Maybe a Bit Too Sweet?

Yes, there are times when life is just Too Sweet! I've been making a lot of projects lately with sweets, and so, ummm...well, someone has to eat the leftovers!

Now, I'm craving something salty to balance it all and I know that happens a lot during those "candy seasons" like Easter next week. So, why not make some not-so-sweet treats like Cheeto carrots!

At Ben Franklin Crafts, we have the cone-shaped bags which really work great. Just fill them with some Cheetos or Goldfish (orange colrosnacks) and them tie them up with some green curling ribbon or raffia for the carrot "leaves".You can add a tag with a little Easter message.

Hand them out to family and friends or fill a basket with a bunch to take to the office.Super easy craft, and yes, you can eat the leftovers!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a Super weekend!

The Frenzied Effects of Serenity

It's always fun walking through the Ben Franklin Crafts store and even more so lately with all of the new merchandise making it's way to the shelves. My latest fave is the Bo Bunny Serenity collection.

Look at the beautiful Asian prints!

Plus, the back side is just as pretty!

And I really like this cut-out page, I already have plans for some of these to use with some on-going projects.

And of course, love this stamp set! Especially since they give two sakuras to use!

The best part is, it's going on sale! Have you checked out our Ben Franklin Crafts website lately? We post the upcoming ads there and a new one is starting this Friday. And this Bo Bunny collection will be on sale 25% off reg. price! So, go and get yourself some!

I don't know if Serenity is the right name, because we were making a lot of excited chatter (NOISE) when we started looking at this paper, we were anything but calm!Serenity? more like Frenzy!

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



G is for GREAT!

I'm a fan of G Studio stamps because their designs are right on with the trends and best of all...their prices are budget minded! The latest collection will go great with my projects for the recycled notebooks and post-its. They have a Smash-appeal to them.Found these at Mapunapuna Ben...

Really LOVE these notes and scheduling ones, perfect for paper organizers or scrapbook journaling.

And, how could I not buy a stamp that says "joy" on it?

These wood stamps were really cool, too. Especially, the one about aging!

These were a kinda funky bunch. I like the man/woman in the house to use more as an icon type thing. Picked these up at Market City after their Paper Party last Saturday.

Just having more fun shopping at Ben Franklin Crafts, can't go wrong with 4/$5.00 stamps!I'll post what I make with them later this week.

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

Breed some Sweetie Bunnies!

Sweetie Bunny is so super easy to make, once you make one, you'll probably make more and then they will multiply really fast!

You will need a 3" Circle Punch (purple), 2 1/2" Oval punch (pink) and the 1/4" Heart punch (Fiskars) I used 10mm moving eyes, Glue dots and Micro Glue dots for the nose and 1/4" Meriken double stick tape.I also used the MSC score board.Sheer ribbon for the bow and 1/2" pom pom for the tail.

Punch out two 3" circles from cardstock in your bunny color.

Place on the MSC score board and score 3/4" on one side. Do this for both circles.

Crease and fold at the scored line. Overlap the scored sections and tape together. This is the body.

Punch out three 2 1/2" ovals.

With one oval, place the it back in the punch along one side about 3/4" in. It should look like a bunny ear. Punch out.

Repeat with the other side of the oval for the second ear.

Place the second oval horizontally in front of you for the head. Put the two ears on the top and tape in place.

Place another piece of tape along the top over the ears.

Place the third oval on top aligning the edges.

Place the two moving eyes on top and use glue dots or tape to adhere.

Punch a heart from pink cardstock with the Fiskars hand held 1/4" heart punch. Use a micro glue dot to adhere in the center under the eyes for the nose.

Slightly separate the two ovals on the bottom and slip over the top of the body.

Use double stick tape to tape just the front face oval to the body. The back of the head will act as a flap to keep the body closed.

Add a bow to the front under the bunny's chin with a glue dot.Add a 1/2" white pom pom for a tail to the back with a glue dot.

Open the bunny from the back and add in a small piece of wrapped candy, tape in place if you desire.

These instructions may seem long because I am writing out each tiny step, but it is really fast when you are actually making the bunny.

Thanks for stopping by today and if today's a holiday for you, ENJOY!

Next Stop, Market City!

Tomorrow, Market City Ben Franklin Crafts is having a crafting event from 10 am - 2pm. I'm going to be there from 10 am - 12 noon with a quick and easy make and take.

Come and make a Sweetie Bunny! The perfect Easter treat for your family and friends! You can even write on names and use them as placecards.

And, yes, there's candy!

