August's Second Joy of Crafting Show

Summer is ending soon, but the fun crafting continues! On this episode, we introduce a new friend and some favorite friends return with great craft ideas!

First, we welcome to the show, Alyson "Ally" Turner from Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts and she has a really fun and clever project! Making bracelets from jumbo craft sticks! Ally shows us this wonderful technique! You can use a lot of different things to decorate the unfinished bracelet, too!

Then, Jenny Floro shows us how to create the popular ombre look with our new Vintage glitter line!

Savannah from Celebrations is back with another great wrapping idea. This time she uses Flower Wrapper to create a cool juice can gift!

Lastly, I sneak in with a quick (don't blink!) burlap flower idea!

Hope you get a chance to see the show! Happy Crafting and enjoy the rest of your Summer!

New Joy of Crafting Show for August!

Hope everyone is enjoying the last days of Summer! Tonight, we have a new show for August and it's full of fun ideas!

I start off the show with one of my favorite new paints! Deco Art's Multi Surface paints are the perfect paint for a variety of projects. You can use the same paint on metal, glass, wood...as the name says, Multi surfaces! Plus, the colors are just fabulous!

Then, we have Savannah from Celebrations back to share some great ideas for pillow box decorating!

I couldn't wait for this next segment to air because it's all about Project Life! Not sure what PL is all about? Don't worry, I'll give you a quick overview and share one of my favorite weeks so far!

Lastly, we have a segment we taped earlier but didn't have enough time to air. Shane Hershey from EK Success shows us how to use the Circle Scissors Pro, a really easy to use circle cutter, as he makes paper fortune cookies.

Have you been watching the show lately? Noticed anything different at the end? Leave a comment if you do and let me know what you think, yah or nay. I'll reward one random commentor with a Ben Franklin Crafts Gift card for the help!

Hope you get a chance to see this show! Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

July's second Joy of Crafting Show

Tonight, the second Joy of Crafting show for July debuts and we have some new crafts and a new crafter!

First, we welcome Savannah from the Celebrations store next to Ben Franklin Crafts in Mapunapuna. She shows us how to use clear crystal pack bags to create a fun palm tree favor.
(BTW, Celebrations will be moving a few doors down the hall, closer to Ben Franklin Crafts this week. They will be closed during this move from Monday, July 22 to Thursday, July 25)

Next, we have Kimberly from Hero Arts back to share another project using the cool new "Stamp Your Story" line.This time, she makes some tags that can be assembled into a little mini book.

Then, our Sizzix girls are back, Cheri and Cheryl. They use a new Scoreboard die to make a very pretty free-standing window box. I love this die, I think I want to make a Halloween window with it, complete with cobwebs and spiders!

Thank you for stopping by the blog today and I hope you get a chance to catch the show! Hope you watch until the very end, there's a new feature we've added! Happy Crafting!

July's Joy of Crafting Show

For July, we have some favorite guests returning to the show with new craft ideas! Come and check it out!

Our first guest is Kimberly McCausland from Hero Arts rubber stamps. Actually, Kimberly has been on the show before when she worked with Stampendous rubber stamps. We're so Happy to have her back on the show!

 

Kimberly introduces Hero Arts'  new line called "Stamp Your Story" (I love this collection!) The designs are so on trend right now and they're great for Project Life! She also uses another hot trend, Neon inks! The colors are just so perfect for Summer projects.

Next, we have Dean Anthony Ramos, who always amazes me with his crafting ideas. This time, he is playing with Perler Beads, remember those? Well, it's making a comeback and is another hot trend with these updated fun designs!

Last, but not least, are our Sizzix girls, Cheryl and Cheri! I just love this project they are sharing, it's another cool pop-up card!

I can just see using this chair design for so many occasions! And I just love the embossing folder that goes with it, so cute!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can find the time to watch the show and get some crafty ideas! Hope you're having a FUN Summer!

May's Second Joy of Crafting Show

On this second show for May, we are continuing our lei making and more!

 Our first lei is the Blooming Pikake from our latest Handcrafted Lei and Flowers book. Colleen from our Mapunapuna store shows us how to make this beautiful lei.

Then,  we have Dean Anthony, our Relay for Life Captain. Dean  makes a personalized luminaria and tells us how you can get involved in Relay for Life. Our Oahu stores will also have luminaria making workshops in June, see the stores for details.

Lastly, Gloria from Pearl City shows us how to make the Dragon Lei from our latest lei book. It's a great lei for all kinds of occasions.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you've enjoyed your weekend!

