Spooky Halloween Crafts - Fun for Everyone!

Hey kids! There's always something new and spooky here at Ben Franklin in Monroe! If you're as excited as we are about Halloween, then why not decorate with some festive Clothespin Characters. These clothespins are available in a variety of sizes and are ready to be transformed with your creativity! A Wicked Witch, Vicious Vampire, and Creepy Frankenstein are just a few of the wonderful ideas and possibilities for this craft. Let your imagination run wild and enjoy creating your very own spooky crafts. Happy Halloween from Ben Franklin!

Fall For Beads

Fall is my favorite time of the year mostly because of the great colors. Browns, golds, reds they are not only beautiful leaf colors, but also bead colors. We have some brand new 16" strands of jaspers, agates and lots more. What's even better we have them on sale. For a limited time buy one strand from our Fall for Beads table and get another strand of equal or lesser value for 50% off!

Kathy C - Bead Department Manager

NEW Webkinz Bat & Halloween Costumes!

The new Webkinz Bat is HERE at Ben Franklin Monroe! Don't miss out...they're flying out the door! While you're here, it's never too early to start shopping for Halloween costumes. We have a cute, plump Pumpkin suit as well as a wickedly, wild Witch outfit. Come on in and join in the spooky fun happening only at Ben Franklin Crafts!

Quilt for Heroes - COME VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE QUILT!

Have you been in our Quilter's Corner lately? If not, you need to come in and vote for your favorite quilt that was offered as part of the Quilts for Heroes program.

AMERICAN HERO QUILTS - Thanks to everyone for joining us in this worthy cause of making quilts. We are pairing up with American Hero Quilts to have the quilts that were made here delivered to the soldiers that have been wounded in battle. These quilts will be judged by our customers with the prize being awarded at Saturday Sampler on September 6th. So come in and take a moment to judge these great quilts. Everyone's participation is welcome!

WEBKINZ Newsletter - August 5, 2008

Our subscribers received this enewsletter yesterday, so if you're not on our email list, you can click here to read what are the latest news in the WEBKINZ World:

11 NEW PETS just arrived at our store (as of Tues. August 5th)

WEBKINZ CARES "Foundation"

PET OF THE MONTH: Clydesdale Horse

RETIRED PETS

NEW RELEASES in September

If you'd like to join our email list, click here.

WINNERS of our [de] / {re} Constructed Bracelet Challenge

Here are the winners in our "Customers" category:

Donna Reed - Overall Winner - $50.00 gift certificate
Kristin Summers - People's Choice - $50.00 gift certificate
Roman Galle - Best Technique - $25.00 gift certificate
Leslie German - Most Creative use of Materials - $25.00 gift certificate
Katherine Robinson - Honorable Mention - $25.00 gift certificate

Here are the winners in our "Employees" category:
Jeff Proffit - Overall Winner - $50.00
Carole Van Gorder - People's Choice - $50.00
Linda Clarke - Best Technique - $25.00
Sharlene Bench - Most Creative use of Materials - $25.00
Kathy Kemp - Honorable Mention - $25.00

Visit our website for a full list of all our winners! CLICK HERE
We also posted pictures of all the entries received from both our customers and employees.

NEW Webkinz!

Ben Franklin has all the new Webkinz for the month of July! Come on in and see the great selection we have available. Among all of the other loveable pets, be sure to get your very own Spotted Leopard, Toco Toucan, Rottweiler (not pictured), Lil' Kinz Black and White Dog, and the Crocodile. Don't miss out on the new and exciting Webkinz pets here at Ben Franklin Monroe!

CLOTHES PIN RECIPE HOLDER

Just a quick blog to tell you about a project I just finished! It's a large clothes pin recipe holder. It was fast, fun, and the result comes out great! What a great gift this would make for someone's kitchen counter. All it takes is a large clothes pin, paper of your choice, and some mod podge to make this great gift! Come on in and we'll help you with your supplies and instructions and you'll see how easy it is to make. Ben Franklin is always here to help with any of your projects! LET'S GET CRAFTY!!!!!!!!!! Hope to see you soon,

Bonnie B., Scrapbook dept.

Serious Painting and Drawing for Kids!

Has your child ever asked to take "serious" art classes? We are not talking about "crafty" classes, but serious landscapes, real animals or real people. Well, we have just the solution!

We are so excited to welcome our new painting and drawing instructor, Kacy Lesh. Kacy is so full of energy and fun. She is going to concentrate on our kids for the summer and maybe add adults a little later. Kacy knows the value of introducing kids to art as a creative outlet. She understands the frustration of being able to get what is in your head out on paper.

