Fun flowers...

It's ALOHA Friday!! what are your plans for the weekend??? as you know from yesterday's post, i'm gearing up for the big 60th Celebration at Ben Franklin Crafts Kahului tomorrow... Don't forget, the celebration is from 10am-2pm at the Kahului store located at the Queen Kaahumanu Center!

here is my demo part of the day... hoping i'll get to it, i don't really have a set schedule, i basically go with the flow, so hoping that this can be squeezed in some time before the festivities end...
a month or so ago i purchased this Carnation Dimensional Flower Punch by EK Success... i thought the cover of the packaging was really cool and what better way to make those hadnmade flowers than with a tool like this! well, like i said, i bought this a month or so ago and only now have i opened it up to use... haha!! did i hear someone say HOARDER??? yah, that's me... i'm glad i opened it though... it's really fun to use... i'm still learning how to shape my flowers but all in all it's been fun... psst, can you see my camera reflection??? LOL

wanted to tell you a little about the flowers i sampled... first off, you can use any 12x12 sheet of paper... double sided, one sided, printed or plain... it is up to your preference... you could use the the 11" side of regular 8.5x11 paper too, i haven't tried it but i'm sure you could... i wouldn't really recommend using any size less than 11" since you are rolling the flower in whole-ness... ok so here goes... the first flower (pink), i used double sided DP and punched out 2 strips, layered them on each other and formed my flower... see how full it is with 2 strips? this one i used a brad for the center.... the brad part doesn't go all the way to the back of the flower, so you'll have to glue or tape the top piece to the flower...

second flower (blue) i only used one strip of 12x12 solid CS... see the fullness difference from the first? again, it's by your preference, and it just comes down to how full you want your flower to look..

third flower (red/white) again, 12x12 strips of solid CS... i didn't add a center and i didn't fold down a few petals in the middle... it gives it that "still in bloom" look...

last flower (dots) used 2 strips of DP... same as the first except i added a button for the center...

you can be creative as you want to be with these flower punches... you could even use those scraps you've been wondering what to do with... the creative approach is endless... kinda wish i opened this new toy a little earlier... i could have trial and error more... guess there's still some time to do that right?! but these are so fun i'm thinking of getting maybe the daisy one... =D

okie dokie... that is all i have for you today... i hope you have an awesome friday and a fantastic weekend ahead... DON'T FORGET that tomorrow is the CUPCAKE BLOG HOP... click on the badge on the right side bar and it will take you to the beginning of the hop! until then, THANKS for taking a few minutes to catch up with me!! i enjoy reading your encouraging comments!!

Lollipop! Lollipop!

Hellllo Thursday! why did you have to come by so fast?!? hehe... being busy, i'm surprised i haven't lost track of the days yet... time yes, but the days.... i still get an A+ on that... =D

Ben Franklin Crafts 60th Anniversary Celebration here on Maui at the Kahului Store is this Saturday from 10am - 2 pm... from the advertisements i've seen, it sounds like it's gonna be a FUN FUN FUN day!! so if you live on the island or are here for a visit, don't forget to stop by the store... rumor has it that an iPad2 is up for grabs?!? =D

i was asked again if i had time to help out and what did i say?!?! OF COURSE!!! (as if the staff doesn't see me enough, LOL)! so i'm sharing my make n' take that i'll be doing that day...
wanted to stick with the celebration theme AND have it easy for the kids (or kids at heart) to make n' take home... after fiddling with a few ideas i got some inspiration from the Lollipop Covers found here on the BFC website... i just changed it up a bit to fit the theme... if clicked on the link to take a look at the inspiration, you'll notice that instead of making the cover (bottom) my main focus, i added an image to the stick instead...

after making these samples, i made some mental notes that these favors would be great as table deco or to list seating arrangements and more... really, you can actually do a lot with this simple project... by changing the papers you could have a baby theme, wedding shower, basically anything... personalize it anyway you want... but for my make n' take, what you see, is what you're gonna make! =D

so if you're in town for the day, stop by the store, check out all the haps and come by my table and say Hi! i'll let you make one too!! hehehe!

