BFF#10: JC’s Loft

Welcome to “BFF” aka Blog Feature Friday! This week I’d like to introduce you to a fun blog called:

and the blogger behind it, Paula. Paula has lots of fun projects and congratulations are in order because she has just completed her very first PAID party planning gig. Woo hoo!! You can see why I’m sure this won’t be her last. Here are some pics from a bridal shower she recently did:



Paula also does some great décor projects like this faux lamp tutorial:

You will just have to go visit to see the tutorial and you will want to make these!
And I’ll bet you can’t guess what this gorgeous vase started out as:

And look at these cute and creative treats she did for her son’s first birthday! You HAVE to go see the whole thing, but here’s a peek:

So if you need some inspiration, party ideas, or just a creative pick me up, please go visit Paula! You will be glad you did.

Welcome To Those Visiting From:

LUCK o The Printable

It’s not supposed to be snowing in Seattle in February! Just had to get that out of the way. I was playing around with some digital downloads I found at this really cool FREE site: Eden Scrapbooks and decided to make one more St. Patrick’s Day printable. I’ve been playing with layering and stuff!

Click to expand to full size. Right click to Save As.

Linking Up At: 

Time To Start Thinking About Spring Cleaning

I'm in a perpetual state of trying to keep my craft room / office organized. When all my stuff is orderly, my mojo tends to get put in a box with my supplies so I lean towards organized chaos. I think it's organized. Mr. Chocolate thinks it's chaos.  

Still, as my blog grows and I plan on going Etsy ( I do...I do...) and there are more papers etc. to keep track of as well as other stuff that ends up in my office, it becomes more important to be more organized. The gals at One2One Network in conjunction with Fellowes have a great opportunity to win a great tool to help with this, as well as some reminders on how to keep things organized, the need for security and prevention of identity theft: 

The Fellowes P-12C paper shredder is a durable, innovativeand affordable machine. With Fellowes’ industry-leading technologies, the P-12C provides high-security and is safe for family environments. 

* To ensure high-security against identity thieves, the P-12C features Cross-Cut technology, which destroys a single sheet of paper into nearly399 particles. 

* The P-12C also includes Fellowes’ patented SafeSense technology, which disables the shredder when it senses hands or large pets come too close to the paper opening.

You can go to the One2One blog for details on a giveaway to win one of these! Details here.

Some other useful things to remember ( courtesy of the Identity Theft Resource Center) :

Top 5 Tips for spring cleaning the home office:

Begin with the Basics: Sort through the piles of paperwork on your desk and in your office drawers.  Place them into two categories: ‘save’ and ‘shred.’ ( They didn't say anything about envision in a collage or mixed media piece but that goes without saying right?)

Proper Storage: Organize the "save" pile into labeled folders and be sure to put anything confidential into a fire-proof lock box.  The "shred" pile should be properly disposed of with aCross-Cut shredder, such as a Fellowes P-12C. 

Get a Digital Makeover: Refresh your home office computer bydeleting files you no longer use and backing-up important dataonto an external hard drive.  Clean out your inbox and change all passwords.  Refreshing your computer is a good practice to follow throughout the year as well. 

Make Life Easier: Plan ahead by purchasing organizational tools for your desk, such as computer risers or file folder holders.  This will help clear clutter from your desk top while keeping things within arms reach.

Freshen Up: Get rid of dust and germs that easily build up on office equipment such as keyboards, telephones and cabinets.  You'll feel instantly more productive with a clean workspace.

I wasn't compensated for this blog post but saw it as part of my affiliation w/ One2One and thought it was worth sharing. 

February Open House Wrap Up and WINNER!

Thanks everyone for linking up to the February Open House link party at The Answer Is Chocolate! As always, there were some fantastic ideas shared and I’m going to highlight a few but I loved them ALL!

First though, since Shannon from

Swainston Vinyl and Designs was so sweet to sponsor a giveaway this month, let me announce the LUCKY winner of her awesome Irish Blessings sign and $20 Gift Certificate to her shop:

You had to leave a comment to be eligible so the lucky winner is commenter #22:

Caroline from:

Congrats Caroline! I will give Shannon your email so you two can work out the specifics!

A few highlights from this month’s Open House:

Crystal, from Crystal’s Clocks,Crafts and Vinyl shared this fun St. Patrick’s Day idea:

Antonella, from Quilling, Art and Expression shared her amazing quilling talents with this gorgeous butterfly:

You will never guess what Suzy from Suzy’s Artsy Craftsy Sitcom used to make this filigree frame:

And of course I have to have a chocolate feature. Jocelyn from Inside BruCrew Life just had to tempt me with these:

Again, thanks to everyone who linked up and I hope you’ll come back again next month on  March 18!

St. Patrick’s Printables

A couple of printables for St. Patrick’s day…takes on the “Keep Calm” trend .

Click to bring to full size and then right click,  “Save As” to download.
Would appreciate a follow if you download.

Featured On

Linking Up At: 

 

I Knocked It Off

The February Open House link party is still going strong here and you can link up and enter to win the giveaway through Sunday night.

I’ve seen lots of fun framed typography prints in various boutiques and on line and decided to try my hand at knocking one off because well, they “ain’t cheap”!
Here’s one from a great site I recently joined called Joss and Main.

Smith & Co

You can join Joss and Main for free and receive emails with their daily “events” which are limited time offers to buy home décor, kitchen items, accessories etc. Prices range, well they range! Something about the above print by Smith & Co just caught my eye but reg price is $186, on sale for $99.

So I downloaded a free parchment background ( googled parchment background) and then imported into my graphics program and went to work on letters. Ended up having to do them one by one in order to get the same effect but it wasn’t too bad.

I had a coupon burning a hole in my pocket for my favorite frame store, Aaron Brothers. Found a frame for $24.99, 40% off that and my additional 20% off that…$11.99. Had a mat in my stash and since I was making my own print, printed my image to fit my mat.

I am really happy with the end result but I was not happy with the pics of the end result so I uploaded the file I created to Picnik and put a digital frame on it so I could zoom in on the lettering to show you better. I also added the word “JOY” to mine because I like that word and that way the copyright police won’t come after me!

So what do you think? Did I knock it off? (Or should I knock off the knock offs?)

Linking Up At:

  

February Open House Link Party !

Welcome, so glad you could drop by for my monthly Open House!

Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day ( lots of chocolate) and can’t wait to see what everyone’s been working on since last month. Whether it's a fashion re-do, upcycle, home dec, jewelry, paper craft, card, recipe ...you name it! Just no advertising or etsy please, and make sure and link to your specific post !

This month I am THRILLED to be able to offer you super cool giveaway from Shannon at :

Shannon is a business owner, a blogger, and an incredibly talented crafter and she is offering one of my followers a chance to win this gorgeous Irish Blessings Sign (just in time for St. Patrick’s Day):

AND….

A $20 gift certificate to her shop!!! How sweet is that?!

To be eligible for the giveaway ( US and Canada only ) :

• Be a follower of The Answer Is Chocolate…leave a comment
• Link Up Something to the party….leave a comment
• Become a follower of Shannon’s blog…leave a comment

That’s three chances to win!

The party will be open through Sunday 2/20 and the winner will be chosen on Monday 2/21

Best of LUCK