BFF Link Party# 16

Hi all and welcome to Blog Feature Friday where you can link up anything that's made by you! Papercrafts, mixed media, made over, upcycled, thriftcycled, freecycled, you get the picture. Party on!

Today's Guest Chocoholic: Charm Bracelet Diva!

I'm absolutely thrilled to be guest-posting here today for my good friend Carol at

The Answer Is Chocolate!

Hi!  I'm Kathleen from Charm Bracelet Diva.  

Charm Bracelet Diva is where I share my love of all things vintage, shabby, chipped, Goodwill~ed (yes, that's a word in my world!) and repurposed.  In fact, my husband believes that Goodwill is practically my second home!  My blog started out as a handmade jewelry blog, but it has since grown to include DIY crafts and home decor as well.

Here are a few of my projects:

Ballard Designs-inspired Gilded Chalkboard

Pottery Barn-inspired Book Bundles

Vintage Watch and Charm Necklace

Pottery Barn-inspired Candles

Monogrammed Flour Sack Pillow

Vintage Charm Bracelet

So today I'd like to share with you my first experience with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP).  The blog world has been abuzz with reviews of her paint for a while now, so why not get on the bandwagon too?

First off, let me say that I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to painting furniture.  But why should that stop me?  I've been itching to try ASCP for quite a while now but was hesitant to fork over the $$$$$cash.  I finally gave in and ordered it, using some hard-earned jewelry sale money.I purchased Paris Grey.

From the get-go I had an old chair in mind to experiment with.  It has sentimental value for me ~ it was my Mom and Dad's, and it graced their bedroom for many, many years before I inherited it.  It's at least 60-plus years old.

O.K., so it's definitely seen better days.

The cool thing is that it folds flat.  I thought that was pretty neat.

Sorry for the dark photo but it's all I've got.

I also had a seat cover in mind.

I picked this up at a local flea market after many months of searching.  It wasn't pristine by any means but hey, it's a grainsack for pete's sake.  It's what they call c-h-a-r-m-i-n-g.

First I pulled out all the staples underneath the seat, removing the upholstery, such as it were.  I then used the very old floral fabric as a pattern for my grainsack.  Once this was done I moved on to the painting.

After discovering some cracks on the chair back, I made sure I glued them down with wood glue and clamped them overnight.

Here are the cracks after I glued and sanded.  Hopefully you're saying, "Cracks, what cracks?"

I need to confess here that I'm a pretty impatient DIYer, so I just jumped right in with the painting.  Luckily with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint you don't have to prime or sand before you paint!  I also only did one coat because some certain guest blog post had to be done by a certain date and I had a full weekend coming up that did not involve painting OR blogging! 

Sadly, I don't think the one coat did a good job covering the original finish, despite claims that this paint will cover almost anything in one coat.  I also don't think it looks very grey, more like white.

Clearly I sanded (yes it sands nicely, and look out cause there's a LOT of dust!) but I didn't use any wax.  SO.....who knows what two coats and some wax would have done for the overall appearance?  I think I really have to get used to looking at it.  I mean, my whole life I've been used to seeing this.

And now I have this.

Thoughts?

I'm sure there are a lot more ASCP experiments in my future.......I mean who knows?  I also have my parents' entire bedroom suite including a bedside table, 3 (!) dressers, a headboard and a huge, ornate, killer mirror. 

 {I'm doin' the happy dance!}    

Okay, so there you have it.  Thanks for playing, and please make sure you stop by Charm Bracelet Diva real soon and say hello!  I'd love for you to follow me, and maybe join in on one of my Tuesday Club G.W. parties.  
You can learn about them here.  (They're really all about those  trash treasures you find at Goodwill and thrift stores and yard sales and antique stores...get the idea yet?)

And finally, thanks go out to my friend Carol, for the chance to post on her awesome blog!

xoxo

Today's Guest Chocoholic: Jenn from Rook No.17

Hi all! I'm going to be busy with packing and getting my son off to college ( waaaahhh) so I'm thrilled that several of my BFFs have been wonderful enough to provide guest posts over the next couple of weeks. I promise that you will NOT be disappointed in the great ideas they have to share and hope that if you aren't familiar with these blogs and bloggers, you will go and visit them. In advance, thanks to everyone for your help and friendship! 

My first guest chocoholic is the incredible Jenn from Rook No. 17 with a delicious and of course chocolatey treat! 

Greetings The Answer is Chocolate fans!  I'm Jenn, the crafter, baker, and glitter shaker behind the creative living blog Rook No. 17.  I'm a cake sculptor by profession and a mom 24/7. Rook No. 17 is a place where I share my original recipes, vintage inspired crafts, and cake decorating tips and tutorials.

