For the creative minds out there, head to Green Lane where you'll find the perfect place for you…read more It's a big, green craft palace called Craftys. Whatever your talent or hobby I'm sure that you're every requirement can be met here; Craftys stock allsorts from card making to flower arranging. There are two sections within the shop, the main being crammed with stickers, decoupage sheets, ribbon, and beads to name a few. Towards the back there is a room dedicated to paper and card, shelves stretching from floor to ceiling, neatly displaying all different types and colours. We've bought the paper for our wedding stationary from here, so I should know. We've also bought some of their decoupage sheets for my Fiancée's card making Nan and not only did she love them but they also look great on her cards. The staffs are friendly and are more than happy to help you in any way they can. It's definitely worth a visit.

If you are into Arts & Crafts this is the place for you. From top to bottom this store is crammed…read morefull of goodies. Believe me if they haven't got it then it possibly isn't available and they have some great bargains. They have an on line store if you are to far away but try to visit as the fun is in touching. A brilliant shop and great staff too!!

This is one of my favourite independent craft shops, I like it because its like an Alladins Cave…read moreinside with lots of interesting items to browse through. Everytime I visit I always find something I didnt know I needed! The shop itself is clean and bright and the stock is new and continually stocked up. The staff are helpful and you get the impression they are passionate about their trade and know what they are talking about which is an added bonus! Ive bought things from them in the past and they have always asked me if I knew how to use it. This is the kind of service you dont get in the larger stores. Its the kind of shop I look forward to visiting and am happy to part with my money in!

This is a brill crafts shop, they have almost everything you could want, if they have'nt they will…read moretell you and try to find you an alternative or order what you need. The staff are very knowledgeable and keen to help, dont be frightend of asking there advise, they always want to help. Lots of starter kits especially at this time of year and there not bad prices, great for stocken fillers.

The delapidated shopfront, displaying the kind of paintings you wouldn't mind hanging on the most…read moreprominent wall in your house, would just be a quirky feature anywhere else, a facade that would vanish the moment you step through the door. Not here though. This is Smithdown, mind. Inside Greenbank Galleries, the ruination continues. Shattered remnants of picture frames lie piled up against the walls like Leonardo da Vinci's cupboard, or the Louvre after a doodlebug hit. The man who works in/lives in/infests the building seemed deeply suspicious of my mere presence in his shop but the frameworking he did for me was done to perfection so I should just hush ma mouth.

I know nothing about the art world or the framing of pictures, prints ect but I ventured in here…read morewith a friend one day and found myself strangely fascinated by the store. From the front it looks small and almost grotty but I instead chose to label it as authentic which perhaps is being kind.If I'm being honest this place could do with a good refurbishment but perhaps if this happened then it would take away some of its' history and its' authentic charm. Inside there are hundreds of frames, some grand and some small as well as there being numerous pieces of art by local artists in some cases available for sale. I cannot say that I came away from this establishment with any greater knowledge of the art world but I certainly enjoyed the chance to view the store. If your in need of a picture professionally framed by people who care then try Greenbank Galleries I bet you will enjoy it.

You're not likely to find a copy of The Protestor's Handbook or The Rough Guide to The Universe in…read moreThe Works. You might however, find something you like if you're into baking, cooking, biographies, art, film or crime. A discount shop specialising in books, stationary and art supplies, The Works sells a wide range of hardback and paperback books at bargain basement prices. Most of the stock looks brand new and they seem to get a lot from certain publishers. The fiction section isn't a patch on Oxfam or any of the bookstores in the area but they do get some decent art, true crime and crime noir, travel, gardening and food and drink books. Last week I spotted copies of The Polaroid Book and Green and Blacks Chocolate Recipes for £7.99 each (RRP £15.99).

The Works is the perfect place to find stationery, small gifts, hobby and children's books because…read moreit is a compact store serving two floors where you can easily seek what you're looking for. It is ideal for kids to browse as items are cheap too, so it's a great place to spend some of their pocket money. I always go here to buy my annual calendar (that's what I remember The Works most for). Other than that, I recall that I used to buy all my art equipment from here for my school art lessons, which was my favourite subject so I ended up buying nearly all their pencils, charcoal, chalk pastilles and paint brushes! Above all, a brilliant shop to spend your time.