Tim Holtz Burlap Panels

In January, I was really lucky to get to take Tim Holtz' class at CHA. It's always fun to see what he comes up with!

In the class, he introduced his new burlap covered panels. The cool thing about his panels is that underneath, they are solid wood. Which means you can screw things into it and attach stuff without the panel getting all floppy on you. These panels are now in our stores.

Here's the project we made. We used the pair of two smaller panels and covered them with LOTS of his embellishments and new Sizzix dies. As you can see, we did screw things in and let them dangle, like the key and metal tag.

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

Keep on truckin' with Art!

One of the 10 finalists' Truck Designs by Kristie Kam, winner of the Live Facebook Voting.

Ben Franklin Crafts co-sponsored Diamond Bakery's Truck Design Contest and the winner will be announced at a reception this Saturday at Mark's Garage.

I will be there as part of the judging panel. Ten finalists have been chosen and the talented winner will receive $2000 cash for their design. But the best part is that their design will be on Diamond Bakery's brand new truck, for everyone to see as it drives around the island making deliveries. I think that is so Cool!

If I was the winner, I would start an Instagram account and have people send me pics whenever they spot it.

You can view all of the ten finalists' designs here and you are also welcome to join us at the reception honoring these creative individuals. The event is from 4:30 - 5:30 pm at Mark's garage in downtown Honolulu.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope to see you on Saturday!

Put a leash on it!

So, our company has a pedometer step challenge going on between the stores and offices. Together, we hope to walk enough steps to total walking to the moon and back, promoting healthy living. All employees received a pedometer to track their steps.

In our Honolulu office, we have a monthly challenge going on between the upstairs and downstairs groups. Everyone is trying hard to do their part. The problem is, sometimes the pedometers unclip and fall off. If you lose your pedometer, there's a huge step penalty deducted from your total. I've had a few scares, thinking I lost my pedometer, only to find it on my car seat or somewhere else. Afterall,  I don't want to let my team down!

So, I made a leash for my pedometer. I used a swivel badge clip, some inexpensive chain, split rings and a cute beaded charm gift.

I cut the chain to about 8" long. Attached one end to the badge clip with a split ring. I thought using a split ring would be more secure than using a jump ring.

I used another split ring to attach the other end of the chain to this cute beaded charm I received from @handmadecute (you really need to check out her blog!)

Slipped the charm holder around the pedometer clip.

Done! Now, I have extra security so I won't lose my pedometer. Before cell phones, I remember I had something similar for my pager.

BTW, our downstairs team won the first month's challenge by over 300,000 steps! So, today, my teammates and I will enjoy lunch served by the upstairs office. Whoo Hoo!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great week, too! Keep on Crafting, Keep on Stepping!

Mom's Day Card

My Mom likes simple things, so this is the card I made for her for Mother's Day. Layout is inspiration from @joscie.

Floral paper is from Echo Park's Sweet Girl line. Flowers and leaves were made with a Sizzix Thinlit die.

I couldn't find my stash of bling, so I used the Amercian Crafts Glitter tape that I used on the card to punch out centers with my 1/4" hole punch. It worked,they matched! Sweet and Simple!

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

May's First Joy of Crafting Show

May is a month to celebrate! On this first show for May, we help you get ready with some lei making and a great Mother's day idea!

 First, we have Gloria A.from our Pearl City store show us how to make one of the beautiful ribbon lei from our newest Handcrafted Lei and Flowers Book, volume 11!

Gloria shows us how to make the Himawari Musume Lei.

 

 Next, we have a really special guest for Mother's day. We have Esme Infante-Nii from Moms in Hawaii. While Esme explains what her group does to support and empower Moms, she also puts together a simple and cute flower pot photo holder. (Dads, I know you watch the show! This would easy for you and the kids to make for Mom!)

 

Then, we cap off the show with more lei making! Cheri Ann L. from Market City Ben Franklin Crafts shows us how to make the 3-straw and 4-straw round leis. Great for those upcoming graduations!

 

Thank You for stopping by, I know it's been awhile so I thank you for your patience and support! Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms and Moms-at Heart!

 

***See my earlier post of why I've been MIA

 

 

hello...i'm back!

Yes, it's been a while since I've posted so let me tell you what's been happening. This blog was getting bombed with lots of "robot" comments that had links to other business sites. It was getting ridiculous! Whenever I did a new post, I would get a whole bunch. Then, even when I didn't post, I was still getting some. I get alerts on my phone and my computer so there were a lot of emails I had to delete throughout the day. And then, I would go back and look for the posts and delete them only to have more robot comments posted.UGHH!

