "This will be a learning lab for us. We'll try different things in Manhattan and use what we learn at the next couple of urban stores we open up.”

Michaels typically operates in suburban settings, said Menzer, 58. The Irving, Texas-based company, which sells fine arts, scrapbook and jewelry-making supplies, already has stores in Long Island and Queens, New York. Lower rents in Manhattan made the new shop more affordable than before, Menzer said. Plus, craft stores tend to outperform other specialty retailers in slow economic times, he said.

"It's a low-price category and a form of home entertainment, and when people are nesting at home, crafting lends itself to that," said William Armstrong, a New York-based analyst at CL King & Associates who covers Jo-Ann Stores Inc., another U.S. crafts retailer. Hudson, Ohio-based Jo-Ann's shares have almost doubled this year. Yesterday's "soft" opening is to be followed by a grand opening on Oct. 25, which will kick off a week of events including a book signing by Martha Stewart.

Product categories include Crayola Mess-Free Color Wonder products, including coloring books, posters, coloring pages, markers, finger paints and stamps; Crayola Color Explosion products; coloring pages; sketch and draw sets; dry erase activity sets; and a light-up tracing desk.

Some businesses, however, are capitalizing on the economy. For New York-based Adorn Brides, which rents out bridal jewelry (including Sethi's earrings, which cost $100 for the weekend), the recession "really has worked in our favor," says co-founder Laura Carrington. "Even if a bride is spending $200,000 or more, a $10,000 or $20,000 necklace is still not a practical purchase" when you can rent one for $350.

Steal the Time, a New York-based luxury watch leasing company, recently outfitted a Manhattan groom and his four groomsmen with Rolex Submariners (the company's 30-model collection ranges from $52 to $308 a week, pieces that go for $850 to $14,200 retail). "We do live in an image-obsessed society, and people always want to portray an image that may not be there anymore," says founder Justin Figari.

But at Chicago's Cakegirls bakery, gone are the elaborate $7,000 confections. Starting in January (a big planning month for summer weddings), co-owner Mary Maher noticed a shift "right away": Couples began choosing smaller, simpler creations. Right now, the average cost is about $900 for a cake; a year ago it was $1,200 to $1,500. The change indicates "they might be curbing the guest list and doing weddings that are a little more modest," says Maher, whose shop appears on WE's Amazing Wedding Cakes.

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Even deep-pocketed couples are trimming the trappings. Sethi trimmed her $300,000 Bahamas wedding — to the tune of $50,000 — by using local musicians instead of flying in a band and nixing hand-calligraphed menu and seating cards. She felt "really guilty" about asking her 62 guests to travel, given the expense and time off required. So for some, she and her husband, Raj Sethi, helped pay the hotel bill.

The goal is to cut costs while sustaining style. "You don't want to look back on it and say, 'What a great budget wedding I had.' But you do want to be a smart consumer," van der Meer says.

For people with OCD like me, you might get some fulfillment from trying to make these Tetris pieces fit perfectly together before washing your hands of them....mwahahah. Inspired by level 3, with purple and green pieces.

Happi, which features Fishbein's handpainted and computerized art in colorful characters and patterns, will be featured on bubble mailers, boxes and other mailing materials. The deal was designed to coincide with the May holiday, but will be ongoing. Fishbein, who simply goes by "Dena" hosted a show called Embellish This! on the DIY Network.

The Happi by Dena collection will also include categories such as recipe books, greeting cards, textiles and baby bedding. The participating licensees are: Grant Studios (scrapbook product for the Australian market), Kids Line (baby bedding and accessories), Simplicity (home sewing projects), Sunrise Greetings (counter cards, boxes, mailing envelopes and labels for the U.S. Postal Service), Checks in the Mail (bank checks and personalized stationery), CR Gibson (stationery, albums and social books), Ellison (Sizzix die cut and embossing systems for the home crafter), Fabric Traditions (home sewing fabric), Peking Handicraft (lifestyle catalog of textiles, gifts and home dec accessories), Publications International (scrapbook kits and components), Westminster Fibers ('happi' inspired fabric collection).

These charming creatures are made from recycled sweaters. They are soft and squeezable, and have child-safe eyes. 12" tall. Colors are Blue-Brown or Yellow-Green.

The Innov-is 6000D has three USB 2.0 ports to attach compatible peripherals (such as a computer mouse, which we will touch on later) or to plug a USB stick in to transfer downloaded stitching patterns or upgrade the firmware. It also has an 8.5-inch touch-screen LCD where the menu can be navigated by using a mouse.

There is a camera built-in near the needle which gives you a closeup look at the stitches on the screen if you need to reposition or make amendments to the work piece. Brother has also incorporated a row of LEDs below the sewing arm to illuminate the work space and to facilitate the view for the camera.

With a few touches of the buttons, users can scroll through and choose from the 601 included patterns. If that is not enough, they can download or make their own patterns via the provided software.

"I love to make little scrapbooks and little collages and organize. I'm an organization freak, so if I'm at home, it's that. When I'm traveling, I can't let all my stuff get out of order. I love to sit around and make cards and collages for my friends of trips we've taken. I have a whole bunch of photo albums that aren't used, and I print."

It doesn't really; I'm a lot more shy than what people think, and when I was doing Dancing With the Stars, that really became apparent. That was the first time I wasn't with my sisters; I film my reality show at home with my family. It really couldn't be a more comfortable environment. And so when I was thrown into this world of performing and just being me-you see it on the show and my sisters say it every day-I'm so boring! I'm just not outspoken like they are. And I was really glad that everyone kinda got to see the real me, but even in Dancing With the Stars people expected this really outspoken, sexy...