Mahalo for visiting with me today... i'll be back tomorrow with the demo i'll be doing at the celebration as well! ta-ta!!

Tags pt2

Hello Happy Monday!!! did you all have a wonderful weekend?! i sure hope so! my weekend was busy... but when am i not busy??? LOL... i had fun though...

Helped out at the Paper Party at BFC on Saturday which was lots of fun.... didn't get to see what the other girls were doing, but i still had fun with my make n' take and meeting and chatting with people... received many awesome compliments on my samples table which was truly the highlight of the day... hope i made an impression to sell some BFC products, hehe!... THANKS to the wonderful staff at BFC for a FANTABULOUS day!

so, here are the other 2 tags in my 4 tag make n' take....
the most wonderful thing about prepping the tags was i got to use a lot of paper scraps... still not enough to bring down the pile though... the tag to the left was made using the jumbo clever lever tag punch and the center solid CS was using spellbinders label 4 nestie... that was all premade and all they had to do was punch out the little cupcake pieces, adhere together on the tag and add a dew drop for the cherry/sprinkles.... the second tag was premade too... using scallop circle and circle nesties i precut the tags... on the solid white CS i stamped the cute Panda present image from Dandelion Designs and added the to/from (also from DD) inside the box... all they had to do was color the image and adhere the circles.... simple yah?!

alright... my back hurts a little from "rearranging" the craft room yesterday! LOL... yes i did a little more than clean... in fact, i basically just rearranged and have yet to attack and go through all the craft containers and really clean... i think i need a bit more of magic dust to get me going on that... hehe! nonetheless the craft room is more spacious and somewhat cleaned and organized... i'm ready to get crafting again! i'll try to today after what seems like our endless errands... but until my next creation to share, take care and i'll be back soon!

It's such a CINCH!

Bonkers! the day is half gone... sorry peeps... wasn't feeling so good last night and wasn't able to snap snap til now...

i hope i didn't scare your minds asking you to guess what yesterday's project was going to demo!! LOL... i tried to add key words of supplies in my write up... but seriously if i had to guess just by looking at the project i would have said nesties... haha! since the effort was to use different shaped nesties for the frames... BUT that wasn't it! it's actually a sample to demo the CINCH... i wanted to showcase that the Cinch can be used for other purposes besides binding... think of it as a hole punch with better features! took me long on punching holes in that project because the mid section isn't an even inch... but that's what's fabulous about the Cinch... trial and error until it's just right... =D

the creation today is another simple project demo-ing the Cinch in it's binding features....
a simple and easy recipe book! of course the main purpose of the demo will be binding... i'm very fond of the Cinch because you can create all types of binded projects... i'm a lefty and sometimes find it difficult to "write" with the bind to my left... so a lot of my personal use notebooks, etc. using the Cinch has the binding on the top... ahhh, comfort!
these are the inserts for the recipe book... trial and error again trying to print the words evenly and somewhat on the lines... LOL... i think i wasted half a pack of index cards to get it just right... because the cover is chipboard, you can jot down all your fave recipes in this book and when you need it, flip to the recipe and it will stand alone on your counter... can't really do that with regular recipe books that have soft covers... i know mine tend to fall down...

with the Cinch you can create many gift giving items like this book, or even notepads... or something outrageous like yesterday's wall hanging frames... hmmm, maybe you could make your own popular smash book! the possibilities are definitely endless....

join me Saturday at Ben Franklin Crafts Kahului, for the Cinch demo!! alright back to prepping some other stuff... tomorrow i'll have some cards to share... =D have a fabulous hump day!!

Having a blast!