Through some wonderful teachers and instructors, Kacy was able to see the world come alive on paper. She is a budding young artist with a degree in Fine Arts. Kacy is looking to make the move to a full time artist and illustrator. Luckily for us, she remembers what and how those wonderful teachers taught her to draw and paint and she is willing to teach excited young artists.

Kacy is starting off with a bang with 10 classes in July JUST FOR KIDS! We have divided the kids into two age groups. For those younger children 5-7 years old that are ready to go beyond the crayon scribbles and finger paint, Kacy has some wonderfully fun classes all lined up.

For the older artist (8-up), Kacy is hosting a slightly longer classes. Even if your pre-teen is beyond beginner, Kacy would like them to come to her beginner classes, so we can find out what classes we need to offer next month.

Excitement for drawing and painting drives Kacy in her lust for teaching to kids. She is as excited to teach your kids as, I hope, your kids will be about learning to really draw and paint!

Summer is still on its way!

So when summer gets here, you need to be ready to spruce up your yard, patio or deck with these great items from our FLORAL department and they are all on SALE for up to 75% off, some even more than that! Dad may even enjoy some of these great deals. There is a really cute golf bag bird house for only $4.88 and a great painted saw for only $7.88. Perfect for hanging on the side of the garage or tool shed. Welcome signs for as low as $5.88 and of course those rain gauges for $2.97. Hurry before the great deals are all gone!

Kids....Kids.....Kids!!!

Well, summer is almost here and ...... now what?
What are you going to DO all summer?

We are definitely feeling the gas price crunch! We decided to go on the offensive. Instead of going out of town for entertainment, why not visit us?

Entertaining kids is one of the things we are all about. This summer we are focusing on teaching your kids how to have fun with crafts. We start off our summer camp series with Scrapbook Club for Kids. Each Thursday, we will gather the kids and make part of a 8x8 photo album. The kids can either just make the lay-outs and go home to put the pictures in, or they can get it all done at once. This club is four Thursdays, June 19 & 26 and July 10 & 17th from 1-2:30.

Next, we have our evening QUILT CAMP. The camp is from 6-9 June 23-26th. It focuses on using a jelly roll, so cutting is minimal. We offered this one in the evening for all those families that just aren't ready for summer daytime hours yet!

Our third camp for kids is SPLISH SPLASH BASH! Craft Camp for Kids. This camp runs from 9-12 Monday through Friday, July 21-25. As long as the kids are comfortable, Moms can stay or go. We will be focusing on a different craft each day and in this class everything has to do with water!

During this same week we have a separate camp going on in the afternoon. We have our second QUILT CAMP of the summer. This camp focuses on using all of those favorite (but too small) t-shirts that kids just seem to collect. This class is from 1-4 July 21-25.

Our fourth camp for kids is CRAFT ROUNDUP! Craft Camp for Kids. This camp runs from 9-12 Monday through Friday, August 11-15. This week focuses on horses and ranching all week long. Come along lil' doggies!

Also during this week, is our last QUILT CAMP for the summer. This camp is again offered during the same week as Craft Camp, but in the afternoon. This class is from 1-4 August 11-15.

We are also offering a class that pairs adult and child together. This would be our You 'n Me Quilt class. Together each pair will make a quilt to remind them of the time spent together to make this quilt treasure.

As you can see we have put a lot of thought into how to entertain your kids throughout the summer. Stop on by the Customer Service counter or the class sign-up page on our website to register for these great camps. HURRY, space is limited and filling up FAST!

[de] / {re} -constructed CHALLENGE!

up for a challenge?! ready to get those creative juice flowing?

it's exciting: come by Ben's Bead Bar and pick up a free (yes, I said fuh-ree and you get to choose it yourself!) ready-made bracelet to tear apart and reconstruct into your own fabulous creation

on the condition you enter your incredible artwork in our contest! ooh, that darn fine print...

we will showcase your unique creation: all entries will displayed in the Bead Shop for 14 days as the Ben Franklin Community votes on these categories:

*people's choice

*best technique

*most innovative use of materials

*and of course, first place & honorable mention

and all entries will be featured in a slide show on our website!

so what are you waiting for? if you're shy about showing your work, know that during the voting each piece will be identified with a number instead of your name and if you're not shy, what a great opportunity for everyone to see your amazing talent!

ask: at Ben's Bead Bar for an entry form and details about the contest

Blog blog frog

We've been invaded by African Dwarf Frogs! These cute little frogs live well with our beta fish. Add a peace lily to the top of the bowl for a beautiful living arrangement to spruce up your home. These little frogs which are only 1 1/2 inches long love to lie still in a zen like position and swim to the top to take breaths every now and then. They love to hide in marine foliage or in the roots of the peace lily. In captivity they only need to be fed every couple of days which make good pets for the forgetful. Come in the floral department and visit our frogs and beta fish in our Fish Center and don't forget to bring the kids.

