Whoa, BRAh! Come Party and Show some Support!

The annual Artful Bra project is a benefit for the American Cancer Society/Making Strides program. This year, over 100 bras were created and they are Fabulous!

Come and celebrate Pinktober at the Hard Rock Cafe tomorrow night, Thursday, Oct 21st from 6 - 9 pm. The bras are part of the silent auction so, bid on a bra, it's the perfect inspiration for your craft room wall! At the door, drop in a $5.oo donation which will go to Kapiolani Women and Children's Hospital.

Besides the Hello Kitty one, here's a sneak peek at some of the bras!

Well, I don't think you'll find these bras at Vickie's! Thanks for stopping by today and hope to see you at the Hard Rock!

Sorry, it was a little Batty!

Just wanted to let you know that the French Fry Bat  project sheet has been updated with the correct size for the wing and fang patterns. For those of you who downloaded the project yesterday, sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope the rest of your week isn't Batty!

Second JOC show for October

Tonight, the second October Joy of Crafting show will premiere with a few more Holiday ideas! First, we have a great gift idea! Jenny, from our Enchanted Lake store, shows us a great transfer technique using the Liquitex Gel medium.

Photo images can be transferred onto canvas, glass bricks and more using this great technique. Now, you can really make a personalized gift!

Next, I'll show you a simple treat holder for Halloween, a Bat French Fry Box. This one is similar to the owl I made on my first blog post a year ago. Here's a project sheet for the bat.

Jenny wraps up the show with an easy to make wreath. You can coordinate this project with any of your Holiday themes just by choosing a different ribbon.

Thanks for taking some time out to stop by today. Hope you had a great weekend! Happy Crafting!

Blog Birthday Winners!

I want to Thank everyone for all the congrats and happy wishes for the JoC Blog's first year birthday. I'm so thankful that there are so many nice crafty people out there. Well, what better way to start the week then with some thank you prizes! Three lucky names were drawn and they are...

But wait! Since I said this was a virtual party, I NEED ALL 12 of you who left a comment on the Oct. 2 post to send me your mailing address to joyofcrafting@gmail.com so I can send you a party favor! That's right everybody gets a little of something! Now, back to picking the names...

As you know, I asked Fridge to help me pick the winners. I wrote all 12 names on slips of paper and threw them in a bowl. Fridge eagerly dived in...literally!

He got pretty close to pulling a name.

Then he realized, he needed some help.

And, speaking of Help, I've worked a long time at Ben Franklin Crafts and most of my years, I have been a department of one. My favorite office joke is that if you past by my office and hear me talking to myself, it means I was having a department meeting with me, myself and I. Don't get me wrong, I get a lot of help from lots of people (Thank You!), I just was "officially" by myself. So, I'm so Happy to be a part of a real team now. And, they are the ones who helped Fridge pick the winning names. Okay, you've waited long enough...

Meet J, a great graphics designer and photographer for our company who also does so much more! He pulled out Doreen T as the winner! Congrats, Doreen!

Next, meet Kelly, she's our Advertising Manager and she is also super crafty. She's designed a few of our leis in our lei books! She pulled out Kris as a winner! Congrats, Kris!

Our next helper is the talented Darling. You know her from her cute punch art on the JoC! She's also a very talented graphics designer and photographer. Her winning name is MC (Cindee)! Congrats, Cindee!

I am looking forward to another FUN year in blogland! Thank You for stopping by today. Fridge, J, Kelly, Darling and I all hope you have a Super Week! Until next time, Happy Crafting!



A Merry Kitty Tree

Just a quick project today using the paper mache ornaments at Ben Franklin Crafts. There's different shapes but I chose to use this tree.



Covered with paper and little stamped Hello Kitties as ornaments. Fast and simple!



Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget, Friday is the last day to leave a comment on the Oct 2nd post about how crafting has created new friendships for you, it might make you a winner! Have a great weekend, I know for some of you that starts tomorrow! Enjoy!

For the desk

Ever since I saw these paper mache pencil boxes, I wanted them for our stores. They didn't make it in time to use for end-of-school year teacher's gifts last May, but they're here now! These boxes would be great for your boss or your kid's teachers' holiday gifts.

