Chewie Valentine

Hi, Crafters!

Can you guys believe that Valentine's Day is two weeks away?  So fast!

We've all been getting into the Love Day spirit at our stores; writing love notes on the tile floors with acrylic markers, painting up some of our new wood palettes in rosy colors and 

Mod Podging some Valentine's scrapbook paper onto our new Snippets chipboard heart shapes!  Today, I'll show you how to make a really cute and simple Valentine inspired by our favorite Wookie.

Supplies Needed

Snippets Heart Lock & Key Chipboard set

Brown Eyelash Yarn 

Black Paint

Light Green Paint 

Brown and Silver Cardstock Scraps

Scissors

Hot Glue Gun

All you need to do is hot glue an end of yarn to the bottom of the heart-shaped chipboard and wrap continuously until the entire heart is covered in yarn.  A few dabs of hot glue here and there while wrapping will help keep things secure.  Once that's done, cut a 1/2" x 3 1/2" strip out of the brown paper and hot glue small squares of silver paper onto it.  Hot glue it onto the Chewie heart.  After this, you can leave it as it is, or make a little Lightsaber out of the key.  I chose to make mine green like Yoda's, but you can always make it blue, red, purple or red as well.

That's all there is to it!

Have fun and see you all next week!

Erika@PC

NEW Spring Sprinkles & Chocolate Shavings

Hey Everyone!

Just to let you know, all the Ben Franklin stores just got in this new line of Spring Sprinkles and Chocolate Shavings for Baking!

They are too cute!!!

There are 4 colors in the "grass" candy shred: 

Lime Green, Purple, Blue, and Hot Pink!

There are also 3 shimmering shapes:

Confetti Dots, Daisies, and Butterflies!

And of course our new 

Chocolate Shavings and Sprinkles!!!

Which includes:

White Chocolate Pearls, Marbled Chocolate Curls, Dark Chocolate Curls, and Milk Chocolate Flakes!!

MMmmmmm!!!

And a big thanks to Julie @Enchanted Lake for making this delicious cupcake for us!

All the fun things you can do!

Happy Baking!!!

-Bethany @EnchantedLake

Cheers To Chipboard!

Chipboard helps make the perfect project, especially for Valentine's Day! Watch these Crankin' Out Crafts episodes for some Ideas & Inspiration!

Crankin' Out Crafts, Episode 457 - Glittered Chipboard

JFlo shows you how to glitter chipboard shapes with ease. This is a great technique to embellish a frame, give a little pizzazz to your decor or create a magnetic holder like Bethany from BFC Enchanted Lake.

You will need:

Chipboard
Mod Podge Gloss
Brush
Glitter

Watch the episode on YouTube here: Crankin’ Out Crafts: Episode 457 – Glittered Chipboard

Crankin'Out Crafts, Episode 458 - Love Decor

Here is an EASY Project you can do for Valentine's decor. All you’ll need are chipboard, glitter paper, E6000 glue and a frame.

Watch the episode on YouTube here: 

Crankin’ Out Crafts: Episode 458 – Love Decor

Crankin' Out Crafts, Episode 459 - Memory Keepers

 
Accessorize your one-of-a-kind mat for your sweetie on Valentine's Day or create an entire wood pallet to display your photos and keepsakes.

You will need:
Mat
Frame
Gel pen
Photo
Wood pallet
Clothespins
E6000 Glue
Photos
Acrylic Marker
Chipboard/Embellishments


Watch the episode on YouTube here: Crankin’ Out Crafts: Episode 459 – Memory Keepers

Kids Craft - Butterfly Box

We are going to learn how to make a cute kids craft that can double as a Valentine's Day gift! 

SUPPLIES:

PAPER MACHE BUTTERFLY BOX these come in two sizes, roughly 3 in & 4.5 in

CARDSTOCK colorful colors with prints are best. I used blue polka dots

HOT GLUE GUN/GLUE STICKS any size or temperature is fine. Low Temp hardens much faster, but is safer for kids. We also offer the "Cool Shot" which is a cool to the touch glue gun that uses special sticks that melt in very low temperatures.

BLACK PAINT PEN I used the Deco oil based fine tip marker

ACRYLIC PAINT in fun colors. I used chocolate cherry, brown, and blue

COURSE/THICK HAIR BRUSH the thick hair will make it easier to get that "wood" look

BUMPY CHENILLE STEMS I used black, but feel free to play with color! These fun fuzzy stems come in a few colors including pink & brown

BLACK PONY BEADS we sell several colors of small packs for less than $2





 
First step is to take the lid of our box and trace it on our cardstock paper.


Cut out butterfly shape and then cut into 3 sections, so that the body part is taken out.


Put wings off to the side for now. 