Under Construction

If you've been in the store in the last couple of weeks, you've been unable to ignore the big changes happening up front by the registers - what's going on? We've moved our vinyl project center! What's that? Well, it's easy, that's what it is! We also think it's exciting - you can get an exceptional result with very little technical crafting experience and in a pretty minimal amount of time.

Here's the scoop: This adhesive vinyl material is cut into words & phrases that can be applied to any smooth surface - like your walls, the side of your car, windows or some other surface like artists' canvas or a wood plaque. Although the vinyl stays on very well, even out in the weather (several employees have it on their cars) it is removable without much effort.

We are enthused about using it on our wood plaques and combining it with artists' canvas and photos for a sort of... well... scrapbook on steroids kind of a look, I mean waaaaay out of the album! Imagine your family photo wall with a sweet caption over the photos, something like "All Because Two People Fell in Love" or even your family name: "The Andersons est. 1996" And the 2 big bonuses are: it's removable and you don't have to paint it - just rub it on!

So, keep an eye out over there (not that you could miss it) as we develop this program and work to get you inspired to think about your family photos in a new way.... maybe even turn your wall into a giant scrapbook page.

International Quilt Market - Portland

It was great to go to the Spring International Quilt Market in the beautiful city of Portland this year. Although we never have time to see much of any of the cities where Market is held; it was good to see the warm sun shinning. It also was great to be able to drive and have plenty of room to bring back all of my "treasures" and not have to worry about sitting on the suitcases (even after I have unzipped the expansion). Or worry about what all this will weigh when I struggle to get the two suitcases up on the scale at the airport.
What an experience! As a long time quilter it is a joy to see all of the new fabric lines - new patterns - new trends - new machines - new gadgets - touch and feel quality cloth and droll.
What collections would I like for myself, stimulus check had arrived in time, or what do we need to buy for the store.
I found the major project for our quilters for 2009 Saturday Sampler group and it will be the hardest secret to keep until the fabric arrives and the quilt is made. Hopefully the unveiling will be in September but that means that the pedal to the metal to test all of the blocks and be ready to roll.
I am also a Grandma and I get "hooked" with "Grandma Grabber" projects for the kids in my life so look out - I am in fabric heaven.

Webkinz... webkinz... WEBKINZ

The much awaited new May release webkinz are here. The Whimsy Dragons (who are hard to keep in boxes) flew cross country and landed in Monroe today and have brought all kinds of new and old friends with them. They seem to love Monroe Ben Franklin, but I’m sure that they would love your home even better. The webkinz have seemed to pair up during their long travel. The new lilkinz chicken and new lilkinz black poodle are chatting away discussing on whose chair is better, the egg chair or the poofy poodle chair. Which do you think is better? Naturally the new Samoyed and our old favorite Husky have teamed up since they have so much in common. The Husky has no problem sharing the spot light with his new friend. The new Rhino always in competition has tousled with the new Lioness the whole time cross country and have become good friends. The new Gecko and our old friend Tiger snake have decided to have a picnic of eel enchiladas and sticky spider cider when the weather gets sunny. Our old favorite Turtle and the retired Raccoon have been slow moving cross country together but the Whimsy Dragons wouldn’t let them fall too far behind. Lastly, our old favorites Penguin and lilkinz penguin have cuddled together and waddled only in large swarms asking each other “How much farther is Monroe?” They said that it was worth the week of traveling. Hurry in today and pick out your special friends before they are gone!

cute lost out

Well, I didn't create a darling crochet animal this weekend; instead I finished my first (relatively) complex quilt top! This will be only my second quilt and I will be keeping it for myself. The dominant collection is from Timeless Treasures and although the Quilt Corner staff call it "Gatsby" it says "Daisy" along the edge - and we still have quite a bit of it. I used a "Turning Twenty" pattern by Tricia Cribbs: the pattern is cut from fat quarters and the blocks are very large, perfect to show off the fabric you've fallen in love with. 20 fat quarters make a twin bedspread - I used 25 for my full-size bed, but it won't reach the floor. I found the pattern very easy to cut and sew together; it only took me (a novice) about 7 hours to iron, cut and assemble the quilt top! My non-sewing friend is inspired and I've promised to help her make a quilt for her birthday. Next, it's on to Grandma Connie's house to do the acutal quilting... I have to admit I'm a little nervous... the first quilt (plaids, for my beau) was just tied, so actual quilting - even on a machine - will be something entirely new!