At first, I was looking for some masculine print paper and then I thought about it..,hey, there are many  female bosses, too! So, here's what I came up with. Added some paper, ribbon and stickers. It's sweet, simple and useful, too. Changing the papers and embellishments will give it different looks.

You can fill the inside with things other than pens like gift cards, candy, movie tickets or even make it into a emergency kit with band-aids, mini sewing kit and chocolate (very important for emergencies!)

Just a reminder, Bosses' Day is October 16th which happens to be a Saturday this year. I don't get it, most people won't be working so they won't see their boss...Ok, maybe I do get it, for some anyway, LOL! For me, I'm Lucky, I love my job and all of my bosses' are great!

But anyway,  Thank you for stopping by today and hope you all have a great week! Don't forget to check the Oct. 2 post, so you can join the 1st Birthday Giveaway!

JOC October 2010 #1 Show

It's time for some Fun and Spooktacular crafts to get you ready for Halloween! In the first segment, I'll show you how to make an easy decoration to greet your guests...

This Friendly Ghost is made with our Floral Wrapper. It's fast and easy, here's a project sheet.

Need a costume? Jenny shows you how to make a cute Tutu, it'll charm any girl, big or small.

Lastly, I show you how to make a simple Witch's Hat Favor that can be used as a place setting for your party, too. It's part of our Ornamentally Yours program and uses an Accu Cut die from our stores, here's a project sheet. Don't forget, when you purchase your paper at the Ben Franklin Crafts stores, you can use our Accu Cut die machines for free!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to see the show. Don't forget to enter the Blog's 1st Birthday Giveaway (details on Oct. 2nd post) Have a great Sunday!

JOC Blog Makes One Year Today!

Thank You to all of the wonderful crafters I have met in person and in blogland this past year. You've all been so kind, generous, encouraging and always, very inspiring! It's been so much FUN!

October is always a special month for the Joy of Crafting Show. We aired our first episode on OC16 on Sunday, October 20, 2002. We've made friends with many awesome crafters from around the world and we were happy to introduce them to all the local crafters who watched the show. Tomorrow night, our 169th show will premiere, wow, doesn't seem that many! And, it's all thanks to the support you all have given us through these years, we really couldn't have done it without you!

From the TV show and this blog, I have made many, many friends. I believe Crafting has done the same for many of you, too. So, I want to celebrate this blog's 1st birthday with three fellow crafters. Just leave a comment and tell me about a friend that you have made through your crafting. I will have Fridge randomly pick three names and each of you will win a Goodie Bag of stuff that will include a $25 Gift Card. And, you will also get a bonus Goodie Bag to share with a crafty friend!

So, please join my Virtual Party and RSVP with a comment by Friday, October 8th and maybe you and your friend will be one of the winners!

Again, Thank You for always supporting the Joy of Crafting show/blog and our Ben Franklin Craft stores! Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting!

Another vacation memory...

While on Maui with Jerome, Flat Leilani stopped in to wish Del a Happy Retirement. Del has managed a number of our stores and ended his retail career with us at our Kahului store. He will truly be missed by all. Best wishes for a fun retirement , Del!

Before her Maui trip, Flat Leilani was able to go all the way to Massachusetts with Lynn from our Craft Club! Boy, was she excited about that. Here she is at Cape Ann in Rockport, Mass. Lynn says there are a lot of little shops with handmade crafts there.

Well, with Fall officially started, Flat Leilani was thinking about all the fun she had with everyone over the summer. She hopes she gets to go on more adventures throughout the year. Thank You again to everyone who graciously hosted her on an adventure.

Thank You for stopping by today and I hope you had a wonderful week. Tomorrow makes one year for the Joy of Crafting blog and it has been fun year! Please check back tomorrow to see how we will be celebrating this milestone of our crafting journey!

We are going Green!

Starting tomorrow October 1st,  our Ben Franklin Crafts stores will be encouraging our customers to go green by using re-usable cloth bags. You will receive a 5 cent credit for every re-usable cloth bag you bring in that is used to bag your purchase.

