The Joy of Crafting

Happy Hearts to You!

2012-02-08T09:00:00.002-10:00

Being a part of the OC16 Ohana can be really fun and a lot of times very silly. Oceanic often asks the hosts to help with promos for the channel. So, we show up, ready to do what the script they sent says and then they throw in a surprise...Like the last time with the "O, O, O," rap!
So, before I went to CHA, I had to do a Valentine's day promo with a couple of the other hosts. Thank Goodness, they didn't use all the footage! Let's just say when they were filming my part...ummm, I almost tripped myself and fell down. Apparently, I don't know how to throw kisses! LOL!

Anyway, just thought I'd share our OC16 Valentine's Day message to all of you loyal viewers and friends.

http://www.oc16.tv/whatsup_blogs

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a Great Week and A Really Sweet Valentine's Day next week!

February's first Joy Of Crafting Show

2012-02-07T09:45:00.000-10:00

February brings a new Joy of Crafting show featuring fun crafts and a brand new guest crafter! I start off the show with a sweet project.Valentine's Day just wouldn't be as sweet without CANDY! I'll show you how easy it is to whip up a batch of chocolate hearts to give as gifts. I even share a bonus recipe for an ono chocolate creation!Yum!

Next, we introduce one of our "Hidden Talents" from our stores. Christen Robinson from our Mapunapuna store is a very talented artist.

She shares her latest love, the Versa-Tool. She'll show us how to make beautiful wood burning designs.

To top off the show, we have Darling Dumlao from our Head Office. She loves to craft with paper punches.

Darling shares a cute Lollipop flower, perfect for Valentine's Day or any occasion.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to watch this episode. Have a Great week and Happy Crafting!

Enter the Dragon!

2012-01-18T14:12:00.000-10:00

This one is for Lynn .In December, I shared a couple of favors I made using my favorite Accu Cut Cake Slice box. Lynn challenged me to come up with a Dragon for 2012. I finally made one up, just in time for Monday's Chinese New Year. Enter the Dragon...

Start with an Accu Cut Cake Slice box and place the opening side on the bottom.

Punch out the piece for the head using the purple Clever Lever Oval.

Punch out the nose using the blue Clever Lever Oval.

Use a 1/4" hole punch and make two holes. Adhere some black cardstock behind to create the nostrils.Place this piece along the bottom of the head.

Punch out two circles on a piece of white cardstock using the 5/8" circle punch (light orange).

Center the cut out circles in the 1" circle punch and punch out.

Punch out two black cardstock circles with the 1" punch. Place behind the cut out white circles and adhere together to make the eyes.Place the eyes above the nose and adhere to the head.

Use the light orange oval punch to make two ovals. Place behind the top of the head for the ears and adhere.

I free-hand cut out the little tufts of hair. Adhere to the sides and top, coming out from behind the head.

I also free-hand cut the "whiskers" in yellow cardstock. Adhere near the nostrils and on top of the head.You can also punch out one more purple oval and adhere to the back of the head to hide all of the cut-out ends on the back of the head.

Use the pink Clever Lever oval punch to punch a piece for the belly. Use a black marker to draw some horizontal lines across. Adhere to the lower half of the cake slice box.Place the head above the belly and adhere to the cake slice box with pop up glue dots.

Adhere two stars at the bottom of the box for the feet. Cut two 3/8" x 2" strips for the arms. Adhere a star at each end for the hands. Attach the arms on either side of the body.

I free-hand cut the tail and added a yellow star at the end. Adhere to the back of the box.

Fill your Dragon with treats!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoy the rest of the week! And have a Happy Chinese New Year!

Joy of Crafting's 200th show!

2012-01-15T09:00:00.002-10:00

This second Joy of Crafting show for January is also our 200th show! So to celebrate, we have some of our favorite crafters sharing their great projects with you.

Our first guest is one of our favorite paper crafters, Cheryl Miyashiro. Cheryl shares with us a cute project using the Sizzix e-clips machine.

A sweet favor box embellished with a butterfly is made using the Bag, Boxes and Albums #2 cartridge.

Next, we have out favorite One Stroke Certified Instructor, Frank Dumlao. This time Frank shows us his painting techniques to make a beautiful waterfall painting.

Look at all of the details!

Lastly, Deb Zeleznik from Rubber Stamp Plantation shows us how to create a wonderful multi-panel flip card. She takes us through the basic card steps and then embellishes it with some of her cute local themed stamps.

This is how the card looks when it is closed.

And when the card is opened.

We're really happy that we were able to hit this milestone of 200 shows and it's all ben possible only because of the support that you have given us over the years. Mahalo Nui Loa!

We'll keep trying our best to bring you Fun and Exciting Craft projects and techniques so that you can explore your own creativity and share what you make with your family and friends.

Thanks for taking time out to visit today and I hope you get a chance to watch the show. Happy Crafting!

It Really is Clearly Better!

2012-01-13T11:33:00.000-10:00

I love stamping, always have, always will. Bought my first stamps with my own money when I was about 8 years old and haven't stopped since. Before, all the stamps were rubber but now there are so many cute designs in the clear cling type.

Now, I love my Memento black ink pad but sometimes it just doesn't do the clear stamps justice. So, I decide to do a test and see if the "Clearly Better" ink pads did indeed work better.

And, it did! The images on the right were inked up with the Clearly Better ink and the left side was the Memento.Not sure if you can see but for the bird on the right, the details show up better and the left looks a little smugde-ier. The Heart of Hearts really show the difference.

Memento ink

Clearly Better ink

I'm sold! The good news is that the Clearly Better ink pads also come in colors! Guess it goes back to using the right tools makes it come out better and easier.

By the way, that Heart of Hearts stamps are the part of the new collection that came in from G Studio, what a bargain!

Thanks for stopping by again today, and I hope you all have a really Great Weekend!

Fifty is Nifty!

2012-01-13T08:55:00.001-10:00

Wanted to Congratulate the Crankin' Out Crafts crew from Enchanted Lake BFC for posting their 50th youtube video! Great Job everyone!
If you haven't checked them out yet, just go to the blog and click on the links. You'll learn a lot of crafts and there's a new theme every week.

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you all have a great weekend!

Para..Para..Paracord!

2012-01-11T16:14:00.000-10:00

Sorry, got that Coldplay song in my head as I was making these cool paracord bracelets. They are so easy to make and I was thinking I could add stuff to them for different occasions.

First, let me tell you a little about paracord bracelets. The strong and useful parachute cord is made into a bracelet so that you can have this useful cord with you in case of an emergency. The history of its uses comes from the military and everyday civilians have adopted this smart idea. Generally, each inch of the bracelet equals to about a foot of cord. There are many uses for this cord like making a tourniquet, docking a boat and of course, tying things together for a makeshift shelter. In other words, you might be able to use it in an emergency. All a person has to do is unravel their bracelet and they have this useful cord.

Here's how to make one. You'll need about 8-10 yards of cord and the little buckle. I suggest taping the ends of the cord to keep it from unraveling and also it makes it easier to go through openings.Ben Franklin Crafts carries these supplies. First, measure your wrist and add an inch. That will be your bracelet length.

Fold the length of cord in half to find the center, then attach by looping it around one side of the buckle.

Undo the buckle and turn them around with the wrong side facing up.Slip the ends of the cord onto the other side of the buckle. Have the cords coming out from the right side to the back side.

Leave the bracelet length you determined earlier in between the ends of the buckles.

Now, you will begin the knotting process. First, take the left cord and place it under the other 3 cords.

Bring it around and through to knot.

Tighten the knot.

Now, take the right cord and place it under the other 3 cords.

Bring it around and through to knot.

Tighten the knot.

Repeat these steps until you reach the end of the bracelet. To finish off the bracelet, trim the ends.

Then, you can either burn the ends of the cord and as it melts, attach it to the braided cord. Or you can slip the ends under and weave it through to hide. I prefer slipping the cords under, to secure. Besides, then you'll be able to undo the knotting when you need the cord!

What I'm thinking is that you can use these bracelets for graduation by tying on two accordion folded $10 dollar bills. Slipped on a graduate's wrist, it will stand out and not get lost in the pile of lei! Later, if they use the money, they can still have a bracelet to wear.

Or you can add on beads as you tie the knots. If you use sport design beads, you can use this for the end-of the-season gifts for the team!You may need to string the beads on with a thinner cording to attach.

It's always fun to make something and then turn it into your own project by adding stuff on!

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you're having a great week!

Here's one to carry

2012-01-06T11:05:00.000-10:00

It must have something to do with my resolution to stay organized, but here's another calendar project that's even faster to make!

Take some envelopes. I used the ones for the 4.25" x 5.5" cards in my favorite Brown Bag color.You'll need 12 -13.

I used some scraps and cut cardstock pieces 3.5" x 5". Rounded the corners, just because. Used the monthly calendar stickers to make it faster but you can always print some up on your computer.

Cut a printed design paper for the top about 2.25" x 3", rounded those corners, too. I haven't done all the months in order and I am adding little stamped images or cut-outs as I go.

Decorated some small binder clips to hold the envelopes together.

This is how it came out. I'm going to use this calendar to carry with me. I can store receipts or other memorabilia inside of the envelopes. I can also write notes on the backside.I can also just carry the current month with me or as many months as I like. At the end of the year. I will bind it into a mini album, that's why I left space along the left edge.

I mention using 13 envelopes in case you want to make a "cover" page.

Working on two resolutions here, getting organized and using up my scraps! do you have any craft related resolutions?

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you enjoy the first weekend of the New Year!

Day after Day, Year after Year

2012-01-05T14:33:00.000-10:00

I decided to make a calendar for one of my first projects of the New Year. By using the wood block R-T-D calendar, I can use this year after year.

The calendar set comes like this.

These are the separate pieces.

The hardest thing was deciding on a color, so I just went and painted it black.

Next, I covered the pieces with washi paper using Meriken double stick tape. I left a tiny border around the all of edges.

For the months, I decide to use theses stickers which made it really fast and easy. I just trimmed them down a bit to fit the pieces. A month sticker goes on all four sides of the three pieces.

For the days of the month, I used these foam Thickers. I thought they matched the font on the month stickers.On one cube , I have 1 - 6. On the other cube it's 7 - 9, 0, 1 and 2. That covers all of the days of any month.

It was a really fast project! The cool thing is the Meriken double stick tape and the wood calendar set (along with other wood) are on sale for the whole month of January at the Ben Franklin Crafts stores. I know I need to go back and get some more calendars so I can give them away,plus I need to stock up on tape!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're enjoying the New Year! Happy Crafting!

2012's First Joy of Crafting Show!

2012-01-01T09:00:00.010-10:00

We are starting the year off with some great crafts and fun guests! First up, we have, none other than...

Miss Hawaii 2011 Lauren Cheape!Lauren helped us celebrate our 60th Anniversary this past Fall and she was always so busy keeping our crowds entertained. So, she didn't have time to make one of the 60th make and takes projects. So, along with her, you'll learn how to make a simple "designer" handbag!

While you are watching this, Lauren is already in Vegas getting ready for the Miss America pageant, which airs on Saturday, January 14th. Let's all wish her the best because we know Lauren will make Hawaii proud!

Next, we have Cheryl Miyashiro, who uses the new Hero Arts /Sizzix stamp and die cut sets for her project.