I really debated about adding the comment modification and the captcha requirement. I know that sometimes that discourages people from posting comments because, let's face it, it's humbug! But I figured it had to be done in order for me to get back to this blog.

Well, I finally decided to do it and it's been over a week that I haven't had any robot hits.

I feel like I finally caught that B-52 roach, Wham! went the slippah!

So, I'll be back posting, see you soon! Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!

March's Second Joy of Crafting Show

National Craft Month has been a fun creative mix of ideas and inspiration. On this second show, we have more fun ideas to share!

Joscie is back with another cool card design. It's really amazing to see her put everything together!

Then, we have Cheryl using the Sizzix eclips to cut out a box. But, the fun part is when she shares how to use the Sizzix stamp and die sets. Those dies really make it easy to cut those images out!

 

I cap off the show with one of my favorite new items...FANS! They are ready to decorate and the possibilities are limitless! You can use them for Grads, 1st birthdays, baby showers, wedding invites, just so many occasions. And don't forget about sports! We even have a die so that you can cut out printed papers or computer generated designs, perfectly centered!

 

Thanks for stopping by today...hope you get a chance to watch the show! Happy Spring Crafting!

What are those things for?

Have you seen those clear shelving units, divided up into 8 individual cube spaces in the Ben Franklin Craft Stores? Are you wondering if we're going to start carrying pets for sale?

Well, no, their not for pets. These are our new, fun way for crafters to sell their handmade treasures. It's called "My Locker" and there are 8 spaces available per unit with the monthly rental fee ranging from $30 - $50, depending on the locker level.

You rent the locker, fill it up with your crafts (all price tagged) and we'll collect the sales for you. You get 100% of your sales. You can add more things as you sell down, change them out , rearrange your display,etc. This little locker is your little store. I think of it as Etsy in person, which is great for the customers who like to see the actual thing they are buying.

This particular locker is at the front of the Bead Shoppe in the Mapunapuna store. The owner of TheForbeadin  Collection was just setting up her display. Really cute nice stuff and a variety of jewelry styles.

So, for the people who like to make and sell, come and check it out this new program. It's a great way to sell between craft fairs. And for those who'd rather shop and buy, come and check out what these crafters are offering. Gorgeous stuff!

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you're having a fun weekend!

Crafters are so Sweet!

I just gotta share how sweet Jayne from Handmade Cuties is! She was one of the recent winners for the Valentine's Day contest and look what she sent me along with her Thank You card...

Jayne used this blank card she got from Shirl of Creations by Shirl for her Thank You card

She sent these 5 charms so I could share them with my lunch bunch. She remembered that my lunch bunch helped me pick the random winners.

If you don't know about Handmade Cuties, then you are definitely missing out! Jayne designs and beads the most cutest beaded charms and jewelry you can imagine!

The two girls from my lunch bunch adopted the bunnies.

 

Two of the IT guys took the bookworms!Let's just say that my IT guys are really, REALLY impressed. At first, they just couldn't fathom the idea that these are beaded by hand with such tiny, tiny beads!

 

My other IT guy said it was too tiny for him, he might lose it so I kept the music notes. And I'm going to attach it to my iPod.

 

So, I just wanted to THANK YOU, Jayne! It was a really nice surprise, talk about Happy Mail!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you all are having as wonderful a day as me and my lunch bunch is!

March's First Joy of Crafting Show

March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating on the show with some special crafters! We start the show off with one of our favorite craft toys...Sizzix!

 

Cheryl shows us how to use the Pop'n Cuts line of dies. They are so cool! And, because they are interchangeable, the ideas are limitless!

 

This frame die is so much fun! Plus, the Sizzix dies are on sale at our Ben Franklin Crafts stores until Friday, March 8th!

Our next special guest is a national celebrity! Joscelyne Cutchens is the 2012 Paper Crafts magazine  Gallery Idol! After weeks of online voting, she came out on top! So, honored to have Joscie on our show!

Here, she shows us her creative style of cardmaking and gives us lots of tips, too! You should check out her blog, OHScrap!, so many creative ideas and really great photos!

And lastly, I show you how you can express yourself by making your own iron-ons with Ink Effects!I think I'm addicted to this stuff! It's so easy to use and perfect for the keiki, too!

Thank You for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to watch the show! Happy Crafting!