Second Joy of Crafting for July!

Here's what's on the second Joy of Crafting show for July! We had fun with our guests and their crafts!

Joel from Celebrations is back with a really creative and useful project, washi decorated notebooks! BTW, Celebrations will be having a "Washi Bombing" event the weekend of Aug 9 and 10. A fun day of washi madness, come and help "bomb" their wall with washi! Check Celebrations for more details.

Then, we have Jamie from Pearl City BFC teach us how to get ready for Back to School with one of the hottest trends, Rah Rah Ribbon Bows! It's not just for cheerleaders!

 

Lastly, I do some re-purposing by making origami baskets from old magazine pages! These are great for snacks or using at parties to put boiled peanut shells. We even have a project sheet, too!

Summer seems to be going by so fast! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to see this episode! Have a great week!

What's going on in there?!

Have you checked out our Paper Arts aisles recently? We've been moving a lot of things around, out and in! I'm mostly excited about the IN part! Yes, I'm talking about NEW Products!

Here's a peek at just a couple of new items! Spellbinders flower making dies! Can't wait to try these out, I love making paper flowers!

And these fun dies from Little B's. I got to see our friend Shane, formerly of EK Success, show me how cool these are at CHA. With these die sets, you get a lot of value because each set is jam packed with dies AND they come already on a magnetic sheet for storage. Now, how smart is that?!

So, as they say "please pardon our dust" as we re-do and up-do, but come and check it out!

Thanks for stopping by today and maybe I'll see you wandering the aisles, too!

MYO Aloha

Yes, Make Your Own Aloha! We have the RTD wood and paper mache alphabets that are perfect for painting on and embellishing.

Look at this beautiful ALOHA sample at the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts!

It reminds me to walk through different aisles in the stores because you never know what treasure you'll find!

Thank you for stopping by today and Happy ALOHA Monday!

Summer Keiki Craft Program

Young Crafters LOVE coming to our Summer Keiki Craft Program! It's great for the keiki to learn basic craft skills and fun new techniques while making 10 projects! By popular demand, we have a second session coming up the week of July 21 to July 25. Seats are limited, so hurry and sign up today!

 

 

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

Cool Crafts tomorrow!

Don't forget to join us at our "Snow Much Fun" event tomorrow at  all 6 HouseMart Ben Franklin Craft stores from 10 - 2!

You can make one of these cuties, a Snowman fan!For more details on the event, check here.

 

Thanks for stopping by on this Aloha Friday! Have a great weekend!



WeR Envelope Punch Board Mini File Book

"BTW, did I tell you that I LOVE my WeR Envelope Punch Board? What? You love yours, too? Of course you do! It's so cool, I'm making all kinds of stuff!" That's a very normal conversation between papercrafters lately. Then, there's the other conversation...

"Oh, I have one of those! But I haven't used it yet!"...silence. Those of us who have used it are usually in shock. Then, we snap out of it and proceed to help this poor soul get started using this wonderful tool. Especially since they have one sitting at home and it's just begging to break out of the packaging!

So, here's a fun and simple project we did this summer. First , you learn how to make mini file folders, all three third cut styles (left, middle and right tab). Then, you put it together into a fun mini book. Here's a project sheet with step-by-step photos.

Thanks for stopping by today! And please, go and check to see what crafting tool you need to set free! Happy Crafting!

"If I could save time in a bottle..."

Do you remember that song by Jim Croce? I was a little kid back then, probably didn't understand the whole meaning of the song but I could sing it from hearing it on the radio all the time.

When I see dioramas, fairy gardens or little dollhouses, it takes me to another place and I begin to imagine I am in that scene. I also like capturing my own thoughts and memories, too.

Using these tiny bottles is just perfect for that! For this one, I'm capturing the fun of summer memories with the sand and shells. Adding the loop on top so that it can hang, makes it into a sweet necklace or a tiny tree ornament.

Want to make your own? Check out the easy project sheet.

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you're having a Fun summer!

My favorite thing to make...for now!

My favorite project from this current ad is the Pom Pom Panda! I love pandas and I love this technique for making these cute pom poms!

I'm definitely going to stock up on some Red Heart Super Saver yarn (Yeah! They're on sale!) so I can make a whole menagerie! I think I'll tie them on my luggage, too! If you haven't had time to watch the free demos in the stores, here's the project sheet.

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

You Wood be Unique!

Really loving the new RTD wood pieces that have arrived in the HouseMart Ben Franklin Crafts stores!

Great as is, all on their own. But they could be decorated up, too! Use them for organizing and décor! Endless possibilities! Go check it out!

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

July's first JOC Show!

Fun Crafts and Fun Guests on this Joy of Crafting show! We start the show with one of favorite Guy Crafters, Joel Kutaka!

Joel from Celebrations shares a great project using washi tape. He shares some new techniques that I just gotta try!

Then, we get a preview for our upcoming store event, Snow Much Fun! Beth from Mapunapuna BFC shares one of the "Frozen" themed project you can make on July 12.

Our third guest, I was so excited to meet! Remember how I said I've been spending a lot of time on Instagram? Well, here's why! Through IG friends I got to meet JOY! She's on IG and loves Project Life.So, she shares some tips on how she puts together her layouts.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a blast this weekend! Hope you can catch the show!Happy Crafting!

Cool Crafts! Hot Ideas!

Join us one week from today at all of our 6 HouseMart Ben Franklin Crafts stores for a snow flurry of Craftivity!

Come to "Snow Much Fun", a craft event themed on one of the hottest movies around! There'll be demos and make and takes from 10 am - 2pm Saturday, July 12. Check out our fun and whimsical displays to get ideas for your next party and more!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a really great holiday weekend!

Welcome back...to me!

Hello Blogland, yes, it's been a while since I've been here. Instagram has been so addicting and this poor blog has suffered. But not anymore!

Last Saturday, I was at the Mapunapuna BFC store event, the Mustache Party. I didn't really have a mustache theme project so mine was just called "My Paper 'stache" So, I did a free make and take of a cute little box using my paper 'stache and the WeR envelope Punch Board. I Instagrammed quick how-tos, and shared it on Facebook and Twitter. But then I thought about it....

Blogging is the best way to show how-tos if it's not in a video. So, here goes...

Start with a 6"x6" card stock. Great! That means you can make 4 boxes from a 12"x12" Very economical and you can use your paper 'stache.

Place the left edge of the card stock on the WeR Envelope Punch Board at the 2 and punch and score.

Slide it over to the 4.

Punch and score.

Now , repeat on all 4 sides. Repeat after me "Punch and score at the 2 and 4!" That was my mantra all day last Saturday.

Turn the punch board around and insert each corner point into the punch to round each of the 4 points.

 

Take a 1/4" hole punch and punch near the tip of each point

Fold along each of the creased lines. Snip at four corners to the first creased line to make tabs.

 Place double stick tape on all 4 tabs.

 

Fold up into the box shape and tape the tabs in place.Place your treats inside. It can actually fit a nice size treat or a handful of candy.

Take some ribbon and feed through the holes as shown: Start from the hole on the right, thread the ribbon from the outside to the inside.Come back out and thread the ribbon through the top hole from the outside to the inside. Come back out and thread the ribbon through the bottom hole from the outside to the inside. Now, thread the ribbon through the last hole on the left, from the inside to the outside. The ends of the ribbons should be coming out from opposite ends, right and left. When you pull the ribbon ends, the top/bottom flaps should fold in and the side flaps with the ribbons coming out can be cinched up.

Tie into a bow to finish.

So, thank you for stopping by and Happy 4th of July!