BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve and end of July! The month's flown by and been a whirlwind getting moved in to our new home, unpacking etc. It's been a serious monsoon season this year with lots of rain, which is needed, and some amazing lightning light shows. It's also felt good to get back to being able to make some things. This week I shared another piece of DIY Modern Wall Art and have been playing with more. 

As always, the projects shared at last week's party were inspiring and beautiful. Let's take a look at a few. 

I've mentioned that I love combining modern and vintage. The Soiree Blog has an incredible roundup of re-purposed vintage sewing machine tables that do just this. I absolutely love this one with a natural wood top! They're all amazing. 

Artsy VaVa shared this AMAZING Corner Cabinet transformation. The color is fabulously named Cactus! 

Dragonfly Treasure shared this lovely Succulent Garden made using old cement trays (molds). Aren't they fabulous?!

Finally, I love pickles almost as much as I love chocolate. When I was little and we went to the deli, I loved the pickle barrel and the crunch of a good garlicky pickle. My husband laughs at me and pickles because I will just sit and eat them standalone. These, from The House on Silverado inspire me to actually make some! 

Thank you to everyone who linked up and can't wait to see what you've all been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Friday Eve everyone. Hope the week has been kind to you. Summer is gearing up and since I haven't done features for a couple of weeks I have some extra ones this week from the last two parties. Let's get right to them! 

Summer means lots of movement between indoors and outdoors right? Carrying things out to patios and decks. So this tray  makeover from Altered Artworks is perfect. I know some of you will recognize the before of these trays and might even raid your parents basements to see if they have any! 

These DIY Citronella candles would go perfectly with the trays wouldn't they?  From One Little Proejct

Speaking of candles and Summer, love the bold graphics of this one from Crafty Lumberjacks. Make a set to give as gifts using all four seasons! 

This bold ampersand project goes well with the candle doesn't it? See Lynda Creates for the details. She used a Sizzix die but if you have a Cameo or Cricut I bet those would work too. 

I could see this Carousel Jewelry organizer hanging next to the project above! Love the vintagey goodness of a transformed cabinet door used as the base. Visit The Navage Patch for the how-to. 

With Fourth of July approaching, check out this awesome flag project that Artsy Va Va did with a broken Adirondack chair. Nothing goes to waste in this woman's hands. 

Finally, with all the Summer entertaining, decorating, re-purposing etc. you're going to need a super Summer dessert. Look no further than this Oreo cheesecake from Lou Lou Girls. YUM!

OK on to this week's party !

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Friday Eve all! Hope everyone's survived the week. Getting used to my first monsoon season here in the desert. We've been here for a few but nothing like this! Been distracted the past couple of weeks and looking forward to soon being settled in new digs. Here are some features from last week's party!

Artsy Va Va was back with another amazing makeover! Check out this gorgeous Record Cabinet Makeover! 

I have seen these stands at antique and vintage stores and they've been overpriced. I just discovered that they sell a version of them at Harbor Freight Tools so with a little spray paint, I can antique my own and have a cool tiered stand like this one from Penny's Vintage Home ! She found hers for 75% off at Hobby Lobby. 

There's nothing quite like German Glass Glitter but it can get pricey. Eco Friendly Saver has a great way to make your own using broken glass ornaments!

Finally, nothing says Summer like S'Mores but how about as ice cream? Better yet, No Churn Ice Cream from All That's Jas! 

OK now let's see what everyone's been up to this week!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve once again Creative Peeps! It has been a busy week since we last gathered. Excited to announce that I have a Granddoggo. You can read about him here and see my latest project which was inspired by my son giving him a forever home. Also honored to have had my Layered Shamrock featured in Hometalk's Newsletter. But the most exciting news...by the time you read this, Mr. Chocolate and I will have received COVID Vaccines!!! So thankful. AZ lowered the age requirement so we qualify. Who says getting older is a bad thing? 

OK back to some of the inspiring ideas from last week's party! 

Pandora's Box shared her beautiful St. Patrick's vignette along with the meaning of St. Patrick's traditions. LOVE her MacKenzie Childs pieces. 

I love pretty and practical. This Functional Kitchen Sign from Unique Creations by Anita fits the bill and you are going to have to check out her post to see what she used for it. I'll bet you can't guess! I'll give you one clue. It's not a cabinet door. 

I love a good "green craft" and The Apple Street Cottage has a wonderful way to use up old jeans that have seen better days while staying organized with this Denim Pocket Organizer. Win-Win! 

Finally, St. Patrick's Day may be next week but I can never pass up Mexican food flavors and one of my fave faves is Mexican Street Corn. Can't wait to be able to go to my favorite restaurant that serves it and may just order a giant bowl of only that. Street Corn Chicken from Homemade On A Weeknight!

Thank you to everyone who linked up and if it was your first time sharing, WELCOME! 

Now let's see what everyone's been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

SO Excited! Open House Tomorrow and Giveaway Details Today!!!

I'm channeling Paula Deen..."Hey Y'all".

I'm so so excited that tomorrow is my third "Open House" link party; that I get to celebrate reaching 300 followers, and a wonderful giveaway!!! So now the details.

Open House Link Party!

• Link up whatever you want to feature. Holiday, not holiday, home decor , cards, jewelry, decorations, apparel...if you made it, link it. No advertising or etsy stores though pretty please?
• Recipes welcome...especially chocolate! 
• Link