Penguin Lollipop Covers how-tos

Hello, Happy Tuesday! Can you say "Penguin Pops from paper punched pieces" five times really fast?! OK, untwist your tongue!LOL!

I just wanted to share my how-tos for making the Penguin Lollipop covers I did as a make-it and take-it at last Saturday's 60th Celebration on Maui. It's all made with punches, which is really great since the Marvy Uchida punches are on sale at our Ben Franklin Craft stores until the end of October.

Here's what you need: Black cardstock, white cardstock, Bazzill Bling Glitz Blue cardstock, orange cardstock, red cardstock, printed cardstock, Marvy Uchida Shipping Tag - Giga (purple), MU Oval - Mega (pink), MU Oval - Super (blue) , MU Heart Punch - Extra Jumbo(yellow), MU Star - Standard (orange), MU Star - Jumbo (green), EK Success 5/16" circle, Fiskars 1/4" hole punch, Fiskars 1/4" Heart punch,Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, Meriken Double stick tape (3/6" or 1/4"), Galaxy Marker - Broad White, ribbon for bow and a See's lollipop.

First you need to punch out a white oval with the MU oval punch - super (blue).

Next, use the EK Success5/16" punch to make two circles for the eyes.

Take a scrap of the Bazzill Bling -Glitz Blue and tape to the backside, covering the openings of the holes.

Take the Fiskars 1/4" hole punch and punch a hole in each of the blue circle eyes.

Punch out an oval with the MU oval punch - mega (pink) in black cardstock. Place the white oval on top of the black oval and tape in place.The black will show through the openings of the eyes.

Use a broad Galaxy marker in white and make a small dot in each eye for highlights.

Punch a star from orange cardstock using the MU star punch - jumbo (green). Cut one of the triangular tips off for the beak. Glue the beak below the eyes, using a Sakura Quickie glue pen.

Use the Fiskars 1/4" heart punch and punch put two hearts in red cardstock. Glue on either side of the beak for the "cheeks"

Punch out two mini stars with the MU star punch - standard (orange) from orange cardstock. At the bottom of the penguin, place the two stars behind the body with three points sticking out. Tape from the back for the feet.

Punch a tag from printed cardstock using the MU shipping tag punch - giga (purple). Punch a 1/4" hole about 1/2" from the point of the tag. Place the penguin on the tag above the hole and tape in place.

Take the MU heart punch - extra jumbo (yellow) and punch out one heart from black cardstock. Cut the heart in half. Place one half on either side of the body for the wings. Tape in place.

Slip the See's lollipop behind the tag, putting the stick through the hole. Tape the tag to the lollipop wrapper Tie a bow with the ribbon around the stick below the tag.

It's a really easy project to do, I had lots of little kids making them as well as the adults. Have fun!
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

Facebook Friday's winner!

Last week, on the Joy of Crafting Facebook page, I asked everyone, what are your 3 favorite craft projects to make. We had some great sharing and some funny replies, too!

Well, now is time to announce the lucky random winner, who is....

And number 4 is Nyla Agtang!

Congratulations, Nyla! Please send me your address so I can mail you your prize! joyofcrafting@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who played and shared their favorite types of crafts. Thanks to all of you for stopping by today and I hope you have a great week! Happy Crafting!

October's second show!

Geez, this month is going by really fast! The second Joy of Crafting for October premieres tonight with some last minute Halloween ideas as well as some Christmas.

The show starts with Jenny Floro from Enchanted Lake BFC. She starts with a paper mache cone with base and turns it into a cool Witch's Hat centerpiece.Here's a project sheet.

Later, you can turn the hat into a Christmas tree decoration like these, just use your imagination!

Then, Lynn Hashino from our Mapunapuna BFC shares with us a cute jewelry project that is perfect as a gift or just to wear yourself!

Lynn shows us how easy it is to make a cute pendant, she even shares some cool crafting techniques with a nail clipper! You can use the same technique to make these bracelets, just change up the connecting findings.

Lastly, I show you how to make a Box Card! I make a Halloween version but you can use it for other occassions, too. It can even hold a gift card, a small piece of chocolate or even put a photo inside! We do have a project sheet, too.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great weekend! Don't forget 6:30 pm tonight (when this show premieres) is the deadline to answer  the Facebook Friday question on the Joy of Crafting FB page! Happy Crafting!