Cheryl introduces a new card base die that has a flip panel, too. Really cool and easy to do!

Lastly, I bring an old favorite back by popular demand. The EZ Treat Bag is great when you need to make a lot of inexpensive favors. Here's a project sheet for you to follow along with.

Well, I hope you are ready for the New Year! It's going to be great with lots of new crafts and new guests on the show! Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to watch this episode! Happy New Year and Happy Crafting!

Crafting Wth Love...

2011-12-27T17:11:00.001-10:00

With Love is the new Valentine's collection from pebbles, inc. And I LOVE IT!

Most of the papers have my favorite kraft paper look and to me, the designs could be used year round. Have a look...

I love that they are double-sided and the "flip sides" are so cute, too!

I love the little printed borders on the other side of the"bottom tear off" strips.

And the letter stickers are absolutely perfect in the red and kraft colors.

The little button hearts and heart shaped clips are super duper cute and I know I'll use these stamps a lot!

The best thing is that the collection coordinates with the Ready-To-Decorate notebooks!

In less than 5 minutes, I made a quick and easy project to get me ready for the New Year!My official shopping list!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having fun getting ready for 2012!

Too Cute to Keep to myself!

2011-12-23T15:10:00.000-10:00

I got Happy Mail! One of the most creative beaders I know, Jayne of Handmade Cute sent me some really cute pieces. I feel so SPECIAL!

See the cute way she wrapped it up? I couldn't help myself, so I had to open it right away!

Just in time for Christmas, look at these cute stocking earrings!

And, I was so tickled with the tea pot

and the matching tea cup! I love tea, I don't do coffee (except ice cream and candy!)

And look at this cute kitty!

Jayne really knows what I like. She's a good friend I met through blogs and Twitter, crafty people are such nice people!

Check out her blog and etsy shop to see more of her creations! Maybe, one day I can bead as good as her!

Thanks for stopping by today and letting me share! Wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas weekend!

Double Slider Gift Card Holder!

2011-12-21T08:58:00.000-10:00

Hi Everybody! Thanks for being so patient. The project sheet for this gift card holder that Cheryl did on the show will soon be available on our website and in the stores.

But before then, if you want me to e-mail you a copy, please send me a request at joyofcrafting@gmail.com.
There's a lot of instructions but in reality, it's not too hard to make, it was just a little hard to explain!

Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

Christmas Crafting at HBA

2011-12-20T15:28:00.000-10:00

Kindergarteners in HBA Winter Break Program holding their reindeer ornaments

We had a lot of FUN crafting with the kids in HBA's Winter Break program. There were 38 crafters ranging from Kindergarten to 6th grade, and they were all awesome!

We did two crafts and kept it simple by using mostly glue dots. The first project was the reindeer ornament that I posted on Friday. Then, we did a fast Christmas card using a Sizzix Christmas Tree die with a matching embossing folder. The kids loved it and then they decorated their trees with snowflake confetti and red sequins.I can't show you a card sample because they all quickly wrote their messages inside and sealed the envelopes up! So cute!

6th Graders in HBA Winter Break Program

I was really happy to see so many boys in the class,especially the 6th graders. Well, I hope they continue to be creative in whatever they do because they all were very talented.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're enjoying the Holiday Season!

December's second Joy of Crafting show

2011-12-18T09:00:00.002-10:00

The Joy of Crafting show would like to Thank All of You for supporting us through the years. If it weren't for you, we couldn't be here! Every year, we have more and more fun with new guests and of, course, NEW CRAFTS!

So, here's what you'll see on the second December show! Our first guest is Shari Hanai from our Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts. Shari shows us a bunch of cool new tools from Sizzix found in our three Bead Shoppes (Mapunapuna, Hilo and Kahului)

Sizzix has teamed up with Vintaj and came out with their own stylish Big Kick machine and some metal embossing and engraving folders to use with their metal blanks. Really neat!

Then, Gloria Arias from Pearl City BFC is back and she helps us get ready for the New Year by making a journal using the Cinch.

She'll go through the basics of how to use this great binding tool.

Lastly, I'm all about the food! I'll show you how to make a Poke Push Up Pop and for dessert a delectable Trifle Push Up Pop. They're really easy to make and are super Fun for Holiday parties and more!

So, hope you can take some time off from your Holiday busy-ness and watch the show. Here's wishing All of You and Your Families a Wonderful Christmas and a Super Happy New Year!

Time to Share

2011-12-16T09:49:00.000-10:00

Happy Aloha Friday! And I do mean Aloha as in "Aloha to the traffic!" Well, now that UH will be done, at least it will a little less traffic, I hope!But anyway, I wanted to share something I received and something I'm going to give...

You all should know Jenny from Sister Stamps. When I was in Hilo for our 60th anniversary event, she made a quick stop to visit me on her way to teaching a class. She gave me a bunch of munchies so I wouldn't get hungry while I did my make 'n takes (thanks, they were so ono!). But, she also gave me a personalized magnet board, Look how cute! I'm so Lucky. And I was so happy to finally meet her in person. We've e-mailed a lot but it's always so fun to actually meet. So, Thank You again, Jenny! Have you seen all of her calendars? Check out her blog!

Now, here's a project we're going to give. Me and my co-worker, Kelly, will be going to Hawaii Baptist Academy to make some crafts with about 40 children. Here's what we plan to do since they will range form Kindergarten to 6th grade.

It's a reindeer box, can you tell? We'll be using a lot of glue dots so that we can avoid glue guns. Poked holes to stick the antlers in the top. We'll let the older kids paint their boxes if they want. You might want to make some, too. Their quite easy and you could stick some candy or money inside. And for you male crafters, uhh, jewelry fits inside rather nicely (hint, hint!)

If there's time, we'll also make some Christmas cards.

Thank You for stopping by today and here's wishing you a super awesome weekend!

Gingerbread Galore!

2011-12-14T11:12:00.000-10:00

Last Friday, I posted my gingerbread girl which I was taking to the Ilima Hotel Christmas party. Everyone invited to the party was given a gingerbread cut-out made from a manila file folder and a few colored sheets of paper. You could decorate your gingerbread person anyway you wanted and there were four categories for a contest that everyone voted on.

Here's my Sweetie's entry. He took it rather literally and used real gingerbread cookies crumbles to cover his. The icing is caulking.Yes, his did have an edge with the holiday spice scent.

Before I show you all of the entries, I have to tell you about this great group of people. Ilima Hotel is a very unique hotel in Waikiki. There is a strong ohana feeling with all who work there and with their guests as well. They have many guests who return every year and spend months with them. They have a number of employees who have been there for well over 20 years and even as much as 37 years! They also have an on-going educational program focusing on Hawaiiana that the employees and guests participate in. They take field trips to Sea Life Park and Bishop Museum, make lei and ipus and they have a wonderful group that sing and do hula. They are just a fun and happy group to be around.

So you see, decorating gingerbread is just another fun thing for them to do. They are a really creative bunch and I am lucky enough to get to share their creations with you. So, let's start with the winners!

Most Original made by Drina, really has her spirit!

Most Imaginative made by Eme, see all the different spices and grains she used!

Most Christmas Spirited made by Jamie, isn't it so cute!

And Best Overall was made by Courtni! Her Gingerbread was 3-D and just so creative!

Here are the other entries, they are all creative. I had a hard time filling out my votes!

Aren't they all just so creative?!You can actually see the real gingerbread displayed in their hotel lobby. Ilima Hotel is located at 445 Nohonani Street. Aren't you inspired to make one, too? Maybe you can have your own contest in your office or with your family ad friends! Thank You again for Ilima Hotel for this great Holiday idea!

And Thank You for stopping by today! Hope you're having a great week! Happy Holiday Crafting!

Up on the house top reindeer paws..

2011-12-12T12:45:00.000-10:00

Actually, these reindeer don't have paws which makes them even quicker to make! Just wanted to share a fast lollipop cover project. It's not too late to make something small to tuck into a stocking or give out to co-workers!

Like the penguin, we're using oval punches (all Marvy Uchida unless otherwise notated).

First, take some brown cardstock and punch out one oval with the pink oval. Next, take a lighter brown cardstock and punch out an oval with the blue oval punch.

Place the light brown oval along the bottom horizontally across the larger oval and tape in place. From the other side, trim off the excess to form the muzzle.

For the ears, use the peach oval punch and punch out two ovals from the brown cardstock and

one from the light brown cardstock.(sorry photo angle makes them look like circles, but they are ovals.)

Cut the light brown one in half and glue one half to each of the brown ovals to form the inner ears.

For the eyes, I used the EK Success 5/16" circle punch and punched two circles on a scrap of white cardstock. If you want smaller eyes, you can use a 1/4" circle punch. Then you take the peach oval punch and center over the openings and punch out the eyes.

Place some scraps of black behind and glue in place.

Place the eyes above the muzzle and glue in place. Place the ears behind the top of the head and glue in place as shown.

I used a red flat back crystal for the nose, you can use a pom pom or punch out a heart or circle, whatever you prefer.

For the antlers, I used beige cardstock and cut out a pair of flourishes from this Sizzix die.

Taped the flourishes behind the top of the head. Look! The antlers form a heart!

Punched a tag from the purple shipping tag punch and then made a 1/4" hole near the pointed end.

Tape the reindeer to the tag. Put a strip of double stick tape on the wrapped lollipop.

Slip the lollipop stick through the hole.and tie a bow on the stick below. Use the white Galaxy marker to dot the eyes for highlights.

Here's the finished reindeer lollipop cover. Originally made these as a make and take at Hilo Ace Hardware's 60th celebration in November. You could make a whole herd and place them on a lollipop stand for a centerpiece or give them out to your "deer" family and friends.

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you have an awesome week!

Gingerbread Girl

2011-12-09T15:37:00.001-10:00

Tonight, I am going to an employee Christmas Party for a Waikiki hotel which happens to be one of my sweeties's accounts ( that's why we get to go) Everyone was given a gingerbread person shape to decorate for a contest. So, here's my entry, #53.

Ginger Girl has a beautiful tan thanks to some Bazzill cardstock. She was sweetened up with some White Scribbles paint icing all around her outline. Her cute dress has a bodice of Bazzill cardstock and a coordinating printed skirt courtesy of Doodlebug Designs. It is cinched at the waist with a sassy velvet bow made from American Crafts ribbons. Her Santa hat was found in the Christmas ornament aisles of Ben Franklin Crafts.

Her icing got a little messy and she got some under her chin. So, just like in the old T-shirt painting days, I needed something to cover it up. I thought, since it's a Christmas Party, why not hold a wreath? Her wreath was made by cutting off the branches from a tinsel pick spray. Twisted them together into the circle shape. Cut some berries off another pick and glued them on. Wrapped a flashing bulb necklace around for added bling!

I know you can't tell but she's actually quite large. The cut-outs they gave us were over 12" tall. I don't care if I will win, I really just want to see what creative ideas other people do, that's the fun part!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend everybody!

A Slice of Cake for Santa

2011-12-07T09:53:00.000-10:00

Instead of cookies, let's make Santa some cake! On second thought, let's make a cake slice into Santa!

I needed to make some favors for a business luncheon so I started with my favorite Accu Cut Small Cake Slice box.