Next paint the lid of the box with blue acrylic paint. Wait about 5-10 minutes to dry depending on how thickly the paint is applied.

OPTIONAL:

You can cut your wing pieces to be more detailed in outline so they will really POP and look realistic. Feel free to experiment! If the wing is smaller than the outline cutout, it will fit just fine on the lid of your box.

Next take your glue gun and apply a line of glue to the edge of the wing. Hold it on to your lid at an angle until the glue hardens enough to not fall flat.

Don't forget to leave a space in the middle for the body of your butterfly!

Then, take your bumpy Chenille Stem and cut off the first bump.

Next, take one Poly Bead and slide it onto the part of the stem that has been cut. Then curl the skinny end under the bottom to secure it, and keep the bead from falling off.



Then glue a line down and apply the body of the butterfly to your box!

Now for this step you can simply paint the bottom part of the box a solid color, but I chose to "distress" it, to make it look like a wood log. 

First paint the entire bottom half of the box with your darkest brown. I used "chocolate cherry."

Wait 5-10 minutes to dry.

Then take your thick coarse brush and lightly dip into the lighter brown color. 




Very lightly brush in an up & down movement to get uneven lines. This makes it look like wood grain, or aged.

Almost done!!!



Take your black Decocolor marker and write out a quote, or name on the sides of the lid.



I wrote:
"YOU MAKE MY HEART FLUTTER"

And there you have it!

Cute kids craft!

Other optional things you can do with your box is use rhinestones as embellishments or glitter!!

Have fun!!!

Bethany @Enchanted Lake

Stencil Cutout & Quote on Canvas

Today we are going to learn how easy it is to make a canvas look like a shadow box! 

        

SUPPLIES:

CANVAS any size will do, but no smaller than 6x6 or cutting things out becomes more difficult. I used a 12x12 framed canvas

ACRYLIC PAINT in the 3 colors turquoise/mint, white & black, Ceramcoat or Americana brands will be great.

STENCILS with straight lines or curves that do not exceed half circle. I used the BoBunny 4 pack

FOAM OR HAIR BRUSH for painting in any size that feels comfortable, but around 1in wide

MOD PODGE/DECO PODGE in matte or gloss

STAPLE GUN

EXACTO BLADE in any size, but needs to be sharp enough to cut through canvas and small enough to cut tight shapes

ACRYLIC PAINT PEN black chisel tip Decocolor paint pen

PENCIL & ERASER regular pencil and eraser is fine

CARDSTOCK 12x12 in black & white print. One sheet is good for a 12x12 canvas

CHIP BOARD 12x12 

CUTTING MAT/CARDBOARD you will use this to protect your blade from cutting into your table

(OPTIONAL FIREFLY LIGHTS)

First, paint your 12x12 canvas with turquoise/mint & white acrylic paint using your 1in foam or hair brush. I blended white towards the middle and the mint hue darker towards the edges. Then I painted the sides of the canvas black for contrast. If you want to change the color, you can paint over it! Then I let dry for 30min.

Next trace your stencil on the back side of the canvas with pencil. In this 4 pack, I cut them apart so that the stencil was more maneuverable. 

Third, take your exacto blade and cut out your drawn shapes. Press firmly and go slowly. You will need something underneath your canvas in order to keep the blade from cutting into the table! Use cardboard, old mat board, or a cutting mat.

Next, use your brush and mod podge/deco page and seal the 12x12 piece of cardstock to the 12x12 piece of chip board.















Then use a staple gun and only staple the top side to the back of the canvas with the patterned paper facing the front, so you can see it through your stencil!



Then all that is left to do is to write your quote on to your canvas with the black acrylic paint pen, and put firefly lights inside! Your battery pack can rest on the inside of the canvas on the wood. (That's why we only stapled the top)



Beautiful!

And that's how you make this really fun canvas design.

Bethany @Enchanted Lake

Crankin' Out Crafts - Bead Shoppe Fun With Lynn

Let’s learn from Lynn, straight from the Bead Shoppe inside of HouseMart Ben Franklin Crafts Māpunapuna.  She explains how to make a Button Wire Ring, No Hassle Tassel and Boho Style Stretchy Bracelet in these three Crankin' Out Crafts episodes.

Crankin’ Out Crafts - Episode 449 

Button Wire Ring

Get your zen on with an easy wire ring project! Lynn is back to show you how to use a ring mandrel to make simple but stylish ring! 

Click here for project sheet

Crankin' Out Crafts - 

Episode 550

No Hassle Tassel

Tassels are all the rage and Lynn goes step by step with the Beadalon Tassle Maker! 

Crankin' Out Crafts - Episode 551 

Boho Style Stretchy Bracelet

An easy beading project, Lynn shares some tips on how to make a classic design that has been updated with trendy components!