BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Friday eve all! Can you believe it's already the last week of February? The good news is that means Spring is on the way. What Spring things have you been working on? I haven't even started! 

Let's take a look at some of  the great ideas shared at last week's party. 

Kileen from Raven Would shared not only a great Goodwill find but what she did with it to make an awesome Spring centerpiece.  See that cute bunny? She's also got a tutorial on that !

Even though it's technically a few days before Spring officially begins, I always think of St. Patrick's Day as the first Spring holiday. My Busy Beehives has a great printable to add to your decor. 

Despite what Mr. Chocolate thinks, I do not in fact have 99 lipsticks. But, who can't use a cute cosmetics bag? Maggie Lois shared this one that I love! 

Finally if Spring is not quite around the corner in your neck of the woods but you want to bring some in, Heather from Woods of Bell Trees has a gorgeous transitional centerpiece . 

Now, on to this week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

For the Cost of a Donation: Upcycled Cabinet Door Tray

I dragged Mr. Chocolate to a flea market last month. It was held at an architectural salvage place in Seattle called Second Use. While the flea market didn't yield any treasures, a stroll through the Second Use Warehouse did. 

Of course Mr. Chocolate looked at the two cabinet doors and me like we were nuts. I'm used to it. He now loves the tray I made from one of the doors. All for the cost of a $5 donation to Habitat for Humanity. Two good things in one! 

This is what I started out with. I liked the panels and the way this door was framed. I mean I immediately saw a tray!  So I painted it with a white bisque acrylic paint. I didn't care about full coverage because I knew the look I was going for and it wouldn't matter. 

Back Side of Door

After my first coat was dry, I went over it with a coat of Espresso acrylic paint. Again, I didn't care that it was all streaky. In fact that was better. 

Then, using my tried and true glue crackle technique, I slathered on a thick coat of cheap white glue, let it dry until tacky, then went back over top with another coat of the Bisque White and watched the magic crackle process happen. 

Crackle Step 1 : Cover With Glue

One of my New Year's resolutions was to use things in my stash that I hadn't because I was hanging on to them for some irrational reason. So I pulled out a stencil that I'd never used and added some leaves using  Martha Stewart acrylic paint: Grey Wolf: 

To finish, I added a pair of door handles I picked up at Target ( the screws weren't long enough for the thickness of the door so I just glued on using extra strong glue) . 

The cup is one I painted at a paint your own pottery place. 

Not so crazy now am I Mr. Chocolate?

BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Friday Eve all! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day or Galentine's Day the day before or both! There were so many LOVEly (see what I did there)  ideas shared at last week's party. So here are some great ideas to pin for next year! 

Let's start with this gorgeous altered canvas print from ArtsyVaVa. The print was great but I really like how she altered it. 

Speaking of altered, how about these Valententine Art Heart Tartlets from Lynda Creates? 

Not all hearts have to be red . I love the simplicity and color of this necklace from Thistlewood Farms.

Of course, what's Valentine's Day without chocolate. How about these Hidden Heart Chocolate cupcakes from Sugar Spice and Family Life! Look at that frosting! 

Now on to this week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Card Making: Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

One upside to our snow day last week was it gave me a chance to finish this year's Valentine's Day cards. Fortunately I'd already cut out my focal images using my Silhouette Cameo since the power was out. The rest didn't require any electricity!

My colors this year were black, cream and fuschia. 

Here are the papers and supplies I used: 

• Black metallic Stardream cardstock 
• Cream Cardstock
• My  Minds Eye "From the Heart" gold foil heart paper
• Craft Smith gold foiled paper 
• Recollections gold mirror and fuschia glitter paper
• Watercolor paper 
• Watercolor paints 

I chose an image from the Silhouette Design Store and cut it from gold mirror cardstock. Waste not want not, this image resulted in a positive and negative so I had the hearts that were leftover from the middle of the framed image if that makes any sense, and used those as well. 

For the "framed hearts" as I'll call them, I mounted on cream cardstock, then the fuschia glitter paper. I cut a panel from the gold foiled heart paper ( 4x6) and mounted to the Stardream black card (5x7) and then mounted the focal as shown.

For the cards I made using the center hearts, I played around with some watercolors I picked up recently on a BOGO ( buy one get one free) at Aaron Brothers. Cone to think of it , the watercolor pad was from a previous Aaron Brothers BOGO. Spotting a trend? 

I just played around and made some background paper ( oh I added some gold mica inks): 

I trimmed this , mounted on black then gold paper and attached the gold mirror heart with a foam dot. 

I finished each style of card with gold sequins!

Hand Lettering Practice ... Happy Valentine's Day  

Bead Embroidery: Angel Wing Pillow

I mentioned last month I was on a wing kick with projects like this and this. I finished the top of this pillow last monthy but finally got around to assembling it this weekend. I am NOT a seamstress! Sewing straight lines (questionable) is about my level of expertise. But it's done and I love it and the materials used sum up my style: a mix of rustic everyday materials and glam.

Supplies: 

• Fabric

This is the rustic part. I bought a couple of fabric drop cloths in the paint department at my big box HW store a few years ago and I'm still using them for things. So yes, this pillow is made from painter's drop cloth but of course you could use anything! 

• Beads

This is the "glam" part since I used a combination of antique French seed beads and metallic gold beads. I became enamored of bead embroidery last year at an art show and am working on my skills!

Process: 

I cut the dropcloth to the approximate size I wanted my pillow. Cut out the front and the back at the same time. Set the back aside. 

I freehand sketched the wing using plain old pencil, then started attaching the larger "outline" beads. I can see for some where bead embroidery would make people stressed but for me, it's kinda therapeutic. I think it's the repetition. And I will never be someone who's going for absolute perfection with each and every stitch and bead being uniform. 

After outlining, I beaded each of the sections with smaller beads and then finally filled in each section with the smallest beads.  You can see where some of my lines squiggle but I've found that you can fix this when you start filling in with other beads. The weight / pressure from the other beads will kind of straighten things out. It's a journey so practice practice practice! 

The dropcloth fabric fits perfectly with the fabric of my sofa and side chair. You can see another of my pillow projects (from waaaayyyy back ) in the background!

To finish, I stitched the top and bottom together, turned, stuffed and finished by hand.

Winter Blues Wednesday

Hand Lettering Practice and Coffee Printables

This week's link party continues here

I smile when I read the "About Me" of so many bloggers and see some variation of the statement " I run on coffee". I know there are many bloggers who don't drink it too so no judgement!

But for those of us who do, my unscientific research concludes that it's not just a beverage we consume, it's a life force! I'm no exception. Mochas for me!  Hence my hand lettering practice quote above and some printables I made. 

BFF Open House

Happy Friday Eve all! Well the Northwest started the week under a blanket of snow and looks like the Northeast will finish it under an even bigger one. Hope everyone and all of you in the middle are safe and warm! 

Let's see some great ideas from last week's party. If you're snowed in this weekend, might have time to work on them! 

I love this cup cozy Kileen from Raven Would shared. It was inspired by the movie "Big Hero 6" and the Beymax character. There's an ongoing battle in our house because Mr. Chocolate is of the opinion that Beymax is and should be referred to as Big Hero 6. We've agreed to disagree but I think everyone can agree how cute this is! Even my basic crochet skills can handle this! 

The expression "SWAK" for Sealed With A Kiss comes to life with these printable envelope seals that were shared by White House Crafts. How much fun are these?!

Dog lovers or friends and family of dog lovers you will want to check out these printables from My Busy Beehives.  Woof! 

Finally, if you're looking for a delicious Valentine's dessert, look no further: 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting from Birds Party! You're welcome !

Now, on to this week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up