Celebrating 'Celebrations'

Yes, Ben Franklin Crafts is celebrating the opening of a new store called 'Celebrations' located two shops away from the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts. While on a day trip to Honolulu I had the time to peek into the store which had a quiet opening this past Saturday. I was allowed to be the second customer even though it was only Thursday. Here are some photos of the shop which is a mini version of a gigantic stationery store, Shimojima, in Japan. As you can see there are lots of unique products with Japanese flavor. I didn't have carry-on luggage or a suitcase with me so I could only purchase a few items, but believe me I intend to go back to Celebrations soon. What I did find utterly irresistible were the ribbons. I loved the thin ones with the gold trim especially the red, white, and blue one. It's hard to see in the photo but I purchased a brown and green woven raffia-like ribbon which has a very special rustic look. There were lots of beautiful three color raffia strand spools like the pink one on the right in the photo. I can't wait to use these ribbons on my cards and other projects. Even though I don't have a little one to make home lunches for, I still got a cute 'bento' (lunch) box for my snacks. Now I'm regretting that I didn't buy one of the musubi shaped boxes, too. Althought the cute animal pick are for children to use to eat their lunch, I plan to use the picks for decorating cupcakes. The plastic animal strips are for separating and decorating bento lunches, but I see a use for them as bookmarks.

I'm always attracted to the Japanese tapes and the Celebration store had lots to choose from. The two on the left are the plastic type used for decorating packages, envelopes, etc. They are cute and useful. The four on the left are the tearable repositional type that crafters find useful in scrapbooking and card making. There were lots of designs to choose from so it took me awhile to pick just a few favorites. I wish that I had a suitcase with me.

This photo shows three unique items which I managed to squeeze into my rather small plastic bag. The first item on the left is a small scissors which can be attached to a purse, making it really convenient for traveling. The middle two items are a mini eraser dispenser and refills. The eraser is easily dispensed like a lipstick. On the right side of the photo are package closures which come in a bag (I took them out for a clearer photo). These flower shaped closure tabs will make fastening clear cellophane bags more attractive especially if you add crystals or stickers. The closure tabs come in different shapes and colors. Now I wish I had picked up a few more bags.

This last photo features some stationery and bags. I really like the Paris themed bags which come with matching stickers. Of course I couldn't leave without some new gift enclosure cards and the pastry designed ones are so cute. The purple and green packages contain sheets of paper for writing letters, but I love the texture and shiny specks on them and I know they will be great for many paper projects.

Well, I hope I've been able to intrigue you with all these new items and that you'll check out our new store, Celebrations. Whether you are having a celebration or not, I'm sure that you'll have something to celebrate after you shop at 'Celebrations'!