Join the fun as we celebrate National Craft Month with many different crafts! See you there!

P.S. - Thanks to my IT Hero, I can upload photos again!

***This is my second post for today, read below about some creative bloggers!***

Handmade Cuties made my Week!

OH My Goodness, what a super, SUPER SWEET surprise I received from Handmade Cuties! If you've never checked out her blog, you're really missing something. She has the cutest beading designs, so intricately done, that she creates herself! Thanks, so much for this Kreativ Blogger award!

So, now, as part of receiving this award, I get to share some random facts about myself to you all. Didja know...

1) At one time, I thought about becoming a lawyer.

2) I used to collect Christmas ornaments and I still have tons!(Hallmark, Enesco, Carlton, American Greetings, etc.) But, I hardly display them because I can't put up a tree because of my cats.

3) I've been engaged to my Sweetie for almost 10 years. I know, what are we waiting for, huh?

4) I still remember and see a lot of my teachers (even elementary) and they still remember me, too. And Not because I was BAD!

5) I can usually tell you the day of the week for a certain date especially if it's within a few months. I'm always planning calendars and I associate dates with people and things.

6) I'm not Catholic but I have been practicing Lent for the past 5 years. This year, I kept it simple and I gave up Coke.

7) When I eat fish or crab or sashimi, I love to eat it with lemon (and shoyu for the fish) and I love squeezing lemon over my rice, too, YUM!

8) I don't like to eat mochi, I always keep chewing. My mom had to make my mochi balls really small for New Year's ozoni soup.

9) I really love to read and I get hooked on different authors like James Patterson and Nicholas Sparks. But I have never read the Twilight series.

10) I REALLY love music, all kinds,  especially Rock (alternative, classic, punk, etc.) but I still don't own an ipod.

The best part is I also get the privilege to share this award with 7 other Bloggers! Please Congratulate these Creative Peeps and go and check out their blogs, too!

Berenice - http://karbersweetescape.blogspot.com/

Cami - http://captureaheart-cami.blogspot.com/

Shirley N. - http://stampinforthefunofit.blogspot.com/

Linda K. - http://simpleandsassycreations.blogspot.com/

Lindsay O. - http://www.lindsayostrom.blogspot.com/

Dena J. - http://missdjones.blogspot.com/

Kris P. - http://klusivekreations.blogspot.com/

Now that you have won this award, you can share it with others, here's what you need to do:

1) Link back to the person who gave you the award.

2) Share 10 random facts about yourself.

3) Pass on this award to 7 other people.

4) Follow the person that gave you the award.

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

 

 

Dizzy over Lizzy!

I went to the store the other night before I went home to get some supplies to make samples for an upcoming ad. Then, I saw that Dear Lizzy's new Neapolitan line just arrived and although I saw it at CHA, I just got excited all over again! Really Fun Stuff!

Since Blogger is giving me a hard time with uploading photos, here's my photos on the Joy of Crafting FB page.Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection.
There's a lot of fun prints but I think my favorite is the jars! I think I want to use them as Journaling cards or as a card front or...again, so many ideas!

More FUN Stuff! Stamps! Love the camera and the dater stamp is like the Smash one with cute sayings like"Best. Day. Ever" and " a day in the life" "photgraphed on" and more!

Although I was dizzy from Dear Lizzy, I didn't stop there because this FUN collection Hip Hip Hooray! just came in, too! I'm going to use these for some birthday cards I need to make.
Check it out on the Facebook page, American Crafts other collections

And last but not least, my love for kraft paper got another boost with these new pebbles,inc designs. So sweet! All in all, what a great bunch of finds to get my mojo going!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having fun with your crafting adventures, too!

I LOVE when people SHARE!

One of the recent projects on the Joy of Crafting show was my Kokeshi Doll Lollipop covers. They were easy to make using paper punches and we even have a project sheet  for them. You can cut the hair so that it looks like a boy for Boy's Day!

One Happy Crafter decided to make some to give away. Jane Nishiguchi did a fabulous job and sent me some photos of her kokeshi dolls. Jane is also very funny, sending  me the photo with their heads unattached and commenting that sometimes that's just how she feels, LOL! I think I can relate to that, for sure!Sometimes, I walk backwards to "rewind" my brain in hopes that I will rememebr what I was about to do!

Look how cute Jane's dolls came out! I just love when people share what they make especially if they used one of my projects. That way I know my instructions were okay!

So, please share your finished projects with me, I'd love to share them with everyone, too!

