BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve, all! Our monsoon season seems to be going out like a lion. Living in the desert, we don't follow "traditional" seasons. It's been a mild one but whew, last night was everything by me. Lightning, thunder, rain, wind. I was looking for the Wicked Witch flying by. 

It felt great to be in my craft room this week and started on some Spooky Season projects! This week I shared: 

Dollar Tree Dollhouse to Haunted Mansion 

Dollar Tree Fairy Houses to Glam Witch Cottages

Busy working on a few more things to share. 

OK! Let's take a look at some of the fun ideas shared at last week's party!

Back to school calendars are all over the place so if school hasn't yet started (or even if it has) Creatively Beth has a wonderrful Clay Pot Apple for Teacher project! 

My Thrift Store Addiction shared this beautiful Vintage Headboard to Trellis transformation. 

Press Print Party shared this amazing DIY Coral Reef! Perfect for a Little Mermaid theme or any party celebrating the sea! 

Finally, it's never too early to start thinking of holiday and host/hostess gifts, right? Flour on My Face has you covered with DIY Rosemary Salt. 

Thanks to everyone who linked up and can't wait to see what you've been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Halloween: From Dollar Tree Fairy Houses to Glam Witch Cottages

 

Last year, I went looking for these little Fairy Houses at Dollar Tree too late in the season, so when I saw them in the Spring, I grabbed up a few. I was thinking ahead to Spooky Season and decided they'd make great Witch Cottages. You may still be able to find them now or use any little ceramic houses from there or thrift shops. 

Supplies: 

• Ceramic Fairy Cottage (Dollar Tree)
• Black Spray Paint (Rustoleum)
• Silver Acrylic Paint (Craft Smart)
• Embellismhments (Michaels)

I forgot to  take pics of them before I started so this is from their website. This is the design I used for these. 

I spray-painted them with the black Rustoleum I used for my Haunted Mansion. It's amazing how different they look, isn't it? I got a different style I'm going to use for Christmas.

I used a bright silver acrylic paint (Craft Smart Multi Surface Ultra Bright Silver, Michaels) to dry brush the roof, stones, windows etc. 

I love scoping the kids crafts sections of Michaels because I always find some goodies like these gems from Creatology. They're iridescent and faceted and can go with anything! 

I used a quick-drying glue to attach the gems along the roofline, door, and plants, and added a few self-adhesive rhinestones as shown. 

I picked up these charms last year (Michaels), which I ended up not using, so I chose the pumpkins to add to the front. 

And there you have it! From Fairy Houses to Glam Witch Cottages! Can't wait to show you what I did with some of the Fairy House accessories I also picked up. Stay tuned! 

Halloween: Dollar Tree Dollhouse to Haunted Mansion

 

Boo! I might be late to "Summerween" but I'm here, and it felt SO good to be back in my craft room really getting to play with some stuff now that things have settled down a bit at Casa Chocolate. I have a few projects I'll share this week and next, getting ready for one of my favorite times of the year: Spooky Season! And no, I will not be climbing on any countertops this year. The scar from last year's Humpty Dumpty fall is the only reminder I need, but trust...friends and family have been a united chorus. 

Supplies: 

• Dollar Tree Doll Houses (2)
• Rustoleum Black Spray Paint w/Primer (Black)
• Acrylic Paints in Silver and White
• Silver Paint Pen
• Embellishments (Details Below)

If you see these at Dollar (Fifty) Tree, don't wait to get them because they come and go! So of course, I got more than two because...

I picked up this matte black Rustoleum paint specifically because it bonds to plastic. As much as I hate spray paint, this covers like a dream. I saw where someone popped out the windows and doors to paint separately. I did one. NOPE. More of a pain (to me) to put back in. NEXT! Those suckers can stay put. You may also be wondering why I used two. Because they're a facade, and half a house with the back open. I wanted a whole house, so...two!

They do come with little hinges so you can attach them in a row. I decided to remove them. I thought my craft knife would work. Ended up using some heavier snips...tin I think...I had in my scissor stash. Snipped right off. 

I ran glue around the back of one house and glued the two together using Loctite Super Glue Gel after I dry-brushed white acrylic paint on the roof. 

Once my house was built, I went over the raised areas with a silver paint pen (Craft Smart, Michaels) and a little more dry brushing. 

I had this sheet of self-adhesive rhinestones in my stash, left over from a Design Team I was once on. I cut a strip of it and adhered it across the roof line, using a little hot glue for extra adhesion. 

On one of my DT excursions, I found these sheets of "Disco Tiles" and used a strip of them on each side of my Haunted Mansion. 

I had some Tim Holtz embellishments on hand that were PERFECT for this project, so I used the canes and buttons to embellish, along with some charms I picked up last year at Michaels, and of course, some bling! 

Displayed here on an as yet unconstructed stand which is a DT mirror and candleholder. Since I haven't actuall started decorating yet, I haven't glued these together, but you get the idea. 

Squeeeeee! I'm in my happy place! Stay tuned...

BFF Open House

 

Happy August and Friday Eve, Creative Peeps! This year's been a blur, but I've actually had time this week to organize my Halloween craft supplies and start a couple of projects I look forward to sharing next week. Back to school is underway around me, as I was reminded when we saw the parade of school buses yesterday while out and about. 

Here are some of the fun ideas shared at last week's party to Pin, Share, and Try!

Crazy Little Lovebirds shared this Tiered Metal Tray that's easy to DIY. I love tiered trays for holding and displaying collections of things and this is perfect for Fall! 

Steph Creates shared this fun Coffee Canvas Tutorial. I pretty much run on iced-mochas or hot-mochas or mochas, period...you get the drift. 

If back to school hasn't started for you yet, here's a very Sweet BTS M&M Teacher's Gift from Hunny I'm Home DIY. 

Finally, how fun are these Lego Brownies from 24 Hour Family? Perfect for lunchboxes or after-school snacks! 

Thanks to everyone who linked up and can't wait to see what you've been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve and last day of July. Yikes! It was a busy month at Casa Chocolate so I'm not rurprised by how fast it went by. Mr. Chocolate continues to heal ahead of schedule. 

Be on the lookout for holiday workshops from Halloween to Christmas! 

Paper Glitter Glue has a wonderful Halloween Spooktacular I've signed up for. Twenty days of fun projects! 

Even though it's been a minute for me, I still love seeing all the back to school supplies which have become a great craft stock up! As a kid, I loved being able to get brand new notebooks, pens, etc. for the school year. Now, I stock up on glue, glue sticks, and still...PENS! 

Let's take a look at some of the fun ideas shared at last week's party, including some fun BTS ideas!

Sonata Home Design has a great way to use a map to make up a Travel Journal (pick up a composition book at a back-to-school sale!). Yes I know we mostly use GPS in our cars or phones but visitors centers sill carry maps, or in this case, a bucket list trip to England!

Press Print Party has a perfect idea for Back to School with these Grade Based Back to School Signs. All grades! 

Hunny I'm Home DIY has a great back-to-school project teachers will appreciate with this Clorox Wipes Teacher Gift. 

Finally, how about a batch of these Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies in a back-to-school lunch? From Fat Dad Foodie! 

Thank you to everyone who linked up and can't wait to see what you've been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter