BFF Open House Link Party #183

Happy Friday Eve once again! Can you believe Halloween was already a week ago? I can't. Before you know it Thanksgiving will be here. Time is not slowing down. 

Here are some ideas from last week's party perfect for entertaining, decorating and gift giving. 

Do you love strolling through Restoration Hardware or flipping through their catalog? Do you find yourself oohing and ahhhing and saying "no way" at the prices? Rachel from Holy Craft did and knocked off a $550 piece from RH for next to nothing. 

Seeing "caramel apple" and "nachos" in the same sentence is not something I would expect to see. But Bonnie from The Pin Junkie managed to combine them into this dessert that is a must try! Plus there is just no easy way to eat a whole caramel apple is there? 

Teri from A Creative Princess has a simple but perfect idea for fall decorating using clay pots. You could do smaller versions for a centerpiece or make a few of these as gifts. 

I'm going to let Sharon from Her Organized Chaos explain this week's chocolate feature in her own words: Must I really explain this cheesecake? You can just imagine the taste with the name.Oh Sharon, yes I can...yes I can!

Now on to this week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Lazy Frame Makeover and Thanksgiving Printable

This quick frame makeover was the laziest project in the history of lazy projects. It took longer to make the printable than update the frame.  I love neutrals and black and white in case you can’t tell. I did try for a few years to do the color thing and I LOVE nature's colors this time of year , especially here in the PNW where the leaves are brilliant right now. But I went back to my comfort zone this Thanksgiving.

See ….proof! I had a metallic orange frame that’s been part of my décor the past few years. It just wasn’t going to go with what I had in mind for my mantel this year. I thought about painting the frame which wouldn’t have been that hard, but I was tired and I did mention this was a lazy project right?  Thank goodness for self adhesive glitter tape!

For this project you will need:

• Simple frame
• Glitter tape ( I used Recollections from Michaels)
• Printable

I dis-assembled things, cleaned the glass, and said goodbye to the previous printable. Then I just went around the edges of the frame with my (black)  glitter tape. This does not require advanced crafting skills. This does not require ANY crafting skills.

Then I printed out the printable I made in PicMonkey. I couldn’t decide on a font so I made three versions.

and the one I printed out

Oh did I mention I'm sharing them? Click on to bring to full res, right click to save as. 

Confession. I goofed on my sizing when I printed it but waste not want not. Instead of reprinting, I just mounted it onto some gold cardstock that was the right size for the mat. Done and done!

Thanksgiving: Cornhusk Wreath

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Full speed on to Thanksgiving which often gets overlooked in the preparation for Christmas. Well not in this house! College Boy picked up on Thanksgiving being overlooked pretty early on so ever since then I have made sure to decorate for it at least as much as I do for Halloween. This year is extra special because CB will be home for Thanksgiving for the first time in 2 years!!! Yes I am triple exclamation point excited.

I remember seeing cornhusk wreaths in magazines and on Pinterest last year and knew I wanted to try one this year.

For this project you will need:

• Cornhusks ( I am not Martha enough to have saved and dried my own from Summer corn on the cob…got mine at the grocery store by the Mexican spices. $3.99)
• Wreath form ( Dollar Tree)
• Glue Gun
• Glue Sticks
• Kraft paper or brown bag

I decided just in case I wasn’t even about placing my corn husks ( and didn’t want any of the green from the wreath form showing through) I’d cover the wreath form with some paper. I used painter’s masking paper but you could use kraft paper, brown bags etc.

Some tutorials advise moistening the cornhusks to make them easier to work with but I just used them dry. Some split a bit but I didn't mind. They were pretty wide so I tore each husk into halves or thirds depending on the original size. I ended up with a bunch of scraps. More on that later.

I wrapped the wide side of my husks under the wreath and glued them around the form with the pointy ends sticking out. Once one layer was complete I added another couple of layers slightly offset each time so the husks aren’t laying directly on top of each other.

Remember the scraps? These were the odd bits that I pulled off to make each of my sections about the same size. I gathered a handful of these together , stapling at the bottom and made enough of these little bundles to tuck around the wreath. I found it easiest to tear from the wide side just FYI.

I was actually happy with the wreath before I added these but once I did, I was really happy because it gave the wreath a more natural wild look.

I’m sure this would be fine outdoors ( corn grows outside right?) but I have mine resting on an over sized candlestick that sits on my mantle. I  only used about half the bag of husks so have some other ideas in my head that you may see later!

Sharing At: 

Time To Sparkle

BFF Open House Link Party #182

Happy Halloween Eve everyone! Hope you're all set with costumes, candies, treats, and no tricks. Can you believe it's Halloween already? I really can't. Since before we know it Thanksgiving will be upon us, that's the focus of this week's features. 

Let's start with this gorgeous Fall card that would be great to send or frame as part of your Thanksgiving decor. Visit Karen at Stamping on the Back Porch for the how to .

Love the simplicity of the materials used in this rustic wreath. Burlap and grape vine. Visit Artistic Endeavors for the details. 

How cute is this wood and paper turkey from the CSI Project? It was made from a kit from Pick Your Plum so not sure if they still have them because things go fast but worth a look! 

This week's chocolate feature is from Her Organized Chaos and the name speaks for itself. Looks delish! 

OK now on to this week's party. Please link to your specific post and not your main blog page, and no shops etc. Don't forget to go visit some of the other partiers! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Craft Fail: The Book...Next Up The Musical?