Cut the boxes out of red cardstock, easy enough. Cut some strips of white cardstock (about 1/2" wide) for the "fur trim" I cut my curvy edges free hand, you may want to use a decorative border punch. Taped the strip down the middle. Or, you can leave off the fur trim. Next, cut a 1/2" x 8 1/2" strip of black cardstock for Santa's belt. I placed double stick tape onto the strip, then centered the box onto the strip. I carefully wrapped the ends of the strip to the front and cut off the excess. Because of the shape of the box, the strip will not go around completely straight, but as my co-worker Kami said, it looks like how Santa's belt wraps around his big belly!

I used American Crafts glitter cardstock for the buckle. First, cut a thin strip 1" long and taped that to the center of the belt.

Next, cut a piece 1" x 1 1/2", folded it in half and cut the center out. (The cardstock is forgiving so you won't see a fold line.) Centered this over the middle strip and taped it on to finish the belt buckle.

This really was easy, made 20 of them in about an hour!If you missed it, I showed you how to make a more formal cake slice favor in yesterday's post.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a Great Week!

Tuxedo Cake?

2011-12-06T08:00:00.001-10:00

The other night, we had our annual Oahu company holiday party. We sorta had an awards show theme so I came up with a simple favor to match.

I took my favorite Accu Cut die - small cake slice box and cut them out in black cardstock. We took the boxes and turned them on their sides so that the opening is on the bottom.

Then, I cut out white triangles with my e-clips machine. I used the Basic Shapes cartridge and chose a miscellaneous shape-pennant. I made them 1 1/2" wide and about 3" long.These were for the "shirts".

I took the white triangles and punched three 1/8" holes down the center. Next,we taped the triangles onto the box, the black shows through the holes and looks like buttons.

Tied bows with some red grosgrain ribbon and glue-dotted them on for the finishing "bow tie" touch. Note: When I made the bows, I trimmed the tails and taped them to the back so they wouldn't show.

I wanted to share this idea because it was very easy and you may want to use it for New Year's or a similar themed event.

Thank you to my co-workers in accounting for helping to tape the boxes together, fill 'em with candy and then tape on the triangle"shirts" And thank you to my boss for trusting us...he kept questioning "Black? for Christmas favors?" then go into his office and come back out "Black? Are you sure? Not very Christmasy?" LOL! He understood later!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

December's First Joy of Crafting Show

2011-12-05T15:20:00.000-10:00

The first Joy of Crafting show for December starts with a great craft project for a gift!

Gloria Arias from our Pearl City Ben Franklin Craft store shares with us a new Kumihimo braid. It is absolutely beautiful!

Next, we have a very special guest...Kim Gennaula, Aloha United Way's new President, who helps us make one of the recipes from our new fundraising cookbook, "Mixing Things Up - Recipes from the Past, Ingredients for our Future."

Kim, along with Noelle Maeda from our HR dept. (they were in charge of the cookbook) show you how to make a "Whatever I Like" cake submitted by Christine Beck from our Naalehu Ace Hardware. It's a fun and easy recipe and it tastes so onolicious!

You can get your own copy of our cookbook at any of our Hawaii Ben Franklin Crafts stores and Ace Hardwares stores on the neighbor islands as well as our Las Vegas and Seattle area stores. In the cookbook, there are lots of interesting stories that go along with the recipes, that's my favorite part!But Best of all, the whole $10 goes to the local United Way of the store you purchase it from.

Our last guest of the show, Shari Hanai from our Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Craft store helps us get ready for the Holidays with a quick and easy charm bracelet.

Make one now for Christmas and use the same techniques for other occasions, too. It's also a great gift idea!

Thanks for stopping by today. I know you're all very busy so I really appreciate it! Have fun with your Holiday Crafting!

Don't Feed the Bear, Feed the People!

2011-12-02T12:17:00.000-10:00

Happy Holidays, everybody! Here at Ben Franklin Crafts, we want everyone to have a Happy Holiday so we are collecting food for the Hawaii Food Banks.

From today until Sat., Dec. 17th, everytime you bring in a canned good or bag of rice, we'll give you an extra entry blank to win a cuddly Teddy Bear!That's right, don't need to feed the bear, he's already really stuffed! Let's help feed the people who are truly in need.

Not sure what kind of food? Well, the top 5 items needed are:
1) Canned Meats and Tuna
2) Canned Meals (like Spaghetti, Chili, Corned Beef Hash)
3) Canned Soup
4) Canned Vegetables
5) Canned Fruit

As you can see, our Teddy Bear is really cute and he's huge! He'll make the perfect gift for someone or a really FUN crafting companion for you. No, he can't count for the carpool lane, sorry!You can enter at any of our 6 Craft stores, there's a bear looking for a home at each store.

Thanks for stopping by today, I know you're all really busy! Stay safe and have a Great weekend!

Treat Tube Holder - got how-tos!

2011-11-29T13:26:00.001-10:00

Hi All! The project sheet is now on the website. Here's a link.
Thanks for stopping by today and hope you're having a wonderful Holiday Season!

November's Second Joy of Crafting Show

2011-11-21T13:49:00.000-10:00

For this second show of November, we have three fun craft projects. We start off the show with Yu Ming Zhu, the Sumi Watercolor Artist from Seattle.

In this show, Yu Ming shows us how to do watercolor painting using the sumi techniques, this time in color.

Again, he explains a lot about how to compose the design of the painting and how to achieve different looks with different brush strokes.

Our next guest was Cheryl Miyashiro with another great project for the season!

Cheryl shows us how to make a Double Slider Gift Card Holder. (We'll be posting up a project sheet soon!)

Lastly, I show you how to make a simple holder for our new treat tubes.

You can just make one or put two together! (I'll let you know when the project sheet is posted!)

Thank You for stopping by today and I hope you're having a lot of FUN with your Holiday projects!

More from the He-art

2011-11-02T10:26:00.000-10:00

If you've been following along, you know that I have been part of a 23 week He-art Journaling challenge. Each week we get a new theme that we need to use to create our pages with .Well, we're up to week 15! And this time it was about Sticking it to ya!

So, I created a TAPE-stry using my favorite Packing Tape transfer method. I showed you how to do this back in June. After I made my own "stickers", I used washi tape and smash tape to stick it on the pages. This week's assignment was super fun to do!

I transferred images from magazines and catalogs. That full moon on the top is from the HMSA magazine that gets mailed to me.I love the T-shirt saying about being Fun Size! I know a lot of you can relate, LOL!

Love including the Pooh-isms from a catalog, so sweet!It's my TAPE-stry, like Carole King wrote in her famous album title song Tapestry," My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, An everlasting vision of the ever changing view..."

In week 14, we could only use up to 2 colors, two-tone. So, I went for high contrast in black and red. Yes, I believe it...all you need is love!

In week 13, we had to choose our Lucky Number. I had already wrote about my favorite number on a prior week, so this time I wrote it up BIG. Sweet 16!

Week 12, we had to use watercolors or create a similar effect. I have been using watercolors for a lot of my pages because it's so fun to use. So, I created these pages, with two different looks.

One more photo to share. A couple of Saturdays ago, I went to the Nonstop Kakaako event to check out the grindz from all of the food trucks. Besides the food, there was an empty store that they transferred into a huge piece of art for the people. Three walls had these sketches and there was a table of crayons. You grabbed your crayons and colored. It was fun, here's our alien that me and G colored (he had to to do the top, I could barely reach!) But remember, I'm not short, I'm Fun Size!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get to create some He-art this week, too! Happy Crafting!

Facebook Friday Winner!

2011-10-31T13:08:00.000-10:00

Happy Halloween! Thank you to everyone who played Facebook Friday all Craftober long. Here's the moment you've all been waiting for...and the random winner is...

Congratulations, Linda Kuniyoshi! I'll be sending you your $25 Ben Franklin Crafts gift card and some extra goodies like a clear stamp set from 7 Gypsies, embossing folders and some other crafty stuff.

Hope you are all having a great Halloween! Scroll down to my earlier post if you want to see my costume and some of my ghoul friends!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T10:35:00.000-10:00

Happy Halloween, Everyone! I actually celebrated Halloween a little earlier in September when I visited one of our sister craft stores in Nebraska. They are REALLY into Halloween in Nebraska, they say that's where it all began...

They build a huge Haunted House in their parking lot every year and it's always different. I swear it took us a good 20 minutes to go through the whole thing. It was So Cool and I made a lot of new friends!See...

And here in Hawaii, our Honolulu office got into the Spirit of the day!

Do you recognize any of these characters?

Yes, Charlie Sheen, still trying to pick up flight attendants!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you all get a lot of Treats today! I'll be announcing the Facebook Friday winner later this afternoon...keep you all in suspense for a little while longer!

Craftober's last Facebook Friday - your chance to play!

2011-10-28T09:00:00.002-10:00

Thank you everyone for helping me celebrate the Joy of Crafting's 2nd blogaversary during Craftober! Today is the last of the Facebook Friday contests so I'm opening it up to the Bloggers!

Leave a comment here or on the Joy of Crafting Facebook page and you may be the randomly picked winner of a $25 gift card and more!

Here's the question: What does Ben Franklin Crafts Not have that you would like to see us have in our stores? Are we missing your favorite stamp company? Want more types of paint? You get the idea. Please leave your top 5 wants. I can't guarantee we will get them but I can promise to check it out at CHA and other sources and see what we can do for you!

You have until Monday, Oct. 31 10am HST to leave me your wish list! Have a great weekend!

What's New Wednesday!

2011-10-26T09:56:00.000-10:00

I love colorful Christmas papers, so I'm so excited about the new doodlebug designs in the stores! Look how cheery they are!

And yes, that elf paper is going to go well with my GStudio stamps from last week!

Love the cut-outs, too, they make great embellishments for cards or mini album pages.

Now, I don't know what I'm going to make with these yet, BUT! Look, I love this snowflake paper because the other side has a lined notepaper look...I can use this any time of the year!So cool!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great week! Happy Crafting!

Facebook Friday Winner!

2011-10-24T10:50:00.000-10:00

On the Joy of Crafting Facebook page last week Friday, I asked, if people celebrated Halloween and if they do, how. Got a lot of cool answers. What I saw was that a lot of you make a lot of treats to share and a lot of you also EAT a LOT OF CANDY!LOL!

I let random.org help pick the winner and that would be...

Congratulations, Janis! You are the winner of the Joy of Crafting's Facebook Friday as I celebrate the month of Craftober!By what you shared, I guess this will come in handy when you make goodie bags for your 88 co-workers! Oh MY, that's a lot of co-workers! Do you all eat lunch together? That would be like a party everyday!

Janis, send me your address so I can mail you your $25 gift card! joyofcrafting@gmail.com.

Thanks everyone for playing and check back this Friday for the last Facebook Friday for Craftober. Thanks for stopping by today and hope you have a Spooktacular week!

Facebook Friday...fianlly!

2011-10-21T18:00:00.000-10:00

Happy Aloha Friday! I just posted the Facebook Friday questions on the Joy of Crafting Facebook page. This week I'm asking you about Halloween and if you celebrate it, what do you do?!

Since I was late with my posting, you have until Monday morning 10am HST to leave your answer. Good Luck and have a Great Weekend!

What's New Wednesday...on Thursday!

2011-10-20T17:43:00.000-10:00

Hi All! Sorry, I guess I didn't post this yesterday, but here's some new goodies I found at Ben Franklin Crafts!

