BFF Open House Link Party #56, BFF "Back For Seconds" and a GIVEAWAY!

This week has flown by which always happens when there’s a Monday holiday. Hope everyone has had a great week. I am on my last day of antibiotics and hopefully done with crud for a while! I'm making up for being a slug last week ( didn't even visit many links ) by having lots going on this week!

First, let me introduce you to this week’s BFF “Back For Seconds”, a food blog where the tag line is : “creating recipes that will keep you coming back for more”. Trust me….you will want to go back for seconds, thirds, and fourths! BFS is a blog devoted to all kinds of goodies like:

Cookie dough, cupcake, chocolate frosting, and blue! Nom Nom.

Or how about these double stuffed brownies?

Chocolate not your thing? (I cannot believe I just wrote that!) . OK I know there are people who don’t like chocolate ( I can’t believe I just wrote that either!) No problem. I have these Buffalo Chicken Cups pinned to try:

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert ideas, Back For Seconds will having you coming back for more ideas for sure!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

If you missed my review of Amy Anderson’s new book “Mod Podge Rocks” , click on the title to check it out. And guess what?! You can win your own copy because I have one to give away.  I love Mod Podge like I love chocolate. Some people are intimidated by it. Don't be!

Here are the details:

a Rafflecopter giveaway




The giveaway will be open through Sunday night and the winner selected and notified next week. 

So now…what’s everyone been up to this week? Party On!

Mod Podge Rocks: The Book Is Here !

If you’re a creative person and maybe even moreso if you don’t think you’re a creative person, you should be familiar with Mod Podge. It's an all in one glue, sealer and finish product that is easy to use and clean up. I love it because it doesn't have fumes which is great for someone like me with asthma.

Novice or expert, you should be familiar with the blog Mod Podge Rocks, run by the amazing Amy Anderson.  Since she wasn’t busy enough with MPR, her other blogs, and her myriad of creative endeavors, Amy decided to write a book.

What better subject for Amy’s book than what she blogs the most about…Mod Podge, and it’s a must read.

From all of the formulas of Mod Podge and their different uses, to project ideas ( let’s just say, if it can stand still, it can be Mod Podged) to tips and tools, Amy’s got it covered.

My only critique is I would have said 40+  Really Super Cool Projects because each one is spectacular.

There are  home décor, jewelry, clothing, storage, projects galore.  You’ll also see some familiar bloggers who have projects featured  in the book.

Each project features a full size picture, tells you what you need, and has the detailed steps to complete.

Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced podger, there’s something in it for you.

There’s also  an introduction by “The Queen” herself. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book to review ( opinions are my own) and sat down and read it cover to cover the day it came.

The book is available online and in stores for $14.95 US / $17.95 Can.

Or, you could come link up at this week’s BFF Open House when it goes up tomorrow night for a chance to win a copy !

Sympathy In Brown and Gold

I’d love it if I didn’t need to make a sympathy card for a long while, but unfortunately, that need arose again .


For this one, I used a Stardreams brown metallic pre-made card , and Basic Grey’s “Hello Luscious”  paper along with American Crafts Brads and cappuccino baker’s twine from The Twinery.

The paper is reversible so I used both sides along with some coordinating paper scraps. Stamped the focal on white cardstock and embossed with gold glitter embossing powder.  Matted it on a brown scrap. The stamp is by Magenta:

I used the glittered gold brads from the package to coordinate with the glittery gold embossing powder, wrapped the twine around one of the panels and slipped the stamped focal between the twine.

The card is for my brother in law who just lost a good friend. I thought the “Friends” stamp was a good fit for this.

Memorial Day Birthday Card

One of our nephews celebrates his birthday this Memorial Day weekend, so I decided I’d make him a Memorial Day themed card. It was also the perfect reason to use some washi tape I recently ordered from Pick Your Plum!

I grabbed some striped red white and blue paper from my stash along with some matching blue cardstock, and stamped  cupcake on white cardstock w/ yellow ink. I stamped the cupcake again on a scrap piece of paper and cut out the bottom to make a mask. I sprayed the top of the cupcake w/ Elmer’s spray adhesive and “frosted” it with Recollections tinsel glitter.

What’s a cupcake without frosting? I trimmed the cupcake image and mounted it on blue cardstock wrapped with red and white baker’s twine and added some rhinestone swirls.

I used the red and white polka dot washi tape from my recent purchase to add to the card and then stamped “Happy Birthday” in the yellow ink on a white scrap, trimmed with deckle edge scissors and framed with a blue scrap.

Finished off with the rest of the rhinestones and baker’s twine.

BFF Open House Link Party #55 !

It’s Friday Eve again already? HOW?? I thought I’d beat last week’s crud but it’s back w/ a vengeance so no BFF to feature this week. Just the party. Keeping it simple!

Party on!

Big Girl Panties Printable

This one’s for the Mumster ( aka my Mom). She has a procedure this week ( routine but still not on anyone’s  Top 10 list of fun things to do) and in keeping with her always positive outlook, she keeps saying that she just needs to put “her big girl panties” on and get through it.