If you haven't seen it yet, you really need to be on the lookout for a hilarious new book from Heather Mann, the creative genius behind Dollar Store Crafts and Craftfail.com.

"Craft Fail: When Homemade Goes Horribly Wrong" is a fantastic compilation of many brave bloggers projects that didn't quite go as planned.

You know exactly how it goes right? You pull up Pinterest on your computer and before you know it hours have passed, people in your house are fainting from hunger, the dog is looking at your paper stash as a meal...but you've pinned all these amazing projects. Then you actually attempt them. And they don't look anything like the pin. The pin LIED!

OK so maybe you swapped out a supply or two or all of them. Or maybe you didn't wait the recommended amount of time (or any) for the paint/glue to dry or other materials to set up. But maybe, just maybe you did use all of the recommended supplies, measured twice and cut once, and went step by step through the instructions and you still end up with something completely unrecognizable from what you attempted.

You can do what I usually do which is to utter a long string of choice words, go into Hulk smash mode, and immediately hide any and all evidence like a suspect on CSI or Criminal Minds. Or you can submit it to CraftFail.com and maybe end up in a book and know that even the most talented among us sometimes need a do over!

The book is broken into several categories including Home Decor Fails, Fashion Fails, Holiday Fails,  Food Fails and "Martha Made It".

I knew there was a reason I hadn't yet tried on of those marble manicures I've seen on Pinterest. Sure they suck you in with all that swirly goodness and then this happens:

Let's have closer look at how I'm sure mine would turn out:

Ever made something that didn't look at all like it was supposed to but tasted good anyway? Several of those in the book by my favorite is the Alien Autopsy Garlic Bread.

I guarantee you will not get through this book without seeing something you can relate to and laughing in solidarity with other craft failers. And this book has made me promise myself to come out of craft fail witness protection and submit my next fail to Heather because I'm convinced the next iteration will be "Craft Fail: The Musical" and we'll all be whipping up some epic DIY fashion fails for the Broadway premiere.

I was provided with a free copy of Craft Fail to review but opinions are 100% my own. 

BFF Open House Link Party #181

Happy Friday Eve and welcome to another party at The Answer Is Chocolate. One week! One week to Trick or Treat time. Question: do you buy candy you like in case you have leftovers or do you buy candy you don't like so you won't be tempted? 

More great Halloween ideas shared at last week's party. Here are some you still have time to do!

If you're looking for an alternative to traditional pumpkin colors, Laura from Pet Scribbles has you covered using metallic paints. 

If you're not planning a full costume for Halloween, you can always add a piece or two of festive Halloween jewelry. Rona at Jewelry Making Journal has a fantastic roundup of pieces that can be made by people of any skill level. 

Don't forget the pets for Halloween! There are so many cute pet costumes out there but I love this idea from Carrie Elle including these adorable tags you can download from her site! 

Lou Lou Girls shared a mouth watering calzone recipe. Perfect Halloween night dinner which would be great paired with this fantastic Halloween dessert that "caught my eye"  from Life With the Crust Cut Off: 

OK now on to this week's party!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Halloween: Mummified and Mustached Monster Cookies...College Boy's Last (Undergrad) Halloween Goodie Box

I can’t believe this is the last year I’ll be sending off a Halloween Treat Box of goodies to College Boy. At least as an undergrad :) Just because your child goes to school out of state, doesn’t mean you don’t still celebrate fun holidays with them. OK I'll speak for myself lol.  I started this his freshman year and it’s just become tradition. 

This year I decided to try my hand at Mummy Cookies I’ve seen around the way.
You can find lots of tutorials on Pinterest .

These are SO easy. I used Nutter Butter cookies, white Wilton candy melts, and my new favoritest ( that’s a word!) thing ….candy eyes! Because who doesn’t need eyes made of sugar?!

I shmoosheared ( that’s another word….between smoosh and smear) the melted candy melt on the cookie using the back of a spoon just to give it a base coat. Knowing I was going to pipe more candy over the top, I  wasn’t exactly neat about it.  While still wet, attached the candy eyes. Using a disposable cake decorating bag with a round tip ( I wish I had a smaller tip but you make mummies with the tips you have) pipe more  melted candy coat stuff on the mummies. Just freehand back and forth.

College Boy loves all things mustached so when I saw candy mustaches next to the candy eyes ( cake decorating supplies Michaels, JoAnn’s, Target) I had to get those too. Behold Mustached Oreo Purple People Eaters. Originally I was going to do bats to go with the mummies but the power of the ‘stache won out.

Good thing too because the black candy melts I bought weren’t really black when melted, but rather dark purple. So I dipped the Oreos, applied the eyes and the mustaches and then covered with purple decorating sugar.

Since I had leftover everything, I decided to make this monster bark. Melted semi sweet chocolate, plopped broken Oreos and Nutter Butters, candy eyes and some sugar bones from last year randomly, let set, cut or break into pieces. Oh and more purple sugar because clearly this was not yet a nutritionist’s worse nightmare.

Did I mention I have to mail all of this stuff ( that no one told you you had to make for your son and his friends but lalalalala I can’t hear you and thank goodness for flat rate shipping)? Yay tissue paper bought after Christmas last year for $.25! Wrap and cushion all in one.

I spread the contents as shown on a layer of tissue then gathered up the edges to make  little bundles. Tied with ribbon and then “ let there be tags”. Because each bundle must have a tag. It's a rule or something.

I love making tags. It’s a great way to use up the scraps from other projects.

And voila! Monster Mummy Treat Bundles because this Mummy loves her College Boy.