First, there's a new exclusive paper pack with My Mind's Eye Christmas designs. It's a really cute collection of double-sided paper in a 6 x 6 size, perfect for card and tag making.

Here's just some of the designs.

Then, at Pearl City BFC, I found some new GStudio clear stamps in holiday designs, too! You know these are the ones that are just $1.25 for each set. Plus, they have little rhinestones included with them!

So, I put the two finds together and made these little mini cards. I only used half of one sheet to make the two cards.

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to check tomorrow's Joy of Crafting Facebook page for another Facebook Friday!

Good Friends and some New Friends!

2011-10-18T13:02:00.000-10:00

I've been having so much FUN at all of our 60th Anniversary celebrations. Getting to meet a lot of new people and making some new friends, too!

In September, one of our OC16 Ohana came to host our celebration at Mapunapuna. Tony Solis of "Eh, U da Kine, Ah?!" is a really nice and funny guy! Happy we got to work together!Thanks, Tony! You did a Super Job!

On Kauai and on Maui, I got to make a new friend in Lauren Cheape aka Miss Hawaii 2011! I've gotten to know a number of Miss Hawaii's over the years and Lauren is probably the most energetic one of all! She is so fun to be around!Also on Maui, we had Justin Cruz, gee...miss him on the radio! He's one super cool dude!

Every time I go to Maui and see, Kris we always would forget to take photos! We're always busy doing crafts with people! So glad she rememberedd for us this time. We got to craft right next to each other in the mall's center court! Her table was crazy busy!

Look at the sweet gifts Kris made for me! Oooh, and she even gave me some onolicious cookies, I think I have a few left!LOL!

On my table I did this 60th Anniversary "Limited Edition" purse as my first project. each one was unique because they all got to choose their own design to emboss.

And I made a new friend, Cymbree. Isn't her finished bag adorable!

The second project I did that day was the Penguin lollipop Covers. If you scroll down to my earlier post, you'll see how easy they are to make!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having an Awesome week!

Penguin Lollipop Covers how-tos

2011-10-18T12:21:00.000-10:00

Hello, Happy Tuesday! Can you say "Penguin Pops from paper punched pieces" five times really fast?! OK, untwist your tongue!LOL!

I just wanted to share my how-tos for making the Penguin Lollipop covers I did as a make-it and take-it at last Saturday's 60th Celebration on Maui. It's all made with punches, which is really great since the Marvy Uchida punches are on sale at our Ben Franklin Craft stores until the end of October.

Here's what you need: Black cardstock, white cardstock, Bazzill Bling Glitz Blue cardstock, orange cardstock, red cardstock, printed cardstock, Marvy Uchida Shipping Tag - Giga (purple), MU Oval - Mega (pink), MU Oval - Super (blue) , MU Heart Punch - Extra Jumbo(yellow), MU Star - Standard (orange), MU Star - Jumbo (green), EK Success 5/16" circle, Fiskars 1/4" hole punch, Fiskars 1/4" Heart punch,Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, Meriken Double stick tape (3/6" or 1/4"), Galaxy Marker - Broad White, ribbon for bow and a See's lollipop.

First you need to punch out a white oval with the MU oval punch - super (blue).

Next, use the EK Success5/16" punch to make two circles for the eyes.

Take a scrap of the Bazzill Bling -Glitz Blue and tape to the backside, covering the openings of the holes.

Take the Fiskars 1/4" hole punch and punch a hole in each of the blue circle eyes.

Punch out an oval with the MU oval punch - mega (pink) in black cardstock. Place the white oval on top of the black oval and tape in place.The black will show through the openings of the eyes.

Use a broad Galaxy marker in white and make a small dot in each eye for highlights.

Punch a star from orange cardstock using the MU star punch - jumbo (green). Cut one of the triangular tips off for the beak. Glue the beak below the eyes, using a Sakura Quickie glue pen.

Use the Fiskars 1/4" heart punch and punch put two hearts in red cardstock. Glue on either side of the beak for the "cheeks"

Punch out two mini stars with the MU star punch - standard (orange) from orange cardstock. At the bottom of the penguin, place the two stars behind the body with three points sticking out. Tape from the back for the feet.

Punch a tag from printed cardstock using the MU shipping tag punch - giga (purple). Punch a 1/4" hole about 1/2" from the point of the tag. Place the penguin on the tag above the hole and tape in place.

Take the MU heart punch - extra jumbo (yellow) and punch out one heart from black cardstock. Cut the heart in half. Place one half on either side of the body for the wings. Tape in place.

Slip the See's lollipop behind the tag, putting the stick through the hole. Tape the tag to the lollipop wrapper Tie a bow with the ribbon around the stick below the tag.

It's a really easy project to do, I had lots of little kids making them as well as the adults. Have fun!
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

Facebook Friday's winner!

2011-10-17T09:42:00.000-10:00

Last week, on the Joy of Crafting Facebook page, I asked everyone, what are your 3 favorite craft projects to make. We had some great sharing and some funny replies, too!

Well, now is time to announce the lucky random winner, who is....

And number 4 is Nyla Agtang!

Congratulations, Nyla! Please send me your address so I can mail you your prize! joyofcrafting@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who played and shared their favorite types of crafts. Thanks to all of you for stopping by today and I hope you have a great week! Happy Crafting!

October's second show!

2011-10-16T09:00:00.001-10:00

Geez, this month is going by really fast! The second Joy of Crafting for October premieres tonight with some last minute Halloween ideas as well as some Christmas.

The show starts with Jenny Floro from Enchanted Lake BFC. She starts with a paper mache cone with base and turns it into a cool Witch's Hat centerpiece.Here's a project sheet.

Later, you can turn the hat into a Christmas tree decoration like these, just use your imagination!

Then, Lynn Hashino from our Mapunapuna BFC shares with us a cute jewelry project that is perfect as a gift or just to wear yourself!

Lynn shows us how easy it is to make a cute pendant, she even shares some cool crafting techniques with a nail clipper! You can use the same technique to make these bracelets, just change up the connecting findings.

Lastly, I show you how to make a Box Card! I make a Halloween version but you can use it for other occassions, too. It can even hold a gift card, a small piece of chocolate or even put a photo inside! We do have a project sheet, too.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great weekend! Don't forget 6:30 pm tonight (when this show premieres) is the deadline to answer the Facebook Friday question on the Joy of Crafting FB page! Happy Crafting!

Facebook Friday - Celebrating!

2011-10-14T09:54:00.000-10:00

Happy Aloha Friday Everybody! It's the start of another Fun weekend!

Tomorrow, we'll be on Maui at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center for our company's 3rd Hawaii 60th Anniversary celebration. We are having so much fun with all the make and takes, demos and crazy 60 second games.I'll be doing 2 make and takes, a mini purse in the morning and a penguin lollipop in the afternoon.I'll share my penguin pop instructions later next week.

Today, you can go to the Joy of Crafting Facebook page to enter this week's Facebook Friday contest. Last week, we had so much fun learning about everybody's 5 favorite craft things. This week, I was going to ask for 60 things but I figured that might be too long, so I'm asking for only three. Go and find out what three!You have until Sunday night 6:30 pm to share your thoughts. Because at 6:30 pm, you'll probably be watching the new episode of the Joy of Crafting show! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you all have a great weekend! If you're on Maui, please drop by, it's going to be a lot of fun!

What's NEW Wednesday - Vintaj and Sizzix!

2011-10-12T17:06:00.001-10:00

Sorry, I just didn't feel like bringing home lunch today, so instead of what's for lunch, I have what's new!

My two loves are coming together in one project! I get to use my Sizzix Big Shot with the new Vintaj line by Sizzix! The two companies have teamed up to make some great embossing folders and etching dies so you can create some beautiful jewelry or paper craft embellishments.

Vintaj Blank metal piece

You could use the plastic embossing folders with the Vintaj jewelry blanks but these new embossing folders are perfect because the designs are scaled down and the metal really makes great impressions.

Deco Etch dies look like...well, they look like dies. You place the metal blank on the design area you want and run it through your Big Shot like a Sizzlit die.

You get a lightly etched design. I lightly sanded the piece to ring out the design.

Deco Emboss is a metal embossing folder that makes a deep embossed design.

You get a really nice impression. I lightly sand the pieces to bring out the design more.

I really liked the Deco Emboss one a lot because after I sanded both sides, I got a different look on each side!

I just had to share these because it's so much fun and so fast and easy to make these pieces.I might color them up with Alcohol Inks or Copics! Now, to think of what I'm going to make with them!

You'll find them in our Bead Shoppes (Hilo, Kahului and Mapunapuna) and there's even a special edition Vintaj Big Kick!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great week!

Facebook Friday Winner!

2011-10-08T12:18:00.000-10:00

Since there were 30 different people in the contest who shared what their 5 favorite craft things were, Flat Leilani suggested I use Random .org. She's really smart so I that is what I did.

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Eva Uyeunten!

Thanks to everyone who played along. Go and check out what everyone's 5 faves are at Joy of Crafting Facebook page.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a Great Weekend!Happy Crafting!

Facebook Friday - I hit a milestone and didn't even know it!

2011-10-07T08:39:00.000-10:00

I was looking at my blog yesterday and I noticed I have 100 followers! When did that happen? Well, I think it qualifies as some kind of milestone or something, like when your car hits the 100, 000 mark on the odometer.

Well, I know you don't want to win an oil change!LOL! So, let's do something else. Hmmmm...

Today is my first official Facebook Friday. So, here's what you do. Go to the Joy of Crafting Facebook page and leave your answer there. Here's the question:

Listing 100 things would be too long, so what are your 5 favorite crafting things you use? Check the Facebook page for my answer!

You have until Saturday morning 10 am HST to enter. Then, Flat Leilani and I will gather all the names and randomly find a winner to give a $25 gift card to!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a Great Weekend!

He-art Journaling

2011-10-06T13:15:00.000-10:00

As I mentioned before, I am participating in TGF's 23 week He-art Journaling class/challenge. So far, all the Hawaii girls I know have been keeping up. Yeah!

We are on Week 11 which was about Growing. For my page, I used watercolors. What I wanted to convey was the contrast of the dreary surroundings versus the Happy "love showered" Flower, All things grow with Love!

Last week, was #10 and we had to include some kind of tearing technique, which I do a LOT anyway. But, I really didn't know what to do. So, I made trees and tore cardstock for the leaves and grass. I used Pooh stickers and my theme was "the Wisdom of Pooh is Priceless" I do believe that is true. Sometimes you just need to ask, what would Pooh and his friends do?

For Week 9 we had to use a "head" and make a different body. Since I was traveling to Nebraska, I looked for faces in the People magazine I had bought for the plane ride and found just what I wanted. Made these pages in my hotel room at night. Maid must've thought what kind of weirdo was in the room with all the torn pages and bits of watercolored papers in the trash!

Week 7 was about Clouds. OK, I really don't like the drawings I made but I just really wanted to imitate the Peanut's comic strip that showed Lucy, Linus and Charlie Brown looking at the clouds. I included the famous conversation they had. Like I said, I'm with Charlie Brown, I just see the duckies and the horsies in the clouds, nothing super brainy like Linus!

Week 6 was about Text or Words. So I wrote a lot about how Social Media is in our lives, but if you read my little thoughts in between, it really is more than words.

Week 5 was about Paper Piecing. So, I made flowers and stuff. Used the TV guide as the background and heart circled The Joy of Crafting timeslot! LOL!

Week 3 was about Gratitude. I'm thankful for so much but I really wanted to have just one focus. So, I wrote about how I am grateful for my sister.

It's been fun and challenging at the same time. I'm always really happy when I finish the page(s). At one point I was getting a little frustrated because it seemed that each week's theme was something I had done already the week before. But, I have found that I really like to watercolor, even if I'm not great at it. Maybe I'll use it in my cardmaking, too.

Well, Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great week! Stop by tomorrow to find out what Facebook Friday is going to be about!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, plus some winners!

2011-10-05T13:16:00.000-10:00

OK, no I am not having "wieners" for lunch...but I do want to first announce that I decided to let Flat Leilani pick TWO winners for the Twitter Tuesday Contest. All the names were thrown in the bag. She had some tape on her and the two names that stuck to her, won.

Congrats to Creative Grammie! and @IheartMyMelody. Since this is my 2nd Blogaversary, you both will receive a $25 Gift Card! Thanks everyone for playing. Check back Friday for ....Facebook Friday!

Now, for more important stuff...what's for lunch? Well, actually I noticed that we have a lot of food related stuff in our Ben Franklin Craft stores. So today, I decide I wanted to use one of our latest finds and make...Poke Push Ups!

Push Up Pops are those cool re-usable plastic containers that let you stack layers of yumminess. They even have a snap on lid to keep everything nice and fresh. Then, to eat, just slowly push up the bottom stick and eat as much of a layer as you want.

So here's my first Poke Push Up - Spicy Ahi. First, I layered some rice.

Then, the Spicy Ahi poke.

Then, more rice, more poke and sprinkled with some nori. Oh, so ONO!

Then, I made one with Shoyu Ahi poke.

And one with Sesame Tako, Oh So ONO!

Then, I decided that I wanted a nice "light" dessert, so I made a Trifle. A layer of Pound cake, some Cool Whip, little strawberry Jello, repeat and EAT!

Oh, I think I'm gonna like these "What's for Lunch Wednesdays" might have to do it again next week!
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great day and you had a GREAT lunch, too!

Let's Play Twitter Tuesday!

2011-10-04T10:20:00.000-10:00

OK, so I just sent out my Twitter Tuesday question. Now, I understand some of you may not have a Twitter handle...but I'll let you play, too!

Follow Flat Leilani's arrow

Look over there, to the right...see the Twitter feed? It has the question. But instead of tweeting back, I'll let you answer here by leaving a comment.
THNX 4 stoppG by 2day! Have a Tweet Day!

Rockin' Craftober! So much to Celebrate!

2011-10-03T09:27:00.002-10:00

October is one of my favorite months because it is the anniversary month for both the Joy of Crafting on OC16 (9 years! Whoo Hoo!) and the for the Joy of Crafting Blog (still baby yet @ 2 years!) Plus, this year we are celebrating our company's 60 Year anniversary! Wow!

On Saturday, we were at Lihue Ace Hardware for the island of Kauai's 60th celebration, 2nd stop on our island hopping tour.We were happy to have Miss Hawaii 2011 Lauren Cheape as our special guest emcee.

She did a great job with the 60-second Showdown challenges. The crowd were great contestants, too! See, them playing Bucket Head here.

I don't have too many photos because I was kept busy with my make 'n takes. Here's the first project I did, a Box Card in honor of World Cardmaking Day!

Box Card closed with Band

Box Card open with Band

One of my favorite parts of the day is when we start serving the cake. I ALWAYS need to have a slice so I can report back the flavor to the planning committee, LOL!So far, all the cakes have been yummy!

Our next 60th celebration is on the island of Maui on Saturday October 15 from 10am to 2 pm at the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center. We'll have activities going on in the Ben Franklin Crafts Store as well as the center court of the mall. Don't forget, we're also giving away an iPad2 at each of these events so that you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook, plus our websites and blogs!

But Wait! There's more to my post today! Yes, I am celebrating all that is the Joy of Crafting! So, tomorrow, I'm starting Twitter Tuesday! Tomorrow at 10 am HST @joyofcrafting is going to tweet a question and will give you all a chance to tweet back the answer to me. Then, we'll pick a random winner from all the tweets! But Wait there's more! On Friday, join me for Facebook Friday for another challenge!

Happy Monday Everybody! Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you check us out all month long for Craftober with the Joy of Crafting!

October's first Joy of Crafting Show!

2011-10-02T09:00:00.001-10:00

Can you believe it? It's already Craftober! Well, we have an exciting show for you premiering tonight!

We start with Lynn Hashino from Mapunapuna BFC who has been venturing out from the Bead Shoppe and getting addicted to papercrafting!

Lynn came up with these adorable "kawaii" anime look candy stick bag characters.In her segment, she shows you how to make the vampire, almost all done using punches. If you want to learn how to make the other characters, go visit the Mapunapuna store and see their spooktacular display!

October isn't just Craftober, it's also Pinktober at Hard Rock Cafe, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Once again, Deb from Rubber Stamp Plantation and her creative friends are producing the Artful Bra project. Here is Jill Gilboy from Hard Rock Cafe and Deb with some of the creations for the Artful Bra.

The deadline to make a bra is now October 10 and you can drop off your 36C bra creation at any of the Oahu Ben Franklin Crafts stores or at Deb's studio. The big silent auction and party is Saturday, October 15 at Hard Rock Cafe Waikiki from 6 pm. Hope to see you there!

Lastly, I share with you one of my blog projects from June. I actually show you how easy it is to make your own Bird Nest Ring . It's great as a gift and easy enough for even non-wire wrappers to make.

Well, thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to catch the show! Happy Crafting!

Celebrating 60!

2011-09-12T17:16:00.000-10:00

Hi! Remember me? Yes, it's been some time since I've posted. I've been busy getting ready for our company's 60th Anniversary celebrations. We have something planned for Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island . All within the next 8 weeks! It's so exciting to be able to celebrate the fact that our company has been locally owned and operated for 60 years! WOW!

We're also getting ready for the next 60 years and we've been really getting our toes wet in the wonderful world of the internet. For Ben Franklin Crafts we have our website, you can sign-up for our e-mail newsletter, Craft Connections, we have a twitter handle @bfcrafts and we just started on Facebook.

Speaking of Facebook...it's funny because I quietly started a Joy of Crafting Facebook page and you smart crafters found me! Thanks for Liking me, I hope to start doing some fun stuff there, too. You can also follow me on twitter @joyofcrafting.

So all this talk about the web...where is this leading, too? An ipad2 giveaway of course!

We want to make sure you can Like us and Follow us so we're going to give away an ipad2 to one Lucky winner at this Saturday's 60th celebration at our Mapunapuna store location!

Besides the ipad2, there's going to be TWO 60 Second Shopping Sprees and a bunch of other door prizes throughout the party.60 Second Showdowns and fun make-it and take-its and demos!

So, please join us for this fun filled celebration on Saturday, September 17 from 10am to 2 pm. See you there!

First September Joy of Crafting Show

2011-09-04T09:00:00.001-10:00

September always makes me think of Back-to-School, even though the keiki have been there for a month now! And, it makes me think of learning new things...and that's what we have in store for you on the first September Joy of Crafting Show!

We start off with Cheryl Miyashiro who introduces us to the Sizzix eclips machine! It's an electronic die cutting machine that does so much cool stuff!

Cheryl's project is this cute pillow box, which showed us that the eclips not only cuts the box out, but it scores the fold lines, too!

The pen holder feature also allows you to use a glue pen so you can add glitter...you'll just be amazed at the different features of this machine!Look! That's the cool controls, just like playing a game!

Next, we share with you the latest fashion trend...Hair Feathers! Nicole from Market City BFC shows how easy it is to add colorful highlights to your hair, fast and easy!

There's lots of colors to choose from, great for showing your school spirit at the football games!

For another fashion trend, Deb from Rubber Stamp Plantation, shows us how to make some cool Scrabble tile jewelry!

A great way to re-purpose your old tiles, these jewelry pieces just match our island living with whenyou make them with Deb's fabulous stickers!

So, hope you get to catch the show and Thank You for stopping by today!Wishing you ALL a Fun & Safe Labor Day Holiday!

Aloha from across the Sea

2011-08-29T10:05:00.001-10:00

Paul and Milton have returned from Japan. They each kept a journal while there, so you can follow each of their stories of their journey to Ishinomaki, Japan where they helped passed out much needed supplies and helped in the clean-up efforts.

Follow them here.

Thanks for stopping by today and follow Paul's and Milton's stories every day. Thank You again for all of your generous donations and support which we were able to use to help the people of Japan.

Second August Joy of Crafting Show

2011-08-21T09:00:00.002-10:00

On this show, we're doing some paper crafting projects! We start off the show with a great project for Back-to-School!

Puna, from our Enchanted Lake BFC, shows us how to make a cute Monster bookmark!

It's a fun way to keep the keiki interested in reading, don't ya think? It's great use of your scraps, too!

Next, I'll show you how to make a simple tissue holder for those pocket packs. Great to have and great to give away! There's a project sheet for it, too.

Then, I come back with a Hano Hou segment on a Side Step Gift Card Holder, my twist on a cardmaking favorite. Told you I was getting ready for the Holidays early this year!

Thanks for stopping by today and Hope you had a Great Summer!

More Cards of Aloha made by YOU!

2011-08-13T09:00:00.002-10:00

Here are more Cards of Aloha that have been passed out to the people of Ishinomaki, Japan. Paul and Milton have been able to share these encouraging cards with the people living in the temporary housing as well as the small clusters of people still living in Ishinomaki.

Thank You again for taking the time to make these cards. You have been able to touch the lives of many by letting them know we are all still thinking of them and hoping for the best.

Thanks for stopping by today and Have a GREAT Weekend!

Ishinomaki, Japan

2011-08-12T10:02:00.000-10:00

Earlier, I told you about how Paul Mizoguchi, Company VP/Owner and Milton Fujii, CFO, were assisting on a relief aid mission to the earthquake and tsunami struck areas in and around Sendai. Well, it's been about a week since they have been working in Ishinomaki, one of the hardest hit areas.They have been staying at a karate dojo and we haven't had a lot of communication with them but this morning, I got an e-mail from Milton saying that they had passed out the Cards of Aloha that we sent with them.

They have been passing the cards out along with other supplies to the people living in the temporary housing as well as small clusters of people remaining in Ishinomaki. They are also sending along some cards with a group of volunteers who will be taking some children from the karate dojo on an overnight trip to Sendai.

Milton and Paul will be sharing their experiences when they return to Hawaii on our website and Facebook page. This past week has touched their lives forever as they have seen the devastation first hand as they try to help clean up and recover the area. They have also seen the power of the human spirit as these people who have lost everything rebuild their lives with hope for the future, especially for their children.

For all of you who helped us gather Cards of Aloha, Mahalo Nui Loa! You have really helped to lift the spirits of these people with your kind words of encouragement. Here are some samples of the cards you all made.

Here's a card that really made us smile, the words are so cleverly thought out and you can tell they come from the heart.

Again, ThankYou so much for helping the people of Japan with your donations and encouraging words. I will post more Cards of Aloha tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by today and reading my long post. Have a Great Aloha Friday!

August's First Joy of Crafting Show

2011-08-07T09:00:00.006-10:00

Lots of fun crafts are featured on August's first Joy of Crafting show. We start off with a contest announcement!

"Mini Masterpiece" is a contest where you embellish a 4" x 4" stretched canvas! You can paint it, make a collage or mixed media piece, whatever you feel like! You be the artist! Just turn your Mini Masterpiece entry in at any of the Ben Franklin Crafts stores by Monday, August 22. Check stores for official rules.

Need some inspiration for your Mini Masterpiece? Well, our first guest, Puna from Enchanted Lake BFC, shows us how to do some collaging on the canvas and also a wonderful finishing technique. Watch and learn some great tips, too!

Next, we have a Hana Hou visit with Brandon, also from Enchanted Lake BFC. He shows us how to use the YuDu. It's really great to be able to screen your own designs on T-shirts, tote bags and other items. Especially great for creating unique Back-to-School gear or uniforms for your soccer team!

Lastly, I'm starting to plan ahead. I'll help you get started on making some easy gift card holders. Christmas will be here before you know it!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you all are having a great weekend!

Close Up and Personal...

2011-08-05T09:31:00.000-10:00

Want to know a little more about me? Check out my OC16 CloseUp! Click Here to watch the video.

Some stuff may surprise you and others will just make you laugh!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a Great Weekend!

Be like a turtle...

2011-08-04T16:34:00.000-10:00

Here's my Week 2 - He-art Journaling pages. The theme for this week was Sandy Sunshine (sun, sand, beach,etc.)

We had to do a two-page layout. As you can see, I love to paint and tear up paper!

This time, I "stuck my neck out" and drew my little guy.

Do ya think he's too bald?LOL!

My quote is written in the sand, ah...to be so content and happy!

Thanks for stopping by today and Have a Great Weekend!

There was Something Fishy going on @ Market City!

2011-08-01T11:15:00.000-10:00

This past Saturday, Market City Shopping Center sponsored a Craft event.So Ben Franklin was in the upstairs lobby making Cards of Aloha, a flower decoration and I had a Hello Kitty Easel Card Make and Take. It was a lot of Fun! We'll let you know when we do it again!

The cool thing was on one of the tables, we had a special guest, Dr. Glenn Takaki. Most people know him as their dentist, but he also does Gyotaku fish printing!

So, on Saturday, he demonstrated his technique and people were able to make fish prints! We even did them on T-shirts.Here's some finished sample prints.

Here's the papio fish that they were using for the prints.

Here's Azariah Simpson with his Mom, Sigrid, and their fish print!

Want to Thank everybody for stopping by and making some crafts with us! Especially want to Thank Dr. Takaki for his wonderful demonstration! Funny, I was craving a poke bowl that night!

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you're off to a great week!

Spreading my Wings!

2011-07-28T09:16:00.000-10:00

So, I decided to take the plunge and really challenge myself. I signed up for TGF's He-Art Journaling class.Here's my first project, a two page layout with the theme of "Spread Your Wings".

I kept it simple by just using some acrylic paints for the background, leftover from my Hello Kitty Canvas. Tore up some white cardstock for the clouds.

Added my Stamping Bella Ketto fairy and topped it all off with some Sparkle Glaze and more glitter.

My words...well, I am Dreaming Big because I hope to complete this 23 week journey! I'm happy there are some other Hawaii Sistahs in this class, too, like Kris, 1LuvnMama and JennyV.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to stop by and visit! Really appreciate it and hope you all are having a Super Great Week!

Just one more Saturday for Cards of Aloha!

2011-07-27T16:23:00.000-10:00

Last Saturday, I had a great time making some Cards of Aloha with some cool crafters at Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts.

Here is Kingsley and his wife Joyce, their card was super cool!

Did you see Shirley's card that she made? She's going to drop it off at a store since she can't make our card making session. You can do the same until July 30.

Hope you can join me at Market City this Saturday, July 30. I'll be upstairs with a card make and take plus we'll have a table for Cards of Aloha.

Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy the rest of the week!

July's Second Joy of Crafting Show

2011-07-24T09:00:00.001-10:00

We have more fun crafts to share on this second Joy of Crafting show for July. We start the show with the Sizzix Girls!

Cheryl and Cheri are back with another jewelry making project featuring those great new dies.

This time, they show us how to quickly make a ring from felt! The flower designs are die cut from the felt and sewn together, almost like sewing on buttons, it's a really cool project!

Next, we have Gloria from our Pearl City BFC with a great cardmaking project.

Gloria shows us how to do thread art to make a beautiful focal point for your cards. This is also a sneak peek as this will be one of the projects they will be doing at Pearl City's Paper Party on Saturday, August 27th, so mark your calendars to save the date!

Lastly, I help you get ready for back to school. It's not only about the pencils and paper...what about the treats!Candy Stick bags are a fun treat to make that you can tuck into a home lunch or impress a new teacher with!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to catch this episode! Wishing you a Fun and Crafty Summer!

How many points for KAWAII?

2011-07-22T14:20:00.001-10:00

I'm talking Scrabble points! Well, I may not spell too well, but I can rhyme just fine. What I really want to say, is to our Bead Shoppes make your way! So, you can see, the really cute Hello Kitty!

On Scrabble tiles, made into cute little charms. There's also some other designs as well. So, check out the Bead Shoppes at Mapunapuna, Hilo and Kahului Ben Franklin Crafts!

Thanks for stopping by today and hope to see you tomorrow at our Cards of Aloha from 10 am - 1 pm! Have a great weekend!
(P.S. - if Kawaii was allowed it would be 13 points!)

Project Sheet now on website!

2011-07-19T14:33:00.000-10:00

Hi everybody! Just wanted to let you know that the Candy Holder/shaker Box projects sheet from Monday's post is now on our website. Here's the project sheet!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Project Sheet now available!

2011-07-18T10:16:00.001-10:00

Last December, Cheryl did a project on the Joy of Crafting show. She adapted a tea bag holder for Ghiradelli chocolate squares.

I finally re-watched the show (several times) to figure out the directions. So now, we have an updated version for a project sheet.

The project sheet is available at the stores and also on our website as well. Thanks for being so patient!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

Sending ALOHA with a Make and GIVE

2011-07-15T17:49:00.000-10:00

Happy Aloha Friday Everybody! I have some exciting news to share with you...

In April, you all made generous donations to help the people of Japan who had suffered through devastating earthquakes and tsunamis. Your donations have helped to buy much needed food and supplies for the survivors who are still trying to get through day to day.

In August, our company VP/Owner Paul Mizoguchi and our CFO Milton Fujii will be part of a goodwill mission that will be in and around Sendai passing out these much needed supplies and helping with cleanups and rebuilding.

Along with the supplies, we want to send some encouraging words and basically, let the people of Japan know they are still in our thoughts and prayers.

Our Ben Franklin Crafts stores will be holding Make and Give sessions so that you all can send Cards of Aloha to the people of Sendai, Japan. Join us on Saturdays, July 23 and 30 from 10 am - 1pm. We'll provide the supplies, you provide the creative inspiration! Help us make some cards that Paul and Milton will take to Japan to share Hawaii's Aloha.

If you can't make it to these sessions, but would still like to participate, please feel free to drop off cards at the stores by July 30th. We'll be happy to include them in the Special Delivery to Japan.

Thanks for stopping by today and Have A GREAT WEEKEND!

Lots of Mahalos!

2011-07-13T13:27:00.000-10:00

I've been very fortunate to get some very cool Thank Yous from some of my blogger friends. I wanted to share some today that should've probably been done much earlier (sorry!)

This is part of a sweet RAK I got from Kris! I, uhhh, ate the really sweet part, very yummy cookies from Maui! Kris gave this to me when I saw her at the Kahului Craft Fair in May. This is her really cute checkbook covers and card cases, you should check out her Krisp Krafts site!

And here's a really cute notepaper holder she made. Isn't it adorable?!Love all the stuff Kris makes!

I also got a cute Thank You card from Cheryl! Really love the colors she used!Thanks a bunch!

And then there's 1LuvnMama!! Look at this awesome holder she made!

And then look what she filled it with!OH MY!She snuck in and left it with my co-workers, so I didn't get to see her , but Big HUGS to you, Mama!

I also got a really pretty card from Karen. It's so pretty that I was showing it to someone and I think I didn't get it back?! I'll post it soon.

My last show and tell is from Enjoli! She's so amazing, I told her that I liked her recipe book and that I thought it would be good for blog addresses, so she made a special one for me!Look, isn't it a cute cover?!

And then she made a special template for the inside pages. Going to start filling in those websites and blog addresses. You know after my two computer crashes, I need a hard copy back-up and this is perfect! Thanks so much, Enjoli!

It's really fun getting to know all of you even if it's just through the blogs. Crafters make really Good Friends!

Tomorrow, I'll be helping with our Ace Hardware's Annual Golf Tournament. The proceeds are donated to the Children's Miracle Network, which Kapiolani Women's and Childrens's center is a part of. I have the fun hole to watch over, we grill the hot dogs and serve up the drinks and snacks. I also have a special job, I'm in charge of a raffle with a fun game for the golfers.Well, hope I don't get hit by any wayward golf balls!Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're all enjoying your week!

Kawaii Kiyomi!

2011-07-06T17:17:00.001-10:00

YES! We got our Sister Stamps in today! When I peeked in the warehouse and saw the mail that had just arrived, I literally screamed "They're Here! OPEN IT! OPEN IT!" Yeah, kinda freaked out our receiver but she understood once we busted the package open!

See, I've been a very patient crafter waiting for them to arrive in our stores.Very patient in terms of my craft "need it now" thinking. So, as soon as I got them, I just had to ink some up,especially since I had my copics with me. Only to realize I had to go to my car for my ink pad! OK, yes, patience...patience is a virtue!LOL!

Basically, I didn't know what to make so I just grabbed this cake slice box and now I have something with a Sister Stamp on!Hope you do, too!

Just gotta Congratulate Jenny and her sister again for creating such cute images and making them available to the world! Can't wait to see what they do next!

Thanks for stopping by today and letting me share my excitement!Have a great week!

July's First Joy of Crafting Show

2011-07-03T09:00:00.003-10:00

Summer is a great time to learn about new craft products and projects. So, we start off our first July show with Cheryl and Cheri from Sizzix!

The Sizzix Girls introduce us to a new line of steel rule dies from Sizzix that were designed for jewelry making! They show us how simple it is to make a beautiful necklace made from chipboard, can you believe it?!

I'm loving these dies because the designs are small but they can be used with all sorts of media like the chipboard, felt and other fun stuff. Just imagine, now, you can make the jewelry and also use the same designs to decorate the gift box that you make to give it in!

Our next guest, Gloria from our Pearl City BFC, teaches us a different braid using the Kumihimo disk.

Earlier, Gloria introduced us to kumihimo and showed us the traditional round braid. This time, we'll learn how to make a flat braid. The flat braid is great to use for lanyards, belts and other fun projects.

Lastly, we recognize the summer obon season with a favorite project from this blog, the Kokeshi Doll Favor Box.We do have a project sheet for her, but on the show I'll show you some of my tips and shortcuts when I put her together.

Hope you can find time to join us for this show! Thanks for stopping by today and hope you all enjoy a safe and Happy Fourth of July!