Adventures in Beading - 101 Ways to Save Money on Jewelry

One rainy evening, while paging through a catalog, a spectacular pearl necklace jumped out -- soft colors in grey and pink with seed beads. Not really my style, personally, but gorgeous nonetheless. Then the price reached out at slapped me: $99.99 on clearance? And $179.99 at the regular price? The next day I started stewing on how we could make it for less than that, and here you see the result...

The materials for this necklace cost just under $50.00 at our regular prices. Can you believe it? And you know what's even better?

Pearls are currently on sale (2 strands for $5) through Mother's Day, and so are seed beads (30% off). That makes your cost less than $20! to make a necklace that someone else is buying for $100! Don't you feel privileged?

We have dozens of other sales in the bead department here in Monroe through Mother's Day. Shell beads are 2 for $10, all store-made models are 20% off, ready-made necklace and earring sets are at rock-bottom prices, and the new wood beads have been reduced in price as well. Come check out the Warehouse and Mother's Day sales!

invasion of preciousness!

Alert! Alert! We've been invaded! At first there were just a few and now... well, just see for yourself - we've been overrun with mega-cute amigurumi creatures. Jina M. has been totally consumed with making darling little animals, so she is responsible for at least half of the population. Donna O. is similarly afflicted and has introduced us to the Ben Franklin heart-throb, the very cool Hep Cat. He is such a groovy hipster with his little goatee and trendy turtleneck - all the staff are swooning over him. (he's in the lower right of the photo) I seem to be the last holdout, due mainly to my remedial crochet skills, but Hep Cat has been whispering in my ear "just once won't hurt" and I may try my hand at creating cuteness this weekend... I will post a photo of the finished sweetie, but be prepared - it may end up a bit of a mutant due to my lack of skill...

Gigi's Springtime Print

If you haven't already met her, you need to come and meet Gigi our frameshop manager. She not only is a breath of fresh air in our store, but she is a talented local artist too! Gigi is a horse lover so it's no suprise that she features a barn in her artwork. With a purchase of $25.00 or more you can have one of Gigi's great prints FREE!

Pages that "Spin"

Let me tell you about a new product we now have! I made my first page with one of the kits and I'm very excited! They are " Moving Memories " page kits they're so fun because the center of the page spins . It even will work in your page protectors. Come in and see it for yourself, the picture doesn't do it justice! Be the first of your group to add one of these pages to your scrapbook!

Your scrapbook dept. manager, Bonnie

Just a Little Slice of Life

Have you seen the new Slice video on our web site? Check it out now!

We are so excited about this new tool, we can hardly stand it! Now that you've seen it, too, come in to reserve your very own Slice today. Just ask any of our Scrapbooking Associates!

amigurumi

You can say it! "ah-mee-gah-roo-mee" - see? It's easy! Amigurumi are super-cute little crochet animals, originally made popular in Japan and now making their mark here in the states. I don't even crochet (well, I've tried and I find it really hard to keep the yarn on the hook) and they are tempting me to create them; they're just so cute! If you or someone you know has a favorite animal there is a scrumptious amigurumi pattern for it in one of our books - we have several - and guaranteed it will be saccharine sweet and simply impossible to resist. If you're not into darling little creatures, try making a hamburger or cookies or a mug of tea... some look pretty normal, while others have big, googley eyes and funny, endearing smiles. I'm trying to be strong, but in the long run, I will be unable to resist the syrupy charm of these funky creations and eventually I will cave and pick up the dreaded crochet hook again.

Seed Beaders - Get Ready for MORE colors!

Yesterday I spent the day seed bead shopping!
Soon we will have a whole new line of seed beads with more colors than we have ever had before. So do you know what that means? We need to blow out our current line of seed beads.

Starting Wednesday April 23rd our current line of seed beads will be 30% off while supplies last!

Come soon, before the best colors are all gone! Happy Beading!

Kathy C

Crystal gift for Mother's Day

Remember that Mother's Day is just a few weeks away! Sun. May 11 is the time to show mom how much you care. Do it with a photo of you and mom locked in a crystal forever! Learn more about our Personalized Crystals.

Why the Oops sale?

Jayna called me (all excited) and told me to order these wonderful beads. We thought that it was only going to be roughly a couple of hundred strands..........but.......it turned out to be OVER 2000 strands. Ooops! We are excited to offer this great deal and so far the response has been GREAT.

Webkinz ExtravaGANZa - Sat. April 26

Come to our Webkinz ExtravaGANZa and receive a FREE Webkinz Pet with a $10 Webkinz purchase, while supplies last. You can pick up your FREE Webkinz Pet as you leave our ExtravaGANZa event. Learn more.

30 ways to save with 30 coupons

Here are 15 coupons for the first 15 days of April! More coupons will be available soon! Watch your email box (if you are a subscriber to our emails) or sign up to become one today!
Learn more