Facebook Friday - Celebrating!

Happy Aloha Friday Everybody! It's the start of another Fun weekend!

Tomorrow, we'll be on Maui at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center for our company's 3rd Hawaii 60th Anniversary celebration. We are having so much fun with all the make and takes, demos and crazy 60 second games.I'll be doing 2 make and takes, a mini purse in the morning and a penguin lollipop in the afternoon.I'll share my penguin pop instructions later next week.

Today, you can go to the Joy of Crafting Facebook page to enter this week's Facebook Friday contest. Last week, we had so much fun learning about everybody's 5 favorite craft things. This week, I was going to ask for 60 things but I figured that might be too long, so I'm asking for only three. Go and find out what three!You have until Sunday night  6:30 pm to share your thoughts. Because at 6:30 pm, you'll probably be watching the new episode of the Joy of Crafting show! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you all have a great weekend! If you're on Maui, please drop by, it's going to be a lot of fun!

What's NEW Wednesday - Vintaj and Sizzix!

Sorry, I just didn't feel like bringing home lunch today, so instead of what's for lunch, I have what's new!

My two loves are coming together in one project! I get to use my Sizzix Big Shot with the new Vintaj line by Sizzix! The two companies have teamed up to make some great embossing folders and etching dies so you can create some beautiful jewelry or paper craft embellishments.



Vintaj Blank metal piece

 You could use the plastic embossing folders with the Vintaj jewelry blanks but these new embossing folders  are perfect because the designs are scaled down and the metal really makes great impressions.

Deco Etch dies look like...well, they look like dies. You place the metal blank on the design area you want and run it through your Big Shot like a Sizzlit die.

You get a lightly etched design. I lightly sanded the piece to ring out the design.

Deco Emboss is a metal embossing folder that makes a deep embossed design.

You get a really nice impression. I lightly sand the pieces to bring out the design more.

I really liked the Deco Emboss one a lot because after I sanded both sides, I got a different look on each side!

I just had to share these because it's so much fun and so fast and easy to make these pieces.I might color them up with Alcohol Inks or Copics! Now, to think of what I'm going to make with them!

You'll find them in our Bead Shoppes (Hilo, Kahului and Mapunapuna) and there's even a special edition Vintaj Big Kick!

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

Facebook Friday Winner!

Since there were 30 different people in the contest who shared what their 5 favorite craft things were, Flat Leilani suggested I use Random .org. She's really smart so I that is what I did.

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Eva Uyeunten!

Thanks to everyone who played along. Go and check out what everyone's 5 faves are at Joy of Crafting Facebook page.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a Great Weekend!Happy Crafting!

Facebook Friday - I hit a milestone and didn't even know it!

I was looking at my blog yesterday and I noticed I have 100 followers! When did that happen? Well, I think it qualifies as some kind of milestone or something, like when your car hits the 100, 000 mark on the odometer.

Well, I know you don't want to win an oil change!LOL! So, let's do something else. Hmmmm...

Today is my first official Facebook Friday. So, here's what you do. Go to the Joy of Crafting Facebook page and leave your answer there. Here's the question:

Listing 100 things would be too long, so what are your 5 favorite crafting things you use? Check the Facebook page for my answer!

You have until Saturday morning 10 am HST to enter. Then, Flat Leilani and I will gather all the names and randomly find a winner to give a $25 gift card to!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a Great Weekend!

He-art Journaling

As I mentioned before, I am participating in TGF's 23 week He-art Journaling class/challenge. So far, all the Hawaii girls I know have been keeping up. Yeah!

We are on Week 11 which was about Growing. For my page, I used watercolors. What I wanted to convey was the contrast of the dreary surroundings versus the Happy "love showered" Flower, All things grow with Love!

Last week, was #10 and we had to include some kind of tearing technique, which I do a LOT anyway. But, I really didn't know what to do. So, I made trees and tore cardstock for the leaves and grass. I used Pooh stickers and my theme was "the Wisdom of Pooh is Priceless" I do believe that is true. Sometimes you just need to ask, what would Pooh and his friends do?

For Week 9 we had to use a "head" and make a different body. Since I was traveling to Nebraska, I looked for faces in the People magazine I had bought for the plane ride and found just what I wanted. Made these pages in my hotel room at night. Maid must've thought what kind of weirdo was in the room with all the torn pages and bits of watercolored papers in the trash!

Week 7 was about Clouds. OK, I really don't like the drawings I made but I just really wanted to imitate the Peanut's comic strip that showed Lucy, Linus and Charlie Brown looking at the clouds. I  included the famous conversation they had. Like I said, I'm with Charlie Brown, I just see the duckies and the horsies in the clouds, nothing super brainy like Linus!

Week 6 was about Text or Words. So I wrote a lot about how Social Media is in our lives, but if you read my little thoughts in between, it really is more than words.

Week 5 was about Paper Piecing. So, I made flowers and stuff. Used the TV guide as the background and heart circled The Joy of Crafting timeslot! LOL!

Week 3 was about Gratitude. I'm thankful for so much but I really wanted to have just one focus. So, I wrote about how I am grateful for my sister.

It's been fun and challenging at the same time. I'm always really  happy when I finish the page(s). At one point I was getting a little frustrated because it seemed that each week's theme was something I had done already the week before. But, I have found that I really like to watercolor, even if I'm not great at it. Maybe I'll use it in my cardmaking, too.

Well, Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great week! Stop by tomorrow to find out what Facebook Friday is going to be about!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, plus some winners!

OK, no I am not having "wieners" for lunch...but I do want to first announce that I decided to let Flat Leilani pick TWO winners for the Twitter Tuesday Contest. All the names were thrown in the bag. She had some tape on her and the two names that stuck to her, won.

Congrats to Creative Grammie! and @IheartMyMelody. Since this is my 2nd Blogaversary, you both will receive a $25 Gift Card! Thanks everyone for playing. Check back Friday for ....Facebook Friday!

Now, for more important stuff...what's for lunch? Well, actually I noticed that we have a lot of food related stuff in our Ben Franklin Craft stores. So today, I decide I wanted to use one of our latest finds and make...Poke Push Ups!

Push Up Pops are those cool re-usable plastic containers that let you stack layers of yumminess. They even have a snap on lid to keep everything nice and fresh. Then, to eat, just slowly push up the bottom stick and eat as much of a layer as you want.

So here's my first Poke Push Up - Spicy Ahi. First, I layered some rice.

Then, the Spicy Ahi poke.

 Then, more rice, more poke and sprinkled with some nori. Oh, so ONO!

Then, I made one with Shoyu Ahi poke.

And one with Sesame Tako, Oh So ONO!

Then, I decided that I wanted a nice "light" dessert, so I made a Trifle. A layer of Pound cake, some Cool Whip, little strawberry Jello, repeat and EAT!

Oh, I think I'm gonna like these "What's for Lunch Wednesdays" might have to do it again next week!
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're having a great day and you had a GREAT lunch, too!

Let's Play Twitter Tuesday!

OK, so I just sent out my Twitter Tuesday question. Now, I understand some of you may not have a Twitter handle...but I'll let you play, too!

Follow Flat Leilani's arrow

Look over there, to the right...see the Twitter feed? It has the question. But instead of tweeting back, I'll let you answer here by leaving a comment.
THNX 4 stoppG by 2day! Have a Tweet Day!

Rockin' Craftober! So much to Celebrate!

October is one of my favorite months because it is the anniversary month for both the Joy of Crafting on OC16 (9 years! Whoo Hoo!) and the for the Joy of Crafting Blog (still baby yet @ 2 years!) Plus, this year we are celebrating our company's 60 Year anniversary! Wow!

On Saturday, we were at Lihue Ace Hardware for the island of Kauai's 60th celebration, 2nd stop on our island hopping tour.We were happy to have Miss Hawaii 2011 Lauren Cheape as our special guest emcee.

She did a great job with the 60-second Showdown challenges. The crowd were great contestants, too! See, them playing Bucket Head here.

I don't have too many photos because I was kept busy with my make 'n takes. Here's the first project I did, a Box Card in honor of World Cardmaking Day!

Box Card closed with Band





Box Card open with Band

One of my favorite parts of the day is when we start serving the cake. I ALWAYS need to have a slice so I can report back the flavor to the planning committee, LOL!So far, all the cakes have been yummy!

Our next 60th celebration is on the island of Maui on Saturday October 15 from 10am to 2 pm at the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center. We'll have activities going on in the Ben Franklin Crafts Store as well as the center court of the mall. Don't forget, we're also giving away an iPad2 at each of these events so that you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook, plus our websites and blogs!

