Mermaid in a Jar

Happy Monday! Hope you've had a great week and that you're ready for some mermaid crafting! I can't get enough of the mermaid theme!

Supplies: 
smooth mason jar
warm white twinkle firefly lights
matte Mod Podge
nylon brush
1 sheet light blue wrapping tissue
X-acto blade
pencil
black thick card stock paper
E6000 clear glue
chunky white/clear glitter
jute/twine
scissors
shells
starfish
net


First, cut the approximate length of tissue (in one long rectangle) that will cover the entire jar with an extra inch of overlap. Slowly and bit by bit, paint Mod Podge on to the glass, laying the tissue over it. Since tissue is thin and tears very easily, don't touch or move it once it's touched the glue. To make sure everything lines up at the end, make sure you're checking to make sure the tissue is lined up with the jar throughout the process.

After the jar has been covered, let it sit to dry for 30+ minutes.
As it's drying, cut out a mermaid shape from the black card stock paper. it could even just be the shape of a mermaid tail.


After the jar is dry, add more glossy Mod Podge on the outside around the top and the bottom. Sprinkle the chunky white/clear glitter over it being careful to leave a big clear space for the mermaid to be seen clearly.

Glue part of the mermaid to the inside of the jar. To make her look more realistic in there, only glue one part of the silhouette so that it's not completely smooth to the side. The E6000 will need to cure for 30+ minutes before the jar can be handled.

Throw some pretty lights in there behind her to make it look like she's floating in a sea cave!

And there it is! Super cute mermaid in a jar!

Happy Crafting! 

Bethany @Enchanted Lake

Kokeshi Doll Fan

Aloha!

      It is almost Girl’s day.  We had an event at all stores over last weekend.

 This is one of the projects, thought I would share with all of you that weren’t able to make it.

                                                                   KOKESHI DOLL FAN

Supply list:

 1 qty. RTD blank fan

1 piece 8 1/2x11 Beige cardstock for face

2 piece 8 1/2x11 Black cardstock Hair and eyes

1 piece 2x3 white card stock for eyes

1 piece 3x3 dark pink cardstock for bottom layer of flower

1 piece medium pink for flower top layer of flower

1 piece 2x4 light pink for cheeks

Foam dots

Meriken 1/4 “double sided tape

Gold Marker for flower stamen

Tools:

AccuCut Die Cut machine and fan insert die

Pencil for tracing

Sharp Scissors

1 ½ Circle punch- Clever Lever Yellow

1” Circle punch- Clever Lever Green 3/4” Circle punch – Clever Lever Green

3/8: Circle punch- EK Success

1.      Use the AccuCut die cuttings machine and fan insert die to cut one insert each from the beige and black.

2.      2- Align the beige cardstock cut-out on the top of the blank fan. Matching edges and tape down

3.      Take the hair template and place onto the black fan insert cut-out, Trace and cut out hair according to the pattern. Use the scrap black cardstock to trace and cut out the “Bun”. Place the hair onto the fan and align with the face. Slip the bun under the center of the top, adjusting how big you want the bun to be. Remove the hair and tape down the bun. Take the white cardstock and punch out two 1” circles for the eyes. Take the scrap black cardstock and punch two holes about an inch apart with the 3/8” hole punch. Take the ¾” circle punch, turn it upside down and place over one of the 3/8” holes and punch. Repeat with the other3/8” hole. Place the black ¾” circle over the 1” white circles. The 3/8” holes should create a white dot accent. Tape together to make eyes.

4.      Place the hair back onto the fan. Position the eyes and tape down. Take the light pink cardstock and punch out two 11/2” circles for cheeks. Position onto the face, slightly under the hair on the sides. Tape down. Now tape down the hair on the fan.

5.      Trace and cut out the flowers according to the patterns. Draw in the stamen on the smaller flower with a marker or a pen. Center the smaller flower onto the larger flower and attach with foam pop dots, place flower in the hair at the side of the bun and tape down.

  

                            Enjoy and have some fun with it. 

                        Joy@Hilo Ben Franklin

Sea Glass Windchime

So what if the groundhog saw his shadow again!

Six more weeks of Winter is not going to stop us from starting our

Spring crafting!  We have so much fun craft supplies coming in for the Spring and Summer seasons.  Nautical, Fairy Garden and Natural Woodland-themed items are making their way to our stores and filling our shelves this very moment.

There's also a very special product that we got in that has been requested MANY times by both our guests and employees. Haha!  That item is...Branch pieces!  We have both light-colored and dark colored branches in bundles available for you, so don't miss out.  Grab a bundle for all your Wooden frames, fairy garden, Bohemian and Nautical crafts!  Today, I have an easy and beautifully Boho craft for you.