Tadduh!!! told yah i'd be back.... =D

ok so today's sharing is something that took me a little more than 24 hours to complete due to stopping in between for mommy duties and breaks, but i'm very pleased with the outcome... puzzling in a few factors like me wanting to play in a challenge and having to create some samples for Ben Franklin Crafts Paper Party, i went to the extreme in creating something for that special little man in my life....

the challenge this was prepared for is TGF's FFCB Farm Fresh Friday challenge DOUBLE DUTY!! use 2 or more TGF stamps on your creation.... easy right?! maybe not for me this time... LOL... it's easy to use 2 or more of the cutie girly stamps on an approach to creating something really girly, but this time i challenged myself to make something for a boy... in that department i am a bit.... what's the word?? guess i could use challenged! LOL.... and here is the outcome.....
talk about extreme... layers and layers of the Bo Bunny Blast Off collection... it's a little hanging wall frame thing-a -majig... what is it really called?? anyway, i added 2 photos to show you that they are for pictures... Astronaut and Skater Ian helped to showcase my boyish theme... minus Astronaut's flag and Skater's skateboard... i'm so use to grabbing bling and glitz to add to my creations that i had to stop a few times and remind myself this is for my lil' boy... hehe! so i went with some dew drops and buttons... the mid section is also for pictures, but i couldn't find any to fit the frames right now... the frames are cut out with nesties and i added acetate to the back of the frame so the pictures won't get too dusty or ruined by exploring hands... i had fun playing with the different shapes and just swinging it... and all the holes were delicately planned out with trial and error using my cinch... love that thing! used my cropadile to add eyelets for a sturdier hold... and that's it... a little busier on the layout than i usually do, but i like it! what do you think of this??? thinking outside my zone again!!

ok, does anyone want to take a guess at what demo this creation is for?? hint, not what you normally would think by just looking at it!! hehe, is your mind racing again?! wanna know the answer, stop by tomorrow for the second project.... thanks for sharing a part of your day with me and i'll see you back here tomorrow!!

Ben Franklin Crafts sends ALOHA to Japan

Happy Aloha Friday everyone (whatever is left of it)!!! A quick stop in to let you all know about a FABULOUS happening around the islands of Hawaii!! As i am a faithful reader of the happenings on the Ben Franklin Crafts website (http://www.bfcraftclub.com/) i ran across this today....


i did lift this from the site to pass on to my fellow blogging sisters around the islands as i know there are many of you who have awesome hearts... the BFC stores around Oahu and on the Big Island as well as Maui, will be having a Make n' Give at the stores... they are allowing customers to make cards (with provided supplies) in the store on July 23rd and July 30th in efforts to send some Aloha to Japan... PLEASE read the flyer for more details (my pix is kinda small, but take the BFC link to read a bigger pix)... Some of us have busy schedules and may not be able to participate in this heartfelt event HOWEVER, i'm sure you could make some cards at home and drop them off to a store near you... deadline is July 30th.... NOW wouldn't that be a good deed?!? i hope you will join BFC and send some of your ALOHA to Japan.... more info can also be found on the Joy of Crafting blog too... there is no limit on how much to give and there is NO limit to just the peeps of Hawaii... if there is any of my blogging sisters/flowers from around the US or around the world that would like to donate some cards to this cause, by all means send them to me and i will deliver to our BFC here... please contact me for mailing addy... deadline for mailed cards will be July 29th and please take into consideration mailing time...

as many of you know, i recently participated in the TGF Cards for a Cause campaign with it's beneficiary being the students of Tagasako, and my children and i sent off lots of smiles, but i am in no means stopping there... i am definitely ALL for good cause projects and will be making some as well and maybe i can get my Mini Ambassadors to participate too... lets join hands, bring out our craft supplies and send some love.... who's with me?!?!

and on another note, i'll be joining Kahului BFC next weekend for their PAPER PARTY, Saturday, July 23rd from 10am-2pm... come down and check it out too! gonna be another great weekend of FUN (let me get through this one first though)!!! all night prepping here i come.... LOL... jus' kidding... Have an awesome weekend everyone and i'll be back soon with some creations i hope!