Party Favor for Crafters / No Winner Yet

When I first spied these large containers in Ben Franklin Crafts, I wasn't sure what they contained. They looked like tinsel but on closer inpection they seemed to be something different. Attracted by their metallic sheen I looked around to see if I could find an indication of what to do with this new product. The sample nearby was a clear ornament ball with little mylar like beads inside. Oh, so that's what was inside the containers. My crafty magpie nature made me get every color. I knew I would figure out what to do with them later. (In this photo also are some containers of strung plastic pearls which seemed like a good investment for future use as card embellishments because of their vintage color tones. The colorful container has mini styrofoam holeless beads which I thought might make good fake toppings for dessert images on cards.) About the same time that I was purchasing the mylar-like beads, I saw Jenny on the Ben Franklin Crafts Ideas and Inspiration blog video. She was demonstrating how to make candy wands. I thought they were cute but I didn't want to give out more candy as favors. In a light bulb moment I knew that the clear tubes could hold the mylar beads and that they would be a great party favor for crafters. What crafter wouldn't want lightweight shiny beads to embellish cards or to use for shaker cards? The photo below shows what I used to fill the tubes (just a folded piece of computer paper). Each container has enough beads to fill at least 10 tubes.....maybe lots more! I think the party favors turned out very well decorated with tinsel wire twists, jingle bells, and reindeer tags made using the new Sizzix/Hero Arts rubber stamp set with matching die cutters.

This last photo shows the Sizzix/Hero Arts set which is a terrific new product. It makes cutting even intricate shapes (like the reindeer) super easy (using almost any die cutting machine). Even the reindeer sweaters were cut by using the die and then the edges detailed with a black Sharpie. Ben Franklin Crafts has other non-holiday sets, too with the same feature of cutting out your stamped images with the matching dies. A set like this would make a fantastic gift for your favorite crafter. Also shown in the last photo is a package of various colored twine made by the Doodlebug Design company. (Notice the twine around the reindeers' necks?) This twine comes in different colored sets and single color rolls. It's great and attractive for tying on tags.

Whoa, this has been a really long post. I'd like to end it by saying that there still is no winner to the price scavenger hunt contest (information on Sat. Nov. 26th post). You don't need to purchase anything to win.....just find the total price of the seven items (sold at Ben Franklin Crafts) shown in the photo. Remember that your answer should be sent via a comment to the Sat. Nov. 26th post and only ONE guess per blogger (sorry Jenny V.). As an added hint, it is the medium size hot/cold bag that I priced. Okay, I hope lots of you busy crafters will take the time to search for the total. Maybe you'll be the first one with the right answer and win the $35 gift card to Ben Franklin Crafts. The contest will end on Friday of this week even if no one sends in a correct total. Happy Hunting!