BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve, all. And Happy Mother's Day Weekend to all celebrating. I also know it can be a bittersweet day for some, so please be gentle with yourselves. We've had some later-than-usual cloudy and cooler days here in the desert, but I'm about to eat those words because we're supposed to hit 100 soon, and once that happens? Triple digits for a while! 

This week, I shared the Mother's Day Cards I made and sent to special Moms in my life, along with a designer-inspired home decor post:

Tulip Mother's Day Cards:

Designer-Inspired Home Decor:

As always, last week's party was filled with fun and inspiring ideas, so here are a few. 

Crazy Little Lovebirds shared a lovely way to use a paper towel tube in home decor with this pretty Hello Summer sign. 

Petticoat Junktion shared an incredible West Elm inspired  Sofa Table Makeover! Love this. 

My French Twist shared this lovely and hilarious DIY Pillow project using a Print on Fabric technique. And...it's reversible!

Finally, Ann's Entitled Life shared an update to a classic dessert with this Boston Cream Poke Cake. 

Thanks to everyone who linked up and can't wait to see what you have in store this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Home Decor: Johnathan Adler Inspired

 

When I popped into Michaels to peep their Johnathan Adler Collection (if you're not familiar with him, he started out as a ceramacist and branched into lines of home decor sold at boutiques, his own stores, and now, at Michaels) I remembered that I had some "Adler-esque" pieces in my stash from Dollar Tree.

He uses a lot of bold geometric shapes and lines. 

Supplies:

• Unfinished Geometric Pieces
• Waverly Multi-Surface Paint
• Apple Barrel Multi-Surface Paint
• Rub and Buff

These are the unfinished ceramic pieces I scooped up at Dollar Tree when I saw them because they seemed like the kind of things that I'd regret not getting, even if I didn't have a plan at the time! I've since seen them at some stores but you never know, so glad I played it safe. 

Clean any dust or residue with a soft cloth. 

I went with this Waverly No Prep Paint in Steel for the candle bases. The bisque surface required a couple of coats. 

This is the first coat, and you can see the surface peeking through. So, second coat!

Hard to see here because it's been gloomy out and I probably need to move my desk, but painted these vases/candleholders/whatever they are with Apple Barrel Multi-Surface white, then dry-brushed with a metallic silver. 

I used silver Rub and Buff to highlight the raised edges. A little goes a long way with this stuff so start with less and go from there. Buff with a dry cloth. 

I also went around the rim of the candleholder base with a little of the Rub and Buff. I didn't glue them together because I switch pieces up and use them differently throughout the year, but you easily could!

For now, I'm using them as candleholders and I have battery operated lights from Dollar Tree in them. 

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Papercrafting: Layered Tulip Mother's Day Cards

 

Even with postage constantly increasing, I still am a "snail mail" girl when it comes to holidays and making and sending handmade cards. I think now more than ever, with everything electronic and AI, it's important to maintain some analog hobbies! Cardmaking remains my first love and my gateway "drug" to all of my other crafts. The Mamas in my life will be getting these in the mail soon! 

Supplies:

• Cutting Machine 
• SVG Image  (Creative Fabrica)
• Coordinating Scrapbook Papers
• Cardstock (110 lb)
• Coordinating Stickers
• Foam Tape
• Gemstone Embellishments

I realize the irony (even the hypocrisy) of talking about an analog hobby while using downloadable files and an electronic cutting machine. I consider them tools, just like a tape gun or paper cutter. 

I found a layered tulip image I liked and downloaded the SVG via my Creative Fabrica subscription. I uploaded it into my Cricut Design Space software and sized to fit my card. I used two different green papers to give my tulips depth, and cut the tops out in pink metallic and white. 

I used a mini glue dot runner (Dollar Tree) to attach the layers as shown. Two green, one pink glitter, then the top in pink foil here, and 

white paper here. 

My standard card size is 5x7, so I cut my 110lb cardstock to 7x10, scored, folded, then my focal panels from my chosen scrapbook papers (Recollections) to 4.75x6.75, and applied with my tape gun.

Once all of my tulip focal pieces were done, they were ready to go on the front of the cards!

I squealed when I found these tulip stickers at Michaels, and I already had the butterfly stickers in my stash (Dollar Tree). I attached one of each to enhance each of the tulips. To finish, I added coordinating pink gemstones (Creatology, Michaels). 

DON'T sleep on the kids' crafts section at Michaels, which is where these gems are fun. More than I'll ever probably use, so for $3.99, they go a LONG way!

 

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