Facebook Friday Winner!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!