I'm so happy that Carol has invited me to guest-post here today.  I'd be remiss in showing due respect to my incredible hostess if I didn't bring something chocolaty along to share.  So, today I've brought my easy and delicious Strawberry & Chocolate Tartlets for you to enjoy:

I owe much gratitude to my mom for initiating so many wonderful family traditions when my brothers and I were growing up. One of my favorites involves visiting a local farm every year for berry-picking. I am happy to say that this is one (of many) traditions that we've continued and now includes three generations. Because we can always count on a bounty of fresh strawberries every summer, I enjoy creating new recipes that will perfectly complement their natural sweetness.

This year, I revamped an old family classic for Strawberry and Chocolate Pie to make these delightful two-bite tartlets. The buttery little tart shells and the not-too-sweet chocolate filling are the perfect match for the berries.

While strawberry season is at its peak, visit a local farm, farmer's market or grocer -- pick up a basket of berries, and give this recipe a try:

Strawberry and Chocolate Tartlets

(makes 4 dozen)

Print-friendly button at the end of the post

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour

6 oz. (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, room temperature

3 Tablespoons honey

4 dozen small strawberries, caps, or quarters

FOR THE TART SHELLS

Step 1:  In a medium bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in flour, just to combine.

Step 2:  Roll dough into 1" balls and place in a lightly greased mini-muffin tin.  Using a wooden tamper or small shot glass dipped in flour, press dough balls down to form a cup shape.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

  Preheat oven to 350 F

Step 3:  Bake shells for 10 minutes.  Tart shells will puff slightly during baking.  Using the tamper or small shot glass, gently press down the centers of each shell, then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Set on a rack to cool for 10 minutes then gently remove shells and allow to cool completely.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE FILLING

Step 1:  In a small saucepan or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips over medium-low heat.  Set aside.

Step 2:  In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually beat in the melted chocolate and honey.  

Step 3:  Transfer to a pastry bag, or a ziploc bag with the tip snipped and pipe chocolate filling in to the cooled tart shells.

Step 4:  Garnish with a fresh strawberry and top with a dash of powdered sugar.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.  These can be made up to two days in advance of serving.

BFF Link Party #15

Happy Friday everyone. I'm tied up the next couple of weeks getting my young man off to college but wanted to continue the wonderful momentum of the weekly link party. The Blog Feature portion will resume in September. So for now, come on in, grab a chocolate chip cookie, link up whatever you've made that you want to share and then pop on over to a neighbor's for a visit!

Wise Bird Printable

I was smart enough one day to use my smart phone’s note pad to write down a quote I wanted to remember. I wasn’t smart enough to write down where I saw it!

Along came The Graphics Fairy earlier this week with a wonderful bird graphic that was perfect for my quote. I’d already saved this great nest, also from The Graphics Fairy.  The text I generated using my PrintShop Deluxe program.

Click on the image to bring to full size then right click to “Save As”

Linking Up At: 

Superhero First Aid Kit

I got this idea when I was at Old Navy the other day and saw a “Superman” lunch box . My son may be going off to college but he is a lifelong superhero fanatic and comic book collector. So even though he won’t be taking his lunch, I couldn’t resist this lunchbox:

(I also couldn’t resist playing with BigHugeLabs again!) Mom that I am, I couldn’t help but think about practical things too. Like the stuff that we Moms keep on hand….cold medicine, bandaids, anti-bacterial ointment etc. You know…the stuff that’s just magically “there”?

Vitamins, anti-bacterial wipes, nail clipper, Ibuprofen….

Of course I had to go with the Spiderman bandaids! I was hoping he wouldn’t think I was being a smother mother and he didn’t. He really liked and appreciated it. I am not however, allowed to decorate the dorm room

BFF Link Party#14 : Wrap Up, Features, and FYI

Thanks everyone for continuing to link up to the Blog Feature Friday Open House here at The Answer Is Chocolate. I love going through the links and seeing familiar blogs and new ones.

First, the FYI…the BFF Open House link party will be up for the next few  Fridays without the blog feature portion. During those same weeks I won’t do the Monday wrap-up. The combined blog feature and link party will resume week ending 9/9. Just too much going on trying to get a kid off to college and spend some family time! Thanks for understanding. Now for this week’s features!

You MUST check out this incredible felt flower pouf at JandJ Home!

I love everything about it. The flowers, the colors ! YUM.

I’m so drawn to fonts and typography and if you’ve never visited Aimee at Sprik Space, you are cheating yourself. She has created so many collections of amazing printables and generously shares them. I adore this alphabet:

You will definitely want to check out her multiple series of patterned pieces while you’re there!

Becky, at Buzzy Bee Creations linked up the cutest mason jar project.

Functional and pretty. A combination that can’t be beat! And finally , Suesan from Frou-Frugal linked up this gorgeous chair / bench makeover that will make you want to curl up with a glass of iced tea or lemonade and a good book:

Just looking at the fabric, I feel Mediterranean breezes!