BFF Open House Link Party #237: Merry Christmas !

Merry Christmas Eve all! Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas. Ready or not, here we are. Opening up the party early. Here are some things you may still have time to squeeze in ( or definitely pin for next year) .

I love all things paper...fom detailed patterns to the simplicity of brown paper. The guys at Crafty Lumberjacks used kraft paper and paint to make this wonderful wrapping paper. I keep a roll of brown kraft paper in my craft room and use it for everything. The simple elegance of this idea is so lovely! 

In keeping with a simple, rustic, yet elegant theme, Mich in LA has a fantastic ornament stand that can be made from garden wire! Love the snowflake she has hanging on this one! 

Whether for a last minute gift or to have extras on hand for guests, Heather at Woods of Bell Trees has a great way to dress up cork coasters. These could be done in so many ways...not just for Christmas. 

I think these would still count as cookies for Santa if you left out Oreo cookie cake pops don't you? Check out Logan Can for the how to . 

   

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BFF Open House Link Party #236

Crunch time people! One week until Christmas Eve....EEEEEEEEEEEEK! Are you ready? I'm not. 

Here are some ideas from last week's party that you still have time for though! 

Love  this card from Paper Seedlings. The little dots around the word "peace"? A happy accident that I think adds a great dimension to the card. 

Fantastic on trend makeover from Lou Lou Girls. I love updating and re-purposing pieces I already have.

I love lights and would have them everywhere if left to my own devices. But I hate seeing the cords. Sweetwater Style shared a great post on how to get the lights without the unsightly cords. 

I think Santa, or his hardworking Elves would love a batch of these Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies from Strength and Sunshine don't you? 

Now, on to this week's party.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Tagmania: Pretty and Practical Gifting

Being addicted to paper as I am, I hate to see any beautiful papers go to waste. So I've had a lot of fun making gift tags to give as gifts figuring who can't use more gift tags this time of year? I know I've wrapped many a present and then realized I had no way to personalize it / indicate the recipient. 

This is one of those things that the more you make, the more you want to make! 

Simple process: 

• Gift tags (you can buy packages of ready made tags or cut your own. I cut mine using my Silhouette)
• Paper scraps
• Random embellishments : rhinestones, washi tape, punched shapes buttons, etc. ( this is a great way to use up onsie twosie leftovers)

These are some I made for a Hanukkah gift. I cut the dreidels using my Silhouette, randomly covered them w/ embossing ink and then embossed with gold embossing powder. 

One friend of mine decorates her tree in bright greens, pinks, purples so I coordinated these tags around those colors. To embellish I used punched glitter stars, snowflakes, sequins, and glitter ribbon and had some Japanese Mizuhiki cord in my stash that coordinated. 

Tip: I apply the papers slightly wider than the tag and then trim the edges all at once so they're uniform. 

I used the same idea for these in black, white and green, using white Mizuhiki cord on some. 

After seeing these, Mr. Chocolate asked "where are our tags" so guess what I'm working on ? 

Christmas Mantle : Black and White Tree Makeover

I made over my mantle decorations this year, going with a black , white and gold theme w/ accents of red. 

Waste not want not so I try to repurpose pieces I already have which is what I did with these black and white felt trees. They used to be these from a few years ago: 

which were fun and I still liked them but was tired of them. 

I'd pinned the tinsel to the tree ( see thinking ahead to when I might want to rip them apart!) so removing it was easy. I created a pattern for my felt freehand on a piece of scrap paper and then cut out a bunch of shapes in black and white felt. I started off counting them. That ended quickly. 

These trees are a little more permanent since I hot glued the felt pieces to the styrofoam cone.  Working from the bottom up, glue one color around the cone then offset your pieces and glue the next color around the cone. Continue until your cone is covered. 

Slightly more work than the tinsel trees but only slightly. 

They fit right in on my mantle with a black and white Father Christmas I painted years ago, and my mantle focal of a chalkboard sign I also  made this year. 

The chalkboard sign was made from a pre-cut piece of plywood from Home Depot, painted with chalkboard paint  and bordered with gold glitter paint ( Martha Stewart). 