Tomorrow we got Early Birds

2011-07-01T16:31:00.000-10:00

Not Angry Birds...but Early Bird Savings tomorrow morning starting from 8am to 12 noon at all 6 of our Ben Franklin Crafts stores. Sizzix dies and EK Success punches plus lots of mini treat makers like the mini donut maker and circus waffle makers, kid's storage organizers and specialty yarns, all at a great price during those 4 hours! Come early for the best selection! It's also the start of our July ad which has even more great items on sale!

Have a great night and I'll see you at 8 am tomorrow!Happy Crafting!

Tech Thursday - Packing Tape Transfers

2011-06-30T18:28:00.000-10:00

For this Technique Thursday, I am going back about 9 years. I first did this technique at a Creating Keepsake University in Anaheim.The funny thing is it was our "homework" but we never used it in our projects. I'm talking about packing tape transfers..super duper easy!

All you will need is some clear packing tape and images, I like to use magazines for my images. So I tore up a Martha Stewart Living magazine because there's always nice photography in there. (The pages are great for making your own envelopes, too!)

Pick your image. Place a strip of tape over the image.Trim off the excess.

Here's a few I made.

Soak in clean water for about 10 minutes.

You can see the other side of the page showing through. Turn it over to the non-tape side.

Rub off the paper from the tape.

Ta-da! You have a clear image left on the tape.

I rubbed a little too hard on this one so it took off some of the image. But, I think I like the scratchy look, too!

Seriously, this technique is so fast and easy to do, great for kids. Now you can use them to embellish your mixed media canvases, cards, scrapbook pages. I think they are perect for the SMASH books!

Thanks for stopping by today and spending time with me all month long. June was really FUN! I think JULY is going to even more FUN! Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July weekend!

Wednesday Winnahs!

2011-06-30T09:30:00.000-10:00

OK, I know it's Thursday, but I got kicked off Blogger when I was trying to write my posts. Sorry ,day late, but not a dollar short!

I really have many bosses, but I was able to get my boss from Hilo, JP to help pick the winnah!

And the winnah is...

Congratulations, Samantha!

And Thank You All for playing my games all month long. It was fun getting to know the not so crafty sides of you. Stay tuned as I play catch up with Blogger. Check the post below for the Bird Nest Jewelry I made for Two for Tuesday!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July!!!

Two for Tuesday - Bird's Nest Jewelry

2011-06-30T08:23:00.000-10:00

Today's Two for Tuesday is not about Chinese Food Jewelry! LOL! You see, I kept seeing different pieces of jewelry that had a bird's nest on them and I thought I should try to make one. So here goes..

For my first project, I attempted to make a ring. I took three 8" lengths of 20 gauge wire and I started to braid them together. I used my nylon jaw pliers to help hold the wires together on one end while I braided.

Next, I used the pliers to squish the braid and make it a little thinner.

Then, I wrapped it around a mandrel to form the ring loop and twisted the ends to hold in place.

I spread apart the 6 wire ends, I'll call them spokes.Next, I took 24" of 20 gauge wire and wrapped one end to the center to secure.

Then, I started to weave the wire in and out of the spokes, like a basket. Eventually, I took each spoke and wove it into the nest as well. For this, I used my chain nose pliers to grasp the ends of the wire as I wove it through the nest.There was no rhyme or reason to the weaves, but that's what makes it look more like twigs in a nest.

I used the pliers to help shape the wires into a nest.

For this nest, I wanted to use 3 small cream colored pearls for the eggs. Since the bead holes were smaller, I took a length of 24 gauge wire and wrapped it into the nest to secure. Then, I added the pearls, one at a time. It was like sewing on buttons.

Here is the ring!

Since it is Two for Tuesday, I made another nest for another piece of jewelry. Because it is not a ring, I took the 20 gauge wire and started to coil it into the nest shape.

Again, I wove it around and through the wires to create a nest. Used the pliers to shape the nest. And added the eggs in.

For this nest, I wanted to make it into a necklace, so I used some Vintaj jewelry pieces. I took the branch and used a jewelry/leather punch to make a hole on each end.

I attached the branch to some chain with some matching jumprings and I even added a soaring bird to one side of the necklace. I hung the nest from the branch with another jumpring. Lastly, a wire wrapped a couple of rose colored glass leaves. I think I may add more birds, flowers and leaves, this necklace is still not done, I think I want to experiment some more.

Here is the necklace and ring set.

Here's another ring I made using a turquoise colored bead for a robin's egg. I also added a tiny set of Vintaj leaves.

Making a nest from wire is actually a great project for beginner's to play with wire. There's no rules to making a nest!LOL!Another fun part is I can adjust the size of the ring, just by twisting the ring.

Thank you for being patient with this post. So sorry some of the photos are a little blurry, I'm still learning how to take one handed photos while holding things in the other hand! And I wasn't a happy camper with Blogger! I tried twice to post this and got booted off Blogger while I was writing. And yes, not all of my writing got saved, so I had to re-write it! I seem to be having all kinds of problems involving computers lately, I think I may have to make me a Computer Angel!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Fourth of July Weekend!

Makeover Monday - Soda Bottle Mailers

2011-06-28T17:32:00.000-10:00

Hope your week is off to a great start! For this week's Makeover Monday, I decide to use a 2 liter soda bottle to mail a RAK to someone.

First, I would advise that you get some help drinking up your beverage, 2 liters is a LOT! Next, rinse the bottle out and make sure it's dry on the inside, too.

Remove the label. Take a craft knife and make a slice, about 5" or so long, your bottle design is a good guide.

Stick your hand into the slice and start filling your bottle up. I like to use colorful shreds to add color and help cushion the stuff I put inside.

You can get quite few things in there!

Here's some roses! Add more shreds to keep them from getting squished.

I spy Hello Kitty!

When you're done stuffing, use some clear packing tape to seal the slice.

Screw the bottle cap on tightly and tape it up so it won't come off.

Cover the bottle cap with some foil to dress it up and tape this up, too.

Wrap some pretty paper around the bottle. Make a label and place over the area where the slice is. Tape it up securely. Hmmm..who should I send this to?

Take to the Post Office to add on the postage and mail your bottle off!

Sorry, this post is late, I didn't get to the post office until today, and I wanted to make sure they still accept these. Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget you have until Wednesday 12 noon HST to leave a carnival memory comment on last week's Aloha Friday post. Have a great night!

Mahalo Hawaii!

2011-06-27T12:45:00.001-10:00

Mahalo Nui Loa, Hawaii! Thank you very very much for voting Ben Franklin Crafts Hawaii's Best Craft Store! We really appreciate your support and promise to continue to do our Best to provide you with great values for all of your crafting needs as well as lots of Ideas and Inspirations!

This year, our company is celebrating our 60th Anniversary as a locally owned and operated small business here in Hawaii. We're very proud to have had our company for 60 years and we know we wouldn't be here without all of your loyal support! We look forward to serving you for another 60 years and more!

Thank you again and Happy Crafting!

Tech Thursday - Freezer Paper revisited

2011-06-27T09:22:00.000-10:00

Originally posted on the Ideas and Inspirations blog, decided to re-post here.

The other month, we had Brandon from our Enchanted Lake BFC on the show explaining how to do freezer paper stencilling. For those of you who missed it, that's today's technique!

First you need to find a design, I decided to just draw mine. You can use coloring books or even your Cricut or eclips machine to find designs!

Next, you need the freezer paper. Place a sheet of freezer paper over your design, shiny side down and trace.

Think about what part of the designs you want painted. This will help you decide where you need to cut out.

You need to cut where you want the paint to go. Cut your traced design out. A swivel blade craft knife is great for doing this, especially if you have curves.

After I cut everything out, I always turn it over to the other side and inspect the cut edges. I want to make sure that the edges are nice and clean with no little paper "hangnails" on it.

For my design, I also needed to cut out the eyes, nose and mouth to keep those areas unpainted during the first layer of paint.

Place the cut-out freezer paper on your shirt and place the smaller pieces back in place.

Iron the freezer paper to the shirt. Make sure all the edges are ironed down and are sticking to the shirt, otherwise paint may seep under the design and your stencil design will not come out clean.

Place a plastic covered cardboard inside the shirt before painting to protect the other side of the shirt just in case the paint goes through.

As Brandon mentioned on the show, you can use regular acrylic paint mixed with textile medium to paint on your shirt. This gives you a whole array of colors to work with! I decide to try out the new So Soft fabric paints. They are perfect for this type of project.

I just used a foam brush to paint the large areas of the design in. Along the edges, my paint strokes go from the edge inwards, so that I don't push up the edges and get paint under the design.

Let the paint dry. Then, carefully lift off the freezer paper, revealing your painted design.

I removed the eyes, nose and mouth pieces so that I could paint these areas with the black paint.

For this, I use a liner brush and a what I call my bottle cap painting. I shake the bottle of paint to get some paint in the cap area. Unscrew the cap, and just dip my brush tip into the cap of paint. Lastly, I wrote in my words using the liner brush.

I made this shirt for Saturday's Crafting Carnival at the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts this past Saturday. We had a great time doing all kinds of make and take projects and people were winning awesome door prizes!

It was a fun weekend! Thanks for stopping by today and check back later for my Monday Makeover project!

Weekend Getaway! - Crafting Carnival

2011-06-25T10:31:00.000-10:00

For this weekend getaway... I'll be hanging out at the Mapunapuna Crafting Carnival this Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm. I'll be doing two make 'n take projects, the first from 11 -12 then from 1 - 2.

There'll be all kinds of different crafts going on and of course, lots of door prize giveaways! Hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by here today and hope you have a SUPER Weekend!

P.S. - check out the contest for the Aloha Friday post below!

Aloha Friday - Freaky Friday!

2011-06-25T10:26:00.000-10:00

OK, this Aloha Friday started out to be more of a Freaky Friday. First, my Tech Thursday post goes on the wrong blog! Thanks for all of you who checked it out.Then, I had a JoC show to tape.

Boy, all I can say is, I sure had a lot of bloopers in my segment!

Anyway, as you saw for Tech Thursday, we are having a Crafting Carnival at the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Craft store on Saturday from 10 am to 3pm. I'm doing 2 make n takes, first from 11 - 12 then from 1-2, hope to see you there!

Carnivals...I went to McKinley High School and we used to have a carnival every February. I was in band and it was our job to work the booths that collected the scripts for the rides. Carnival weekend was so much fun because we worked and played all weekend long. Each class had their own game booth and that was fun, too. Gee, I miss those days...

So, why don't you tell me your favorite carnival memories! Leave a comment by Wednesday 12 noon HST and you may win a prize!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!

Tech Thursday - Freezer paper Stencilling

2011-06-24T10:37:00.000-10:00

OOOPS! Please visit our Ideas and Inspirations blog for this week's Tech Thursday. Uhmm..correct post , wrong blog..it's all good!LOL!

http://ideasandinspirationsfrombfchawaii.blogspot.com/2011/06/tech-thursday-freezer-paper-revisited.html

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday's Winnah!

2011-06-22T13:39:00.000-10:00

Thank You to all 12 of you who left a comment on last week's Aloha Friday post. I love the stories you shared and I am so amazed that so many people used to go bowling! No golfers? Yeah, me, too, golfing is just too hot for me and the ball is so small I cannot see!At least with bowling, the ball comes back to you and get air-con!LOL!