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

March's second Joy of Crafting Show

It's the middle of National Craft Month and we have another Joy of Crafting Show for you! In this show, we make some new friends and learn some new crafts...

First, we meet Erica from the new Celebrations store that's located next to Ben Franklin Crafts Mapunapuna.Erica shows us how to wrap "Japanese" style, creating folds in the paper to give it super cool look.

Then, Gloria from Pearl City Ben Franklin Crafts is back to share another lei from the brand new "Handcrafted Lei and Flowers Book Vol. 10". Gloria shows us how to make a Kumihimo lei with specialty yarn and rattail. Perfect for making in your graduate's school colors.

Lastly, I  show you a super quick and easy project for your Graduation parties. Using the Accu cut take-out box die, I'll show you how to make a grad cap favor box. The instructions can also be found in the new lei book.

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

Honey Pop and More!

I was in Napa Valley last week for work and no, I didn't go on any wine tours. I preferred to go visit Craft stores instead. It's interesting to see what other parts of the country like to create.Now that I'm back, I'm so excited to see the new stuff ordered at CHA arriving in the stores!

Like the Honey Pop Collection from Inky Antics! These are fun honeycomb papers that you can match up with different stamp sets.

I made a card following their layout, not too creative for me, but I just wanted to make something! I used the Turtle set and here's how to do it.

The honeycomb part of the design has arrows on the stamp. Stamp the design onto the honeycomb paper, the arrows should go in the same direction as the lines on the honey comb paper for the design to come out right. Cut the piece out. The dotted line justs indicates the center of the honeycomb.

To make room for the bulk of the honeycomb on your card, you will need to make a mini spine in the center of your card. I made a regular 5.5" x 4.25" card. Place the cardstock onto the score board and use a pencil to mark the center point, in this case 4.25".

Then, slightly scoot the cardstock over so that the mark is in the center of an 1/8" section. Score along both sides to create the 1/8" spine. I didn't fold the scored lines yet, I wanted to keep the card flat for stamping.

Place the cut out honeycomb piece alongside one of the scored edges and use a pencil to trace a few outline marks.

Stamp the head and feet of the turtle using the traced marks for placement. MY tip, I cut the stamp of the feet apart so that I could space the feet apart more and stamp them separately.

Add the bird and sentiment. Color in the designs with copics. Now, fold on the scored lines to get the creases for the middle spine.

Use an adhesive, I used double-stick tape, to adhere the honeycomb piece to the card. First, adhere one side.

Then, fold the card over to match up the other side. I used the additional stamps in the set for the design on the front of the card.

The other new thing in the stores is the Authentique line of papers and embellishments. I actually used one of the papers from the line for the outside of this Honey Pop card.I love both sides of these papers, here's just a few designs.

And here's their flip sides, love the woodgrain!The papers are nice and thick and will be great for a lot of projects.

Well, that's all for today! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're enjoying your weekend!

IT's GONNA BEad a BLAST!

Come on down to the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts this Saturday for their first Bead Blast! There'll be different beading demos and make 'n takes going on from 10am - 2pm.

I'll be doing a make 'n take from 10 am - 11 am. For $3.00, you can make this bird's nest charm. You can add it to a bracelet, use it as a cell phone charm or just hang it from a simple ball chain necklace as shown here. The best part is, you do not need to know any wire wrapping skills! It's a fun and easy project, perfect for Spring! Please come early since seating will be limited!

And while you're at the store, check out the opportunities to be a part of the Ben Franklin team! We'll be holding a Job Fair at the store from 10am - 2 pm. The different stores are looking for people to fill a variety of positions and we also have some openings in our administrative departments.I can honestly say that I love working for this company! I started as a sales associate/cashier at our Enchanted Lake store and now I'm in my 21st year!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope to see you tomorrow! Have a great weekend!

March's first Joy of Crafting Show

We celebrate National Craft Month on this first Joy of Crafting show for March with some fun projects!

We start the show off with Gloria Arias from our Pearl City BFC.

Gloria teaches us how to make the Glorious Lei, a winning design from the new Handcrafted Lei and Flowers Book Vol. 10!

Then, we have Penny Teruya from our Mapunapuna BFC who shares her lei creation from the new Lei book as well!

Her lei is the Star for McKenna lei.

Lastly, I help get you ready for Easter with some fun Bunny Lollipop Covers. They are made mostly with Clever Lever punches, which just happen to be on sale all March long at 25% off! The projects sheet is in the stores and should also be on our website soon.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to catch the show! Have a great week!