 

 

This Seaglass windchime will be a great craft to display on your lanai or favorite tree in the backyard!  All you need are a few items.

 

 

Supplies

+ Two branches

+ Jute Cord

+ Hot Glue Gun or E6000

+ Sea glass pieces

+Scissors

 

First, cut about five to six pieces of jute in lengths ranging from 15 to 20 inches.  You want to have at least two inches to tie one end to the branch.

 

 

Second. knot one end of the jute to a branch.  Make sure there are no loose ends sticking up for a clean look.  You can secure them with a little hot glue.

 

 



 Next, glue your pieces of sea glass to the jute cords!  You can glue them on using any pattern you want.  And there you have it!  This is a great craft to display on your front porch over the summer and it could also make a great nautical wall hanging.

 

Have fun and see you next week!

 

Erika @ PC

Nautical Sea Door Hanger

Hello everyone! Are you ready for more beachy home decor? I'm ready for the sunshine and the waves. Check out this cute Sea door hanger you can make using paper mache letters! I love them! They're such a great size and can be used in so many different ways.

Supplies:

paper mache letters S E A
acrylic paint in dark brown, mint green, ivory, and dark blue
one nylon brush
one thick haired bristle brush
matte mod podge
assorted ocean themed card stock sheets
E6000 clear glue

Optional:
net
starfish
Glossy Accents dimensional clear glaze



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Luckily the wood panel already comes stained and with a rope attached, so all we have to do is decorate the letters! 

First I picked out a few ocean themed sheets of card stock paper I liked, and used my brush and Mod Podge to apply an even layer to the front surface of the letters S and A. Then, I let the paper dry on the letters. 

Using an X-acto blade to cut out around your letter will be a much easier method, rather than trying to trace the image and try to align the paper beforehand.

With your nylon brush, paint the sides of your letter with acrylic paint. Paint the last letter with acrylic paint, and let sit to dry for 10-20 minutes. When all of the paint is completely dry to the touch, you can glue on the accents like starfish or netting. Glue your letters with E6000 down to the wooden board. This glue will need one whole day to completely cure but to the touch will be solid within a few hours.

 Dimensional glaze on specific areas will give a really nice glossy appearance. This gel will squeeze out like a tube of puffy paint but will need to dry over several hours.

For the beach-worn look on the E I painted the letter mint green, allowed the paint to dry, and then lightly brushed on ivory paint.

  
For the A I used patterned card stock paper and Mod Podge to adhere it to the front.

So cute right? So charming. I can't wait to make more tropical and nautical crafts! Check out next Monday's blog for "Mermaid in a Jar"!

Bethany @Enchanted Lake 

Glitter Ivy Bowl

                                          Glitter Ivy bowl

   

  Ivy Bowl

 Darcie Glitter Silver and Raspberry

 Glitter it

 Flowers of choice

 Deco makers Color: red

 Take about off the container of each colored glitter and mix them together.

  Pour the glitter- it into the ivy bowl, make sure to cover the whole inside of the jar. By moving the glue around the bowl.

 Pour out excess glitter it.

Then pour in your glitter and make sure to cover the whole inside. Using the same technique as with the glitter-it.

Set to dry.

Then write on the front “be mine”

Set the flowers in the bowl.

                                                             Joy@hilo ben franklin

Grad Season is sneaking up on us quickly!!!
This Thursday's craft is a fun and rustic way to display all of the hard earned collegiate/high school earned garb. Supplies needed are the decorative hanging wooden plaque, the various things you'd like displayed, and small pegs. I used hot glue for mine, but I don't recommend hot gluing yours unless you want it there permanently.
After decorating my grad cap with glittery letters and hot gluing cherry blossom heads found in the floral department at Ben Franklin Crafts, I placed the collegiate sash on my plaque. Once you have that in place, it's time to put any tassels that went around the graduate's neck at graduation down. You may have to coil some of that up inside of the cap. For length, as well as to not disrupt the design on the grad cap I hung the tassel from the cap directly underneath the cap, and displayed the cap at the same angle that the cap would have been viewed while the graduate was wearing it. This is a fun way to show off for the graduate, and can be displayed at Graduation Parties, as well as inside the house for years to come. This is something to be proud of, so make sure to show off!!

There are so many different ways that you can display your favorite graduates mementos!! Happy Crafting everyone! 

Megan~ Mapunapuna

Love Note board

                                               Love  note board

Creamacoat Paint Fuchsia – white- red- and pink

Paper Mache Letter   LOVE        

Sponge

Valentine’s Paper - two sided

Lever Heart Punch 5/8”

Decou- page

Design Master TINT – Strawberry

RTD Plaque rectangle edge 18x5

Scissors

Montana Paint Pen WHITE

Hot glue gun

Paint the letter first, you may want to do a second coat

L- White        O- Fuchsia       V- Pink          E – Red

After they are dry

L- It is painted white. Take the sponge and dab a small amount of the fuchsia paint on it. Then dab it on to the letter. Not covering the whole thing.