The right side of the mantle contains a large vase filled with pinecones I've picked up on walks, birch and glittered branches left over from my Thanksgiving mantle and filled in with silver and gold balls. 

Vintage bottle brush and live  mini cedar trees in antique cordial glasses finish out the mantle along with collectible ornaments. 

BFF Open House Link Party #235

Happy Friday Eve all. I guarantee no one is more excited than I am because I get my best Christmas present tomorrow when Grad School Boy comes home!!!  Mr. Chocolate and I are so excited. 

The days are ticking away and here are some features from last week's party: 

Brenda from Much More Creative shared her gorgeous Christmas chalkboard. Beautiful! 

Brenda's chalkboard would go well with this re-purposed sheet music wreath from Lynda Creates. 

Artsy Va Va is back with a wonderful vintage ornament. These would make special gifts. 

This week's chocolate feature is a Red Velvet White Chocolate Trifle from Andrea at Living on Cloud Nine. Isn't this festive and perfect for Christmas? 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

BFF Open House Link Party # 234 Happy December

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. To those celebrating Hanukkah this weekend, Happy Hanukkah and have a latke for me! Crunch time is on us so here are some ideas from the week before last's party! 

Not only is this a cute project, but the story that  goes with it is hilarious and is something I can imagine a bunch of us crafty peeps hearing from our friends. You need to visit Artsy Va Va to find out the details of both. 

Charm Bracelet Diva shared a brilliant idea using Dollar Store Christmas bags to create fantastic wall art! Genius! 

These Pom Pom Pinecone ornaments from One Little Project are too cute and a great project to have little elves help with. 

Speaking of ornaments, how about this woodsy one from Much More Creative

She also made another version: 

Now onto this week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone time well spent with family and friends. Party will resume next week

BFF Open House #233

Happy Friday eve all. Can you believe Thanksgiving is one week from today? I really can't. The windy weather here in the PNW is definitely reminding me that it's November. 

Here are a few features from last week's party!

Let's start with this festive necklace from Rena a Jewelry Making Journal. Perfect to add to your hostess outfit, make as a gift for your hostess or for Hanukkah or Christmas. 

These DIY Apple Tealight Candles would be perfect to add to a Thanksgiving table. The aptly name DIY Homegirl shows you how. 

I love this paper Indian Corn project from the guys at Crafty Lumberjacks. You could do all kinds of colors or monochromatic ... so many possibilities! 

Looking ahead to Christmas , here's a great idea from Heather at Woods of Bell Trees that is a gift that keeps on giving and is good for the environment. Christmas Tree in a Mug! ( HINT: place your seedling in a plastic cup then put it in the mug so the mug is safe to drink from ). 

For a chocolate feature this week, I'm sharing what I'm planning on making as a neighbor gift. From Joan at Chocolate Chocolate and More , Chocolate Pumpkin Pound Cake 

Now onto this week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

BFF Open House #232

Happy Friday Eve all and can you believe that it's TWO WEEKS until Thanksgiving? Seriously how did that happen? On the one hand I'm excited because while Grad School Boy won't be home for T-Day it means it won't be much longer after that he'll be home for a while. On the other hand it's TWO WEEKS and then time picks up even more speed. 

One of those crazy weeks so we'll go right to the party and I'll do expanded features next week OK? Have a wonderful weekend all! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

BFF Open House #231

Happy Friday eve! Hope you all had a fabulous Halloween. I can't believe we're headed towards Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas so quickly. I was in Michaels on Halloween and there was hardly any Fall stuff in sight. This week's features are a combination of holiday goodness. 

This is a two-fer. Pin this fun bracelet for next year's Halloween or as you'll see over at ArtsyVaVa's blog, you can make for other seasons or no seasons at all and make as a holiday gift. 

Here's another idea that is perfect as is but also adaptable for gift giving ( I'm thinking how cute would these be for the little one's to make for grandparents!)  Visit The Practical Mom blog for the details. 

Doreen from Altered Artworks has a wonderful thrifted project that's perfect for a Fall Front Porch. 

Christmas will be here before we know it so if you want to get ahead of things and make some Christmas cards, visit Paper Seedlings for this fun quilted card. 

OK now on to this week's party !

   

    An InLinkz Link-up