So, today, I had our summer intern, Amy, help me pick the winnah from my trusty all purpose recycled DVD Cover (you can tell I use it for everything!) Amy is a really cool college student who is studying animation, and she is REALLY GOOD. Another tidbit, she also won a web contest and her prize was...1000 Pop Tarts!Can you imagine?!

OK, kept you in suspense long enough, and the winnah is...

Congratulations, 1LuvnMama! Glad you liked the Two for Tuesday project because it is coming your way with your $25 BFC gift card!

Thanks again everyone for playing and sharing. Enjoy the rest of the week and check back tomorrow for the Tech Thursday!

Two for Tuesday - Stella and Rose

2011-06-21T18:09:00.000-10:00

Today's Two for Tuesday features two projects made from our Exclusive Stella and Rose paper pack by My Mind's Eye.

This 6 x 6 paper pack has 48 sheets of double sided cardstock, you get two sheets each of 24 double sided designs that were picked from MME's Stella and Rose paper collection, one of their most popular collections to date.

There's a great assortment of color themes throughout.

I'm glad there's two sheets of each because I love both sides!

For today's two projects, I decided to go with a little darker color scheme since I always choose brights.

First, I made a simple candy stick bag.

Punched out a scalloped circle from coordinating brown cardstock and stamped a sentiment from the Pebbles Inc. "Ever After" collection, it fit perfectly in the Stella and Rose paper circle!

Next, I made a simple gift card holder and used a decorated band to hold it closed.

Here's a project sheet for the gift card holder.

These 6 x 6 paper pads are great for card and tag making as well as small die cuts. I would love to use some of the floral prints for a Hello Kitty dress side cut.

Thanks for stopping by today and hope your week is going well! Don't forget you have until tomorow 12 noon HST to leave a comment on last Friday's Aloha Friday post. A winner will be be randomly picked to win a $25 Ben Farnklin Crafts Gift Card!

Makeover Monday - Nori Containers

2011-06-20T22:16:00.000-10:00

I'll eat sushi, it's OK. But, I LOVE Musubis!That's why I wish okazuyas were open for dinner, too. But, for me, the next best thing is the seasoned nori, or as some people call it, Korean nori.

Break open a pack, grab a pinch of rice in a sheet of nori and you have the means to make mini mouthfuls of musubi!

So, I was looking at the containers they come in, really sturdy stuff, such a waste to throw away! I thought, hmmm, why not fill it with more rice stuff, like arare!Or party mix or some other kind of snack!

So, I made a little box from cardstock, 3 3/4" x 2 3/4" and 1 3/4" tall.

Looked a little plain, so I added a strip of this cute ladybug print. You could add more embellishments to match your theme.

Really simple idea that you can fill with packaged treats to make as a favor or just use as a fancy "nut cup".

Thanks for stopping today! Don't forget you have until Wednesday 12 noon HST to leave a comment on last week's Aloha Friday post, you could win $25 Ben Franklin crafts gift card!

Have a great week and go eat some musubis!

Weekend Getaway - Terrariums!

2011-06-20T09:41:00.000-10:00

Did you guess from my clue on Saturday that I was going to make a terrarium this weekend? It all started because I saw that little fern growing out of a crack between the sidewalk and a building. Then, I thought we have so many beautiful glassware at Ben Franklin that I would give that little fern a nice new home.

So, I chose this vase that reminded me of a fishbowl. I liked that it was narrow so it wouldn't take up too much space on my desk.

Here's some of my supplies and tools, river rocks and a pair of chopsticks.

First, place a layer of small river rocks on the bottom of the vase to allow for good drainage. If the glassware was enclosed, then we would add a layer of activated charcoal to help filter the air and keep it fresh.

Next, wet some spaghnum moss and place on top of the river rocks as the next layer. This will keep the potting soil from falling into the river rocks.

Then, add the potting soil layer. A pair of chopsticks is great for leveling the soil and later for planting.

Here's what the layers should look like.

Now, the FUN part, arranging and planting your plants! I started with my little fern. Then, I added a small pansy plant, a little vine with yellow flowers and another small plant for color.

I had help with this project, Max was there supervising. Here, he's checking out the oranges, too big for the vase!

I also had help from my Sweetie setting Miss Kitty in so that the flower from the vine was in her lap. She's actually a toothbrush holder that we carry in our stores, I just removed the suction cup on the back.

So, here's how it came out. Hopefully, the pansies will keep blooming and the rest of the plants will thrive.Or should I say survive?

This was a fun project for me but as you can see, Max didn't see what the big deal is with the plastic cat.

Thanks for stopping by today and check back later for the Monday Makeover!

June's Second Joy of Crafting Show

2011-06-19T09:00:00.001-10:00

Happy Father's Day! Our second Joy of Crafting show for the month continues with some fun crafts! We first start with Chris from our Market City BFC.

Chris has another wood project but this time it's for Christmas in July! That's the theme for this year's Magic Island Relay for Life July 16 - 17.

Chris makes a cute Advent calendar to help you count down to Christmas. She decorates the wood blocks and stars, really cute idea!

Then, Shari from our Mapunapuna BFC is back with a really cool jewelry project. She'll show us how to do a micro-macrame design with beads to make a fun and fashionable bracelet.

It's fast and easy using very inexpensive supplies, so you could make a bunch in different colors!

Lastly, I'm still stuck on duct tape! This time I'll show you how to make June's flower of the month..a duct tape rose.

It's great for a brooch or to pin onto a bag or hat. You can also make a whole bouquet of them! Here's a project sheet that you can follow.

So, I hope you had a great weekend and I hope you're able to catch this episode! Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Crafting!

Weekend Getaway - Lil' Bit of Nature

2011-06-18T09:00:00.002-10:00

Happy Saturday! OK, here's a sneak peek of my Weekend Getaway...

Check back Monday morning to see if it survives!

Thanks for taking time out of your busy weekend to stop by...Have a Great Weekend!

Aloha Friday - 'Nuff Said!

2011-06-17T09:40:00.000-10:00

Yup, it's finally Aloha Friday! So, you know it's time for another game and chance to win a $25 gift card! OK, Speaking of games, do you participate in any kind of sports? I sorta do :) Actually, I was in a bowling league this past year. The league is mostly made up of retired teachers and DOE admins, so I'm actually one of the "young" bowlers! LOL! I must say, at first it was a little weird bowling against my old 9th grade P.E. teacher, but he's cool!

Here I am talking to my bowling ball to make sure it knows that I want a strike!I find talking to the ball gives it much needed encouragement.

I'm not very good but I must say I've improved, I lowered my handicap by 12 points. Ummm...did I mention I started with a 72 handicap! OK, I know that's a lot but like I said I'm a beginner.

This is my all time highest score, scratch 180!

Tomorrow will be my last day for this year because I will be busy at BFC events the next few Saturdays. I will miss these fun bowlers because they were very encouraging and patient with me. They also like crafts, even the men.

So, 'nuff already about me, what about you? Leave a comment telling what sports you participate in besides crafts. Yes, crafts is a sport sometimes, especially when you're making 200 handmade invitations over one weekend! And if you don't do a sport, leave a comment anyway about your favorite spectator sport or if you still see your old school teachers around.Leave your comment by next Wednesday 12 noon HST and you could be the next Wednesday winnah!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope all of you have a SUPER GREAT Weekend!

Tech Thursday - Basic Wire Wrapped Loop

2011-06-16T09:00:00.001-10:00

Crafters always love to embellish their projects, so it's good to know how to make a basic wire wrapped loop. For this technique, I needed some extra hands so I could take the photos, so I got some help from Shari at the Mapunapuna Bead shoppe.There is more than one way to make a wire wrapped loop, most are very similar. This is just one way.

We start off using a chain nose jewelry pliers to hold our piece of wire.

Next, we bend the wire to a 45 degree angle.

Change to a round nose jewelry pliers to hold the wire at the bend.

Take the end of the wire and bend it over the top of the round nose pliers.

Your wire should look something like this.

Keep wrapping the wire until it goes almost completely around forming a loop.

Remove the round nose pliers and hold the loop with the chain nose pliers.Wrap the wire around tightly just below the loop.

One completed wrap.

Continue to make a few more wraps...

Keep the wraps closely next to each other without any spaces in between for a nice finish.

Use a flush cutter to trim off the excess wire.

Always use your hand to cover the area before cutting, in case the wire flies when it is cut.

To make this into a bead link, add a bead onto the wire.

Next, you will need to make another wrapped loop on the other end of the bead.Start by holding the wire next to the bead with your chain nose pliers.

Repeat the wire wrapping process, start by bending the wire 45 degrees...

With all of the new Sizzix jewjelry making dies coming out as wellas the cute dangly beaded embellishmentw people are putting on their cards, I think basic wire wrapping skills can come in handy!

Thank You to Shari for helping me being my "hands"!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope your week has been going well. Don't forget to check out tomorrow's Aloha Friday post!

Wednesday's Winnahs!

2011-06-15T16:23:00.000-10:00

Last Aloha Friday, I shared my Happy Surprise when I received a RAK in the mail after having such a bummer day. I asked you all to share similar Happy Moments with all of us in blogland and I want to say thanks to those of you who did. Your stories were great!

I decided not to use Max to help pick the winnah because he's a very FUN and PLAYFUL doggie that weighs in at 120 lbs. I was afraid that he might start eating the slips of paper with all of the names on it.Or grab the bucket by his mouth and take off running!

So, instead I had Jerome from our office help me pick the winnah. Jerome has gotten quite crafty since he started working with us, so I thought he'd be great to do this!

And here's the slip of paper he pulled out...

Congratulations, Jenny V.! You won a $25 Ben Franklin Crafts gift card!

Thanks again for all of you who keep visitng the blog and leaving comments, it's very encouraging. We're half way through the week and I'm looking forward to Saturday's BYOBag sale - 20% off with a re-usable bag!

Happy Crafting !

Two for Tuesday - Round Containers

2011-06-15T12:45:00.000-10:00

When I first saw these clear round boxes in the stores, well, I just couldn't "contain" myself! They are a good size for gift and favors, especially if you want to give things like a few yummy cookies!

OK, so Got Containers?

Wrap some fancy paper around, add a few layered circles on the cover, trim with velvety scalloped ribbon and top it all off with a glittered vintage rose.Simple enough, but looks really elegant.

Or, let the paper inspire you! Here, I spied the little funky bird.

Since it was made from simple shapes, I just made a larger version for the cover. I might make a matching mini circle album to put inside, I don't know yet.

Anyway, so that's the 2 different projects using the same containers from our Ben Franklin Craft stores. You should pick up a bunch at Saturday's BYOBag sale, save 20% when you bring your own re-usable bag!

Makeover Monday - Drink Carriers

2011-06-14T17:00:00.000-10:00

Fast Food Drink Carriers have always been a favorite useful thing for me. Sometimes, when I'm driving thru Mr. Box's, I'll ask for one even if I don't need it. Mr. Box has the perfect size and it's sturdy and there's nothing printed on it!

So, you take this...

And slap on some paper and stickers and next thing you know, your doggie has a Father's Day gift for his PawPaw!

When you load up the carrier with snacks and their favorite drink, it's a simple gift for anyone, especially the guys!

Thanks for stopping by today! Max and I hope you're having a great week! Don't forget you have until 12 noon HST tomorrow to leave a comment on last week's Aloha Friday Post...you could win a $25 gift card! Maybe I'll let Max pick the winnah!