O- Is painted Fuchsia Use the Lever Heart punch and cut out 9 hearts out of the Valentines paper. Cover the front of it with Decou- Page, arrange the hearts around the O. do a second coat of Decou- Page onto the front of the O.

V- Is painted Pink. I left it just painted

E- Take the letter and place it on the Valentines paper. Terrace the letter onto it. Then cut it out.  

Cover the E with Decou- Page, place the paper onto the E.

Take you Plaque and lightly spray it with the design master Tint Strawberry.

Then with the Montana paint pen White Paint the ledge of the plaque with it.

When all dry-

Glue the Letter to the plaque with the out glue gun.

  You can put push pins in the bottom ledge, so you can leave little notes to you Love. ..

                   Joy @ Hilo Ben Franklin

Happy Thursday to all!! Spring and love are still in the air, and I am starting to feel it! I've been inspired by paintings that I've seen at big name stores. They sit there, staring at me looking stunning but a bit too much of a strain on the pocket book. I saw a painting of some birch trees, and just knew that I needed to try and recreate it. You first have to start with a base color painting, and that can be whatever color you choose! The painting that I saw had a lovely pale teal hue to it, but I decided to go with a light pink. I gave it two coats of pink acrylic paint and then let that dry. I came back in with a nice white paint, going up and down varying my thicknesses. Make sure that you can't see your previous color through it, and let it dry. Once your white is dry, go along the edges with a thick amount of black paint. I then took a different brush and has very dry bristles. Do quick swipes, beginning right at the edge with the black paint on it. Make sure to use this swipe to give the dimensional look to your trees. A slight curve will make it look like it's popping out and perfect. I found a beautiful gold paint by Martha Stewart that I used to give a few random streaks of gold throughout the tree trunks, and have a fun and slightly carved look to the trees by painting initials in a heart and a date. It's such a fun way to metaphorically carve your initials without hurting a single tree!!

 

 

Required supplies,

Canvas,

Paint, white, black, gold, and background color,

Three paint brushes, one thick and one smaller for the black paint, and one separate one for the gold paint.

 

I had a lot of fun doing this project and it really was a lot quicker than it looks!! Have a great time!!

 

Megan @ Mapunapuna

I Heart Floral Wreaths

Hey Everyone! 

I wanted to do something cute for Valentine's Day that was a bit different from the pink, red, and white vibe this year and was inspired by more purples, berry colors, and champagne shimmers in making this fun heart wreath!

Supplies  

Heart shaped straw wreath
2 bunches of artificial flowers
hot glue gun / glue sticks
wire cutters
2-3 inch wide wire ribbon

First, wrap ribbon all the way around your wreath, with slight overlapping. Hot glue first piece, and last piece. Wrap very tightly.

Once ribbon is secured, using wire cutters, cut flowers off leaving some stem length. Remove all greenery from bouquet and set aside for later.

Curl bottom of wire stem to desired flower height and hot glue flat curled wire to the wreath. Continue per flower until desired. To maintain heart shape, angle flower head downwards at the inner and outer points of the heart, to dramatically enhance its shape. 

Use leftover leaves and greenery to fill around the inner and outer heart shape, to hide all that wire, and fill all those holes!

 

 

So lovely!! I am really digging these pinks and berry purples!
Have a great week!

Bethany @Enchanted Lake

XO Kerr Mason Jar

                                                      Mason jar XO

Tint Spray Paint Color: Strawberry

Mason jar

Paint Brush

Americano Cotton ball paint

Washi paper, or any paper you want for the lid

Scissors

 Spray paint your mason jar with the spray paint Color: strawberry, also spray the lid too.

When it is dry, take your white paint and write XO all over it, set to the side to dry

Tape the paper to the lid and cut around it. 

Fill with kisses...  

Assembly the jar together…

                 I sure hope you have enjoyed some my ideas for our Kerr Mason Jar.

                                          Joy @ Hilo Ben franklin

Happy Thursday!!

I hope your week has been going well. If you're like me, you're preparing for Valentine's Day decorations already. I get so excited about the holiday and all the cuteness surrounding it, so I start a bit early. Today I made a little felt heart cookie, and I just think it looks divine.

My materials were very simple, and the colors that I chose can be switched to all types of colors to give your projects a different and unique look. I started with one piece of light brown felt, and one light pink piece of felt. I found embroidery thread that was close to these colors, a little bit of Polyfil, and some pretty sprinkle looking beads. Don't forget to grab a needle! There are many sizes of needles out there, for this project you will either want two different needles, one that has a large enough eye for embroidery thread, and one that is thin enough to go through whatever bead you pick. I was lucky enough to find a needle that fits both of those requirements.

I folded my pink piece in half so I could make myself a heart shape that wasn't crooked and was even on both sides. After cutting out a heart that I liked the look of, I took that heart and traced it onto my brown felt, leaving about 1/4" around all of the edges extra. Cut that piece out, and trace it one more time onto your spare brown felt, keeping it the same size as the other brown felt. Once you have everything cut out, your next step is to start sewing the bling or sprinkles onto the pink frosting layer. Try to space them out evenly so it looks more realistic. After you finish sewing on your beads, you can stitch your pink frosting onto your top cookie layer. I used the pink embroidery thread with a whip stitch , with the idea that letting it be seen gives it more of a rustic and cute look. Before sewing the frosting down all the way, I put a smidgen amount of Polyfil underneath the frosting, just to give it a little bit of dimension. You can now begin a basic blanket stitch with the brown embroidery thread. I recommend starting at the very bottom of one side of the heart, because you won't have to hide your knot when you finish your stitch at the end.

This is what the back of a completed cookie heart looks like. Make sure that you put in your fluffy stuff before you complete your stitches!!

A simple blanket stitch begins with the needle piercing through both pieces of the felt. Before I bring the needle all the way through, I wrap the string that is about to be pulled through the felt around the tip of the needle. After doing this, pull the needle and the remaining string all the way through. Repeat. This will effectively give you a beautiful blanket stitch so long as you continue doing this all the way through and give your stitches a decent amount of space.

For added fun, you can always add a ribbon in the top to make it a cookie that can be hung. You can change the shape of this from a heart to a flower, a gingerbread man, and all types of other shapes. Have fun with this!

Megan @ Mapunapuna

DIY Award Ribbons

 Make your own Award Ribbon for that special someone!

Here's what you'll need...

• Empty Round Button - 2.25 in.
• Cardstock - 8.5"x 11"(60lb. or more)
• Yellow for 1st place
• Grey for 2nd
• Light Brown for 3rd
• Rah Rah Grograin Ribbon - 2.5 in. wide
• Rah Rah Grograin Ribbon - 1.5 in. wide (optional)
• Glue
• Beacon Fabri-tac (versatile)
• Hot glue gun low temp (for gluing the ribbon to plastic)
• Aleene's Fast Grab glue (for gluing ribbon to ribbon)
• Scissors
• Small Lighter
• Sewing Needle (optional)
• Sewing Thread (optional)
• Gold Paint Pens (Acrylic or Oil)/Embossing Powder/Puffy Paint

Separate the empty button, use the back to trace and cut out your cardstock paper. Decorate the cardstock paper with the they type of award they're earning! We used Deco Color Acrylic Paint pen on the plastic and we also used embossing powder directly onto the paper. To do that you'll need a watermark pen, like the Versa Marker Dual Pen or Ranger's Emboss it Pens and a embossing heat tool. I recommend buying Marvy Uchida's Embossing heat tool from HM Ben Franklin, It's light and the opening is more concentrated. Embossing powder also worked well on the Grograin Rah Rah Ribbons!!

Cut your Rah Rah Ribbon 2.5in wide to a length no shorter then 3 inches. Fold it in half, length wise and at one end of your ribbon, make a diagonal cut (45 degrees). To prevent the ribbon from undoing at the ends, swish your small lighter near the edges. Do not hold it over the flame. For a more colorful effect, repeat with these steps with your 1.5 in. and layer onto the 2.5 in. with your Beacon Fabri-tac or Aleen's Fast Grab glue.

For the gathered/ruffled trimming, get an approximate length of 10 in. of your 1.5 in Rah Rah Ribbon. Sewing is involved, so pull out those sewing supplies! The sewing thread won't be visible so any color will do. Apply a running stitch to one side of your 10 in long ribbon, and gather it. Don't pull too tightly, and knot the thread to finish. Position the gathered ribbon into a circle. To get the desired circumference use the button backing for sizing. Using a Hot Glue Gun - Low Temp (high temp would melt the plastic) or your Fabri-tac, glue your gathered ribbon to the edge backing of the button. Make sure you have the correct back side, you can double check by looking at the pin. I liked using the Fabri-tac because it held just enough but was still able to reposition the ribbon if needed. The hot glue gun, you would have to glue bit by bit.

Go the extra mile and decorate the button with more embellishments like sticky back rhinestones or stickers! Have fun and hand out those rewards!