If you recycle and bring in a paper or plastic bag to carry your purchase home, then you will get a 3 cent credit applied to your purchase.

To keep our planet healthy, this has to become a way of life for all of us. Recycle, Re-Use, Re-Create...it's not hard to do, most of us crafters have been doing this all of our lives, it's our nature.

So, keep those bags handy in your trunk, fold 'em up and stash them in your handbag. In other words, don't leave home without a bag. But if you do, it's OK,  we got our BF logo bag on sale for only 99 cents!

Tomorrow is also the start of our October ad, filled with Spooktacular stuff, I think I'm going to need a bunch of bags! Thanks for stopping by today and Have a Fabulous Friday!

Flat Leilani went to Maui Wowee!

Y'all remember Jerome? He was a guest on the JOC and showed us how to make a candy bouquet. Well, Jerome is also the only guy to take Flat Leilani along on an adventure. Lucky girl, she got to go to Maui!

They stayed at a beautiful ocean front condo in Kaanapali.

Of course, they wanted to go to Hana.

Before starting out to Hana, they were hungry so they made a stop at Charley's in Paiea, notice the sign? It's the last stop for food!

Flat Leilani had a scrumptious meal of Eggs Benedict with fresh Ono, cajun style, and some home fries. That girl sure can eat!

One of the first stops on the Road to Hana is Twin Falls.

She was so tempted to take a dip!

Thanks, Jerome for taking Flat Leilani on that 10+ hour drive through the beautiful Maui countryside. Now, as I mentioned earlier, Jerome is the only guy to take Flat Leilani around. I'm sure you get the idea that being a guy, he didn't think about cutting her out and left her on her original page! LOL! So, although she had a good time, she did  get a little stiff on the long car ride. But, the main thing is everyone had a great time on Maui!

One more adventure to share and then it's time to celebrate our JOC Blog's First birthday! Thanks for checking in on us today and don't forget to visit us this weekend to join our virtual party!



A Super September!

Wow! It's been a long time since I've been in blogland and I must say it feels good to be back. September was full of adventures for me, Fridge and Flat Leilani.

We started off the month celebrating Mapunapuna BFC's renovation celebration on Saturday Sept. 4th. We were so happy to see our company's founder, fondly called Mr. K, there to help bless the store and untie the ribbon!

I had a lot of fun at my make and take table (recognize anybody!LOL!)

The following week I headed to Las Vegas for the Ho'olaulea held in Henderson on September 11 and 12. When I got there Thursday night, I had a long wait at the rent-a-car, so I couldn't resist taking this photo...I didn't know that you could "rent" money in Vegas (Yeah , right!) I just don't know about the "returning the cash" part!

I had a lot of fun showing people how to make leis and the Vegas ACE Crew kept people happy with the a local kine snacks. Flat Leilani helped me sell some flower hair picks.

We even had a special guest visit us at the booth, Miss Hawaii 2010, Jalee Fuselier.

Monday morning I left for Salt Lake City, Utah. Met with a bunch of other "crafties" and spent a couple of days sharing great ideas. Can't wait to share them all with you in the coming months.

I spent a few days in Orem visiting my niece and I got to see some other places around Utah. Here Flat Leilani checked out the plants along the walking trails leading to Provo Canyon Falls.

Another place I visited was in SLC, an area called Sugar House. I came across this beautiful park. There was a pond with a whole bunch of geese.

Fridge pointed out the beautiful mountains of Utah. My windshield's still dirty because it got splattered with bugs when I drove up to Idaho (it was more than a 3 hour drive to get there!)

It was a wonderful two weeks but I am glad to be home. And although Utah is the birthplace of scrapbooking, I say Lucky we Live Hawaii, because we have so many more paperarts stores to choose from and so many FUN Bloggers who share!

Thank you for stopping by today! Speaking of sharing, in the next few days, I will share a few more adventures Flat Leilani had with some friends. Then, please visit back this weekend, as the Joy of Crafting celebrates our One Year Birthday. Until then, Happy Crafting!