But Wait! There's more to my post today! Yes, I am celebrating all that is the Joy of Crafting! So, tomorrow, I'm starting Twitter Tuesday! Tomorrow at 10 am HST @joyofcrafting is going to tweet a question and will give you all a chance to tweet back the answer to me. Then, we'll pick a random winner from all the tweets! But Wait there's more! On Friday, join me for Facebook Friday for another challenge!

Happy Monday Everybody! Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you check us out all month long for Craftober with the Joy of Crafting!

October's first Joy of Crafting Show!

Can you believe it? It's already Craftober! Well, we have an exciting show for you premiering tonight!

We start with Lynn Hashino from Mapunapuna BFC who has been venturing out from the Bead Shoppe and getting addicted to papercrafting!

Lynn came up with these adorable "kawaii" anime look candy stick bag characters.In her segment, she shows you how to make the vampire, almost all done using punches. If you want to learn how to make the other characters, go visit the Mapunapuna store and see their spooktacular display!

October isn't just Craftober, it's also Pinktober at Hard Rock Cafe, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Once again, Deb from Rubber Stamp Plantation and her creative friends are producing the Artful Bra project. Here is Jill Gilboy from Hard Rock Cafe and Deb with some of the creations for the Artful Bra.

The deadline to make a bra is now October 10 and you can drop off your 36C bra creation at any of the Oahu Ben Franklin Crafts stores or at Deb's studio. The big silent auction and party is Saturday, October 15 at Hard Rock Cafe Waikiki from 6 pm. Hope to see you there!

Lastly, I share with you one of my blog projects from June. I actually show you how easy it is to make your own Bird Nest Ring . It's great as a gift and easy enough for even non-wire wrappers to  make.

Well, thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to catch the show! Happy Crafting!

Celebrating 60!

Hi! Remember me? Yes, it's been some time since I've posted. I've been busy getting ready for our company's 60th Anniversary celebrations. We have something planned for Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island . All within the next 8 weeks! It's so exciting to be able to celebrate the fact that our company has been locally owned and operated for 60 years! WOW!

We're also getting ready for the next 60 years and we've been really getting our toes wet in the wonderful world of the internet. For Ben Franklin Crafts we have our website, you can sign-up for our e-mail newsletter, Craft Connections, we have a twitter handle @bfcrafts and we just started on Facebook.

Speaking of Facebook...it's funny because I quietly started a Joy of Crafting Facebook page and you smart crafters found me! Thanks for Liking me, I hope to start doing some fun stuff there, too. You can also follow me on  twitter @joyofcrafting.

So all this talk about the web...where is this leading, too? An ipad2 giveaway of course!

We want to make sure you can Like us and Follow us so we're going to give away an ipad2 to one Lucky winner at this Saturday's 60th celebration at our Mapunapuna store location!

Besides the ipad2, there's going to be TWO 60 Second Shopping Sprees and a bunch of other door prizes throughout the party.60 Second Showdowns and fun make-it and take-its and demos!

So, please join us for this fun filled celebration on Saturday, September 17 from 10am to 2 pm. See you there!

First September Joy of Crafting Show

September always makes me think of Back-to-School, even though the keiki have been there for a month now! And, it makes me think of learning new things...and that's what we have in store for you on the first September Joy of Crafting Show!

We start off with Cheryl Miyashiro who introduces us to the Sizzix eclips machine! It's an electronic die cutting machine that does so much cool stuff!

Cheryl's project is this cute pillow box, which showed us that the eclips not only cuts the box out, but it scores the fold lines, too!

The pen holder feature also allows you to use a glue pen so you can add glitter...you'll just be amazed at the different features of this machine!Look! That's the cool controls, just like playing a game!

Next, we share with you the latest fashion trend...Hair Feathers! Nicole from Market City BFC shows how easy it is to add colorful highlights to your hair, fast and easy!

There's lots of colors to choose from, great for showing your school spirit at the football games!

For another fashion trend, Deb from Rubber Stamp Plantation, shows us how to make some cool Scrabble tile jewelry!

A great way to re-purpose your old tiles, these jewelry pieces just match our island living with whenyou make them with Deb's fabulous stickers!

So, hope you get to catch the show and Thank You for stopping by today!Wishing you ALL a Fun & Safe Labor Day Holiday!