Discovering Tapleys was a happy mistake. I was wandering along the Village and suddenly, there it…read morewas. What, an artsy/gift shop that I didn't know existed?! Pure delight. This little shop is a mixture of painting and other art supplies, stationary items and cards, and gifts. It's really cute, and so girly. Lots of great gifts for females, babies, and children. They also have sundry fun stationary items like autograph books and pretty notebooks, and quite a variety of paints and other supplies for painters. I would highly recommend this shop. The lady is very friendly, and I had a good chat with her and another customer while I browsed.

This is a gorgeous place - recommended that you visit shortly after payday ! Stocks the most…read moreunusual writing implements, cards, wrapping paper, jewellery, soaps, china, scarves, handbags and other gifts as well as business stationery at competitive prices. Irene and all her staff are most helpful and couldn't be more pleasant; they take time with every customer. I love this shop !

If you love art, steer clear of Art @ Home…read more I haven't been to any of the company's other stores but can tell you their Bold Street branch is one of the most depressing shops I've visited. Following in the footsteps of companies like Ikea and John Lewis, they sell generic art prints that are produced on a massive scale. Whilst Ikea and John Lewis actually stock some pretty good photographic prints of New York and Tokyo, Art @ Home specialise in mainstream and unimaginative prints of sunflowers, roses, landscapes, portraits and abstract paintings. In short, Art @ Home sell framed and unframed prints for property developers, corporate offices and coffee chains!

One of the most thoughtful, and coincidentally cheapest, presents you can get somebody is a framed…read morepicture. To find a nice photograph of a happy moment or a poster and pair tickets from a concert you really enjoyed and stick it behind some glass in a black metal or wooden frame is both simple and effective. Art at Home is the ideal place to get hold of straightforward frames at reasonable prices. The staff are chatty, helpful and if you bring with you what you're trying to frame they will try their hardest to find a good frame to fit your needs. The art for sale in the shop itself is a little hit and miss, for every Gauguin print there are three or four 'pop art' silhouette canvases of Audrey Hepburn or John Lennon. They do carry an excellent selection of cards here though, blank on the inside with art and photographic prints on the front - perfect for any occasion - especially if you don't fancy giving your nan that card with the fart joke in that you've been keeping in your bottom drawer.

For a split second, when I saw the name of this shop online, I thought Michaels had come to…read moreEngland. (Michaels is a fabulous, huge craft store chain in the USA.) But no such luck. This little place simply happens to be called Michael's and happens to sell a few art related items. It's mostly stationary and cards, though, and it's more of a newsagents than anything else. Nothing special here, I'm sorry to say.

For its size the Blucoat Books and Arts store crams a hell of a lot into its small store which is…read morebasically a space under the stairs leading to the rest of the stores in the Gostins Building. Their selection of books is really very good especially in the arts, films and music sections. Taking an interest in the cinema section I was pleased to see many titles that you would struggle to find even in the new Waterstones - which for all its size isn't as extensive as you would expect, maybe they should concentrate on the books instead of the coffee to go with them. Added to this they only have an arts and crafts space that would give Rennie's a run for their money. It is not a one stop kind of place for all your artistic needs - that would be a bit too much to ask considering the lack of floor space - but with an extensive range of paints, cards and paper the enthusiast will find enough to keep them busy.

When I think of the bookshops in Liverpool, this one never seems to spring to mind first, but it…read morereally should. Tucked away in a little cluster of shops off Hanover Street, Bluecoat Books is a good little store for the budding artist, crammed with Art and Design books on specific artists and architecture as well as the usual A-Z of fiction. They have an art materials workshop with a rainbow of paints, brushes and canvases on sale and also a surprising amount of childrens books which took me back to the days when I was much happier reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar than Austen! I also noticed there was a whole section on travel guide to...'s and they had some out-of-date ones out at 50p each! Also it was £5 for 3 of the second-hand hardback books so I'm stock up for a while now! I won't be forgetting this place in a hurry!