3 Words - 3 Winners!

I LOVE Crafts!

Thank You to everyone who played along with the 14 Days of Valentine's contest. Loved reading all of your answers.

You all like a lot of different crafts but I think cardmaking was the most popular.

It seems that a lot of you are able to craft at least a couple times a week, that's super great!

And a lot of you really liked the origami dollar heart and the message in the bottle. Me, too. I like simpler crafts, especially after the holidays.

Members from my lunch bunch helped pick the winning folded pieces of papers. As, you can see from the photo, the winners are:

Gretel Among

Marilyn Y.

Jayne (Handmade Cuties)

Okay, you lucky three, please email your address to joyofcrafting@gmail.com so I can send you your $25 gift cards and you can get Crafty!

Congratulations and Thank You again for everyone's participation.

Hope you're having a great week!

February's Second Joy of Crafting Show

February is a short month, but our second show isn't short on crafts! We start the show with what I like best, introducing you all to a new friend!

 Our first guest is Devin Nakasone, one of the founders of Prayers on Wings. Prayers On Wings is a non-profit organization that reaches out to children with serious medical situations. Devin himself is a survivor of childhood leukemia and that is why he wanted to give back. I'm also proud to announce that just last week, Devin was chosen as one of the Hawaii Jaycees Three Outstanding Young Persons (TYOP) of the year award for his work with Prayers on Wings. Crafting is a great way to reach and help people get through difficult times. Watch the show and learn more about Prayers on Wings.

Our next guest is one of or favorite beaders, Gloria from Pearl City BFC. This time, she shows us how to use a simple braiding technique to make a stunning bracelet!

Then, we have Ruth from Kitty Bee Designs back with another fun project using her cute stamp designs.

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

It's HERE!

Just had to share! Ben Franklin Crafts newest lei Book, Handcrafted Lei and Flowers volume 11 is hitting our stores as you read! Got my copy from the Mapunapuna store!

Lots of really beautiful new lei designs! Go and check it out!

Thanks for stopping by today and  I hope you're enjoying your weekend! Happy Crafting!

14 Days of Valentines - I Love You!

Been cold these past few nights, mmm this would be so good!

Thanks for following along with the 14 Days of Valentines! I really appreciate your patience as I was having problems with my post scheduling. And because of your kindness, I LOVE YOU, even more!

So, for those three little words, I am going to give away three Ben Franklin Crafts gift cards. All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me three things:

1) Of the 13 projects I posted, which was your favorite.

2) What is your favorite type of craft to make

3) How often do you craft?

So, since I know a lot of you have special plans for tonight (maybe the whole weekend?!), everyone has until Tuesday, February 19, 12 noon Hawaii Time to leave their comment. We will randomly pick three winners from all the comments and we'll announce the winners on Tuesday at 5pm.

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

14 Days of Valentines - Day 13 Confetti Heart

I guess you gotta have some chocolate for Valentine's Day, right? Here's a simple candy you can make yourself in just a few minutes!

You'll need some Melt 'n Mold chocolate, a heart cookie cutter, some confetti sprinkles, wax paper, a flat plate or tray and something to melt the chocolate in. I use the Wilton disposable clear decorating bags and a glass bowl or jar. You'll also need a refrigerator.

Take one bag and put some chocolate in. Place the bag in a bowl or jar as I did and melt in the microwave. I start with just 20 seconds to see if it is melted. The time depends on how much chocolate you are melting at a time and your microwave. It is better to microwave in short intervals than to overmelt your chocolate.

Place some wax paper onto a clean flat plate or tray. Place your cookie cutter onto the wax paper.Cut the tip of the bag and squeeze the chocolate into the cookie cutter without moving the cutter.

Smooth out the surface.

Add your confetti sprinkles.

Place the chocolate filled heart into the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. Pop the chocolate out of the cookie cutter. Place in a small bag or a box to give as a gift.

14 Days of valentines - Day 12 Message in the Bottle

Sometimes, you just want a little something to remind people how much you love them. A message in the bottle is perfect for that. They can keep it on their desk at work, in their car or carry it around in their purse.

Start with a tiny glass bottle with a cork stopper.

Need some cording and a little charm is a nice touch.

 

I tied the cording around the top of the bottle and added the charm.

 

Cut a strip of paper about 1/4" x 11". Write your message on it.

Roll the paper up and place it in the bottle. DONE!

 

You can make a bunch and it doesn't cost you a lot to do! Go on, spread the Love!

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

14 Days of Valentines - Day 11 LOVE Note book

Besides the people in your life, I'm pretty sure I know what else you love! You love to craft! That's why you're here, right? Well, like me you probably have a million ideas running through your head. So, I decided I needed a place to write it all down, especially when I'm on the go.

So, here's a fast and easy, but personal notebook.

I took one of the RTD blank notebooks, very inexpensive at only a  $1.00! Took some of my leftover paper from cardmaking.

First, I measured the height of the book, which came to 5 5/8". Cut my paper 5 5/8" x 12" to make it easy. Wrapped the paper around the outside of the book and into the front inside cover. Creased the edges.

I covered the blank book with strips of double-sided tape. Notice the extra tape where the book will fold over? This is so that the cover paper doesn't shift. I expect to open this book and fold over pages a LOT! Placed the paper on and taped it down to the book.

The reason I wrapped the paper into the front inside cover was so that I could make a pocket. Folded the paper at an angle and trimmed some off.

Folded the edge over for contrast and taped it down. Then I taped the inside cover along the sides and bottom to create a pocket.

I saved the triangle piece I cut off and folded it into a corner bookmark!

 

Now, I can mark my last page!

Next, I decorated the front cover with more scraps, stickers and a rub-on. Easy peasy!

All set to write and sketch ideas! Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a wonderful week!

14 Days of Valentines - Day 10 Color of Love?

When I think of Love, I don't only think about red or pink. Love is Happy and to me that's bright yellow! So, today's project is something that can be given anytime of the year, it's a "just because" project.

Start with a clay pot, Styrofoam ball, small flower bush and a photo/card holder found in the wedding department. Or, you can take wire and make your own.

Place the Styrofoam ball in the pot.

 

Break or cut off bunches of flowers leaving a little stem at the bottom.

 

Take the flowers and stick them into the Styrofoam ball, covering it all over.

Stick the silver wire photo holder somewhere amongst the flowers. Add a photo, note or a pre-printed message like I did. DONE!

You can always add more embellishments like tie a ribbon around the pot, paint the pot, add butterflies or lady bugs. And you can use this for birthdays, Professional Admin Day, Mother's day, whatever you can think of. Go Spread the Love!

Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Crafting!

14 Days of Valentines - Day 9 - On the Wall

Time to declare your love and display it for all to see!

This is a super fast project that you can use your scraps with.

I used some everyday paper so it doesn't look too Valentine-sy for the rest of the year. Got some ink for distressing the edges.

I was going for a simple look, so I used these unfinished wood pieces.

I started with an unfinished wood plaque that already had some holes drilled through for the hanger.

Cut the paper to fit the top of the plaque, distressed it with ink and taped it down. Cut out a "bingo" card from the Sn@p collection and did the same.

Added my man, heart and woman wood pieces.

Then, for a more earthy look, used the hemp cord for the hanger. DONE! As I said, I was going for simple.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!

14 Days of Valentine's - Day 8 Origami Heart

The weekend is here so you might be eating out. Let's spread a little Love this year by leaving Heart shaped tips!

Fold a dollar bill into a heart and leave this the next time you eat out or want to thank someone for a job well done!

It's not hard because the folds are repetitive. Here'a a link to a project sheet, the paper size is the same as a dollar bill.

Have fun practicing! Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!

14 Days of Valentine's - Day 7 More Treats!

After making that ring yesterday, I think we need more treats!

This is a simple project that uses Sizzix Framelit dies, clear treat bag, rub-ons, ribbon and a stapler.

Here's a link to the project sheet. It's fast and easy so you can make a bunch for all of your friends and family!

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

14 Days of Valentine's - Day 6 Heart Ring

You've already made some treats for family and friends, so now, it's time to make something for yourself!

Here's a simple heart shape ring that's easy to make.
 

Start with some jewelry wire. I'm using 16 gauge silver wire with a copper base from Bead Smith. If you are making smaller rings you may want to use a thinner wire like 18 or 20 gauge.

I started with about 8" of wire because I want to have room to play when I'm shaping the heart. Not quite in the middle of the wire, I started to shape my heart.

I was tempted to wrap the bottom of the heart first, but since that's easy to do, I learned it's easier to shape the ring first.

Use a ring mandrel if you have one, or use what you have like a dowel or in my case, a glue stick, to start the shaping of the ring. Use your pliers to bend the wire to keep the heart shape, then bring the rest of wire around to the top of the heart. Remove from your "mandrel" and fit to your finger, leaving a little extra room.

Wrap the end of the wire around the top of the heart a couple of times. Cut the end of the wire shorter to make it easier to wrap. Cut the excess wire off with a flush cutter. Use your chain nose pliers to push the cut end closer to the wrap so it doesn't snag you.

Now, wrap the other end around the bottom of the heart. Cut the excess off with a flush cutter and use the chain nose to push the cut end closer to the wrap, again so it doesn't snag you.

You can shape the ring more by placing it on the mandrel and pressing it close to get a rounder shape.

Thank You for stopping by today and hope you're having a really sweet week!

14 Days of Valentine's Day 5 - LOVE Card

So, here we are on day 5 of the 14 Days of Valentine's. Time to make a card for someone special!

Here's a really fast card to make.To keep it simple, we used dies from the Sizzix Pop 'n Cuts line.

Here's the base Pop'n Cuts die with the "love" die insert.

And the matching Love Sizzlet set. The Love wording is the perfect match to the insert die and leaves just a tiny border.

From printed cardstock, I cut out a card without the insert for the base(left). Then, I put the insert in and cut out the card from solid cardstock (right). Follow the instructions on where to fold to create the pop out.

 

Then, I cut out part of the card base in the printed cardstock again. Flipped it over and cut out the "love" from the Sizzlet die.

I stamped the birdie design on white cardstock and cut him out. Ithink his heart wing matches the paper perfectly. I color in his wing with a marker. I also cut a few hearts from the printed cardstock.

I cut a strip from this cardstock for the front of the cars and I also used some of this silver glitter tape.

Here's the front of the card with a strip of the heart paper and two strips of silver glitter tape.

Attached the pop-out card to the inside. Glued the "love" onto the cardstock love pop out. Glued the heart paper pieces to the top and bottom of the card. Added a strip of glitter tape above the bottom heart paper piece. Added the cut out hearts. Added the stamped birdie to the top of the pop out using pop dots.

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