Dearest Mummy, please don’t kill me for putting this on my blog!  You know I’m unfiltered and anything’s fair game. Love you!!

Seriously, my Mom is one of the most upbeat and positive people I know. All. The. Time. Thankfully she’s kept me grounded , and making this printable helps remind me of needing to put my own big girl panties on and, to mix my sayings, take one day at a time.

I made it in her favorite color, purple, as well as a couple of other colors in case anyone else needs a reminder to put their big girl panties on.

Sharing At: 

Why I Relate to nrelate...Great Plug In Tool for Blogger or Word Press

I love blogging tools that are easy to use and really become part of the fabric of my blog. nrelate is one of those tools and it is one of the easiest plug ins I’ve installed on my blog.

Well what is it you ask? nrelate is a related content plugin for your blog.  If you look at the bottom of each of my posts, you’ll see thumbnails of other related, posts. This is a great way for your readers to see other projects you’ve done that are similar to the one they may be viewing.  And for me as a busy and sometimes forgetful blogger, I confess I've forgotten some of my previous projects and  get a little surprise reminder “oh yeah, forgot about that one” when I see the thumbnail come up on a new post.

Why would you want to do this you ask? You have a lot of blog content beyond what may be visible on your front page at any moment that may otherwise go unseen. Sure you probably have your posts on your sidebar by month but this is another super simple way for your readers to navigate and explore your blog.


How do I install it you ask? Easy Peasy!

For Blogger: http://nrelate.com/install-products/install-related-content/install-for-blogger/

For Word Press: http://nrelate.com/install-products/install-related-content/install-for-wordpress/

My experience has been that you get very relevant post results linked within your post and you can decide what thumbail style, size etc you want. The one time I had to contact nrelate for support they were SO responsive. If you are looking for a tool to help manage your blog this is one worth checking out. And did I mention it's free?


I am being compensated for this post but the opinions are mine. I was an nrelate user for months prior to this post.

BFF Open House Link Party#53 Wrap Up and Features!

Happy Monday! Here’s hoping this week is more creatively productive for this chocoholic but last week was certainly very productive for the ladies I’m featuring from the most recent BFF Open House!

Jamie, from The Creative Imperative shared a wonderful teacher appreciation gift that’s both pretty and practical :

Everything a teacher could need right at her fingertips. And easily adaptable to a more carpenter's look for a male teacher.

Dorothy over at Crazy for Crust shared these amazing looking Nutter Butter Truffle Brownies. I could just stare at these all day.

The talented Bev from Flamingo Toes is known around the blogosphere for her incredible Anthropologie knockoffs, but she’s an amazing seamstress and whipped up these cuties to help keep her craft space organized: Pin cushion on top; elasticized holders around the wood block to hold scissors, pencils etc. 

Finally, Bethany from A Fish Who Likes Flowers came up with the absolute BEST gift for several of her mom friends but they are perfect for anyone. I mean this is essential!

One flaw….I’d have broken glass everywhere ALL the time! Thanks all. Make it a creative week!

BFF Open House Link Party #53 and BFF Decorating Cents!

Thrilled as I am to have College Boy home, I wish he’d come back without bringing whatever was going around his dorm with him. He managed to avoid it , but all roads lead to mom. So, my creative endeavors this week have consisted of choosing between the green and blue cold medicines and looking at the pretty colors on the tea box. Enough of my whining.

This week, I’d like to introduce you to BFF Andrea from Decorating Cents where you might guess, she blogs about decorating on a budget. You’d never guess “budget” from seeing the end results. You may remember her starburst mirror from last week’s party:



She made this from paint stirrers from Home Depot! And she did the wall behind it.

Want to be really impressed? Check out Andrea’s made over kitchen complete with painted cabinets!

If you’re up for a big challenge like this, Andrea’s got a great tutorial here.

If you’d like to try a little less daunting idea, you can see how Andrea made these great paper mache letters for her kitchen

and I don’t mean she found them at the craft store and covered them. I mean she MADE the letters herself. Go see.

Oh and that backsplash? Yup. She and her husband did that too. I hope you’ll pop over to Decorating Cents and pay Andrea a visit. When she’s not busy doing incredible projects like the ones above, she’s busy being a wife and mom.

So what’s everyone been up to this week? You know the rules:

Mother's Day Treasure Hunting. Vintage Pocket Watch Case

You know your family loves you when they give you Michaels gift cards for Mother’s day. Thanks guys!

You know they totally get you, when they take you to an outdoor flea / farmer’s market and wait patiently while you look at all the stuff and can’t make up your mind which of several vintage pocket watch cases to purchase.

It didn’t hurt that there were vintage comics for College Boy to look at and vintage car books for Mr. C. to look at.

I love imagining the history behind this (who carried it? was it a gift from a special love or handed down from father to son?) and thinking about what I’m going to do with it. Will I do one big focal piece or a mini collage inside? I’m pretty sure I’ll fill it with resin.

I haven’t decided if I’ll use this watch themed paper or something completely unrelated to watches. Or, whether I’ll use it in a bigger piece or as a piece of jewelry. I wear big chunky stuff so I can see some chain and crystals involved.

No matter, we had a great time ( the guys actually  got more stuff than I did!) and it was the perfect way to spend Mother’s Day with the two most special guys I know and love.

BFF Open House Link Party #52: Wrap Up and Features!

I hope all the Moms had a fantastic Mother’s Day. College boy is home and we had a wonderfully fun day yesterday, beginning with breakfast cooked by Mr. Chocolate. Thanks guys!

Once again, so many great ideas linked up to last week’s party. Here are just a few:

Ashley, from Cherished Bliss shared this adorable Mason Jar party cups. These were for her daughter’s birthday party but could easily be adapted for a shower, or a Memorial Day or Fourth of July barbecue.

Bethany, from A Fish Who Likes Flowers solves one of my persistent problems: what to do with paper scraps. She made these fantastic package bows. If I was smart, I’d make up a bunch of these to have on hand!

This is my kind of flower pot: Chocolate! Back for Seconds shared these adorable flower pots that would be fun to pair with Ashley’s lemonade cups:

She also has a tutorial on how to make the pretzel stick flowers.

Washi tape is everywhere and Fonda from Southern Scraps shared a fantastic project using it:

So many possibilities and you could easily add one of Bethany’s scrap paper bows.

Finally, Andrea from Decorating Cents shared her low cost VERY high impact sunburst mirror ( and I want her wall!!!)

Thanks everyone! Make it a creative week!

Happy Mother's Day!

My PicMonkey addiction continues.  Wishing all of you creative and amazing  Moms a wonderful  Mother’s Day.

These are some pics I took at Seattle’s Pike Place Market last weekend, and played around with using PicMonkey this weekend. I’d give each of you a bouquet of these if I could! The first pic uses a paint filter to fill in the blank space while maintaining the photo. I added the butterflies and the text.

This one I converted to B&W, added film strip edges and a canvas like texture. 

This one I framed with a Polaroid effect and used a color shot option to make everything but the center black and white. 

And this one, I just cropped , framed with photo corners and added a color mat.

Have fun today whatever you do!

Sharing At: 

Sherwin Williams Paint Chip Picker Has Created A Monster

It’s not exactly like I need another online thing to play with but in fairness, I didn’t go looking for this. I actually found it in this month’s Food Network magazine.

So what does a paint palette picker ( say that 3 times fast) have to do with a sandals?  Technically nothing. But this little tool from Sherwin Williams is  so cool for anyone who does any kind of designing.

You enter the URL of any online  picture in the box on their “Let’s Chip It” site, and up pops a color palette. It’s intended to help you pick a paint palette but there are all kinds of possibilities. You can also add a tool to your toolbar and they have a video that explains both options.   BTW, they don’t even know I’m posting this and I have no connection w/ them. I just thought it was  fun.

Here’s it’s probable intended use…picking a décor palette to go with some fabric you may have fallen in love with:

But let’s say you fell in love with a pair of those orange sandals and wanted to build an outfit around them? Purely hypothetically speaking of course not at all suggesting that I have fallen in love with a pair of those orange sandals or anything.

Or, let’s say a certain paper addict is attacked by some scrapbook paper:

and is looking for which coordinating cardstock to buy to go with it….or...or...or....

You can save your chips ( you have to log in w/ your Facebook ID ) or you can just keep entering URLs to get ideas.  Happy Saturday!

BFF Open House Link Party #52: Mother's Day Edition!

Gosh it feels like I just blink and it’s Friday again. The problem is that the weekends go by even faster.

All that blinking left me w/ out a BFF to feature this week. I am sure you’ve all been busy whipping up Mother’s Day, Teacher Appreciation, Graduation and End of Year ideas as well as DIYing , upcycling and making over!

I am getting the BEST Mother’s Day present. College Boy comes home on Saturday!!! Can’t wait. OK let’s party!

Pink Poppies and Butterfly Cards

I’m not normally drawn to pinks but you might remember the Recollections “Fashionably Chic” paper stack that attacked me at Michaels:

There are several patterns within each color family  and the pink papers immediately reminded me of two ladies I know. I think the flowers are poppies but Martha and I part ways at gardening so whatever they are, I liked them and chose a couple of coordinating papers from the stack.

Made my cards (5x7) and covered with the coordinating papers. Mounted the floral paper onto some lightweight cardstock and then trimmed around the flowers, spritzed them with Elmer’s spray adhesive, and then a good shake of Recollections extra fine iridescent glitter. 

The swirly embellishment is a Memory Box steel die. The chipboard butterfly is from a package of chipboard shapes I found at Michael’s (20 pieces for $1) by Studio 18.

 

Finished off the cards with coordinating self adhesive rhinestones I had in my stash.

Fortunately  I can deliver these cards  in person because they would cost me more to mail them than to make them.

Sharing At: