Upcycled Japanese Resin Trays

 Although I enjoy Taylor Swift's music, I am not a Swifty.  I like to think of myself as a 'Thrifty'.  I enjoy looking at what others might throw away and think of how I can upcycle the items.  While in Japan, we often ate food from convenience stores and supermarkets. The Japanese food there is clean, attractive, tasty and inexpensive.  I noticed that the food often came in very pretty trays which looked too good to throw away so I saved some....LOL!  The 'Thrifty' in me just had to bring some of them home...much to the irritation of my husband.

Here is the first tray I made.  It looks like it has pressed flowers on it but the flowers are really stickers I purchased in Japan.  HM Ben Franklin Crafts has a gigantic assortment of stickers so check them out.  The raised portion that says, 'Laugh Today' is a sticker too. A layer of UV resin (from HM BFC) was applied first and then cured with the UV mini light.  I like the UV resin better than the two part mix type because it only takes one minute to set.  After there was a thick layer of resin on the tray, I applied the stickers and then more layers of resin.  The thick layer of resin makes the tray sturdy and heavy like ceramic or glass.  This particular tray had a back that looked too much like a food tray so I glued on some dark green felt. I don't know if the resin surface is food safe so the felt backing will make it obvious that it is not for edibles.  This tray would make a pretty soap or trinket tray.

Here is another plastic food tray that I just couldn't resist bringing home.  I decided that this one just needed a few Hanafuda card stickers.  I think they provide just the right touch of color and Asian design.

The black color of the tray shows through the stickers a little but I still like the overall look.  I am proud that I was able to turn trash into treasures.  I hope you will think creatively before disposing of something which has potential for being something useful and beautiful. Become a 'Thrifty'!

Japan Hobby Show ...part 2

Although I was sick for most of the Japan Hobby Show,  I pushed myself to see what I could for two days.  (I didn't travel all the way to Japan just to lie in a hotel bed with tissues and cold medications!)  I was pleased that this year the show was more upbeat than it was after the years following the Covid epidemic.  The types of crafts were varied but as usual the quality of the Japanese handicrafts was A+.  Here in the U.S. we generally want quick gratification but the Japanese crafters don't seem to mind spending months finishing just one piece.  The following are photos of various booths which impressed me.  I hope if you are a crafter, that you will one day journey to Japan and see the Japan Hobby Show.  You'll love it!

This is the company that makes Hearty Clay and UV LED resin that are sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.

I really liked this booth which had the products for making realistic looking candies and other sweets.

I touched the yummy looking items and really wanted to taste them even though they were made of clay.  The booth workers were not ready to sell their products yet so I just had to LOOK and salivate.

Don't these fake chocolate treats look real? I really hope the buyers for our HM BFC stores pick up this line of products.  I wonder if seeing but not being able to eat chocolates is a helpful diet trick. 

This photo doesn't show the beauty of these polymer clay jewelry pieces. I know that polymer clay is nothing new but the soft sheen and delicate metallic touches make these so amazing. I purchased some of the raw materials for sale and hopefully I can make some jewelry like the ones I admired.

These amazing art pieces are made from paper....unbelievable!  As you can see, Japan craft artists are very creative and work hard to make unique craft items.  There were also dozens of booths showcasing gorgeous fabric and yarn crafts but I unfortunately didn't photograph them.  Even through the coughing and nose-blowing, I saw and was impressed by all the high quality craft work.  Hopefully, next year I will attend the Japan Hobby Show again and not have a cold. I am looking forward to seeing what Japanese craft products will be appearing in our stores. You should check them out too to get a taste of the Japanese style of crafting.

The Japan Hobby Show

We just returned from the Japan Hobby Show so I thought you might like to see some photos and hear a little about the show.  This year our company had two booths,  HM Ben Franklin Crafts and  HM Ace Hardware Science.  The booths were managed by some of our Hawaii staff, who were happy to have a work related trip to Japan.  In the Ben Franklin Crafts booth lei making was taught to eager Japanese crafters.  Hawaiian crafts are a big hit in Japan mostly because of the Japanese interest in hula. 

The HM Ace Hardware Science booth was very active with young and old playing with the kit built science toys.  The idea of learning while playing is very enticing and crosses the international border of education.  From the excitement shown at these House Mart booths it is evident that crafts and hardware science need no translation when it comes to fun. Check out our stores and see for yourself!

Happy Bee-Day Card

The bees in the Pink and Main stamp set are so darn cute that I just had to use them to make this birthday card (B-day...get it?)  I started this card by cutting the base from a 12x12 sheet of golden yellow card stock using the Sizzix Royal Flip-its die set.  This die partially cuts out the cartouche shape and scores the fold lines. 

The printed panels of cute bees and honey comb designs were die cut from Doodlebug Designs 12x12 paper. Pink and Main bees were stamped on heavy white marker paper, colored with Copic pens, die cut with Pink and Main dies, and adhered to the card with pop-up foam dots.

The Bee Happy and Happy Bee-Day words were stamped on the die cut daisy print (Echo Park) cartouches with black ink. Then they were heat embossed with gold sparkle embossing powder before they were attached to the card.  For a floral touch, tiny daisy flowers from Japan were glued to the bottom of the card and two  larger daisies (Essentials) were glued back to back on the corner of the cartouche. Finally, Doodlebug Designs Sprinkle yellow dots were glued to the center of the larger daisies. Oh yes, I gave the bees sparkly wings with a bit of Stickles (star dust).  This card was super simple to create and will surely add some happ-Bee-ness to someone's Bee-day.  There are so many bee related craft products at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, that I'm sure you'll find just what you need to create something Bee-u-ti-ful !

 

Floral Mother's Day Card

This Mother's Day card starts off like a gift ready to be unwrapped.  Using the Sizzix die set, Ornate Label Fold-Along, the base was cut from a 12x12 Crafter's Companion Floral sheet. After sliding the ribbon band off, the card opens to reveal the sentiment.

The Lawn Fawn Happy Mother's Day words were cut from lavender pearlized DCWV paper. It was glued to the die cut scalloped oval (cut from a floral print 6x6 Violet Studio paper). I glued an extra scalloped oval on the side so that a message can be written inside the card. The card is inserted into the slits on the sides of the card base.

Finally, some tiny artificial flowers and leaves (from my ancient stash) were glued onto the sides of the oval card and on the ribbon band.  This card was simple to make and I think it is very feminine and floral...just right for a sweet mother! Even if you don't make a card like this, I hope you'll make one for your mother or someone who is a great mother. Mothers are the glue that holds the world together...so let's STICK with each other...LOL!  

 

Faceted Gemstone Bead Bracelets with Sterling Silver Charms

Here are two more beaded bracelets I made recently.  These have faceted beads rather than heshi tube beads that I used on bracelets in a previous post.  I like the fact that they incorporate sterling silver tube beads because they make the bracelets look more exotic. Also the sterling silver charms add a lot of 'charm'...LOL!  The bracelet on the left is made from Amazonite and the one on the right has turquoise faceted beads. I purchased the turquoise beads from HM Ben Franklin Crafts on my last shopping trip to the BEST craft store in Hawaii.  I was very pleased with the quality and price of the strand of  turquoise beads.  I used 925 Sterling Silver Extreme Soft Flex  .014 diameter beading wire because of the flexibility, strength, and look. Beading Tip:  I string beads on to the wire while it is still on the spool and add the silver finding parts before crimping off the end.  Then I cut the wire, add the silver parts to the other end, and then crimp off the beads using a crimp tube bead and crimping tool.  Doing it this way definitely saves on the pricey (but worth it) sterling silver beading wire. I hope this post encourages you to learn how to make bracelets like these because they are easy and make 'charming' gifts for someone special...like you! 

 

Interactive Ladybug Card

The Echo Park ladybug items I purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts are what inspired this card.  They are adorable!  It was a super easy card to create because of the Sizzix die set, Circle Flip-its.  This die was used to cut the ladybug print card stock and the white card stock base.  

The printed card stock was adhered to the card base with double stick adhesive.  

Next, the Echo Park die cut pieces were glued on to the interactive circle and the side of the card. Some of the worded black strip was trimmed to the shape of the scalloped side edge.

Here is a close up of the Martha Stewart fuzzy ladybug sticker that I added to give the card some texture and dimension.  The sticker ladybug was from my hoarded stash of ladybug stuff so you probably won't be able to find it for sale anymore, but there are lots of ladybug items being sold everywhere....you just have to be LUCKY! (It really IS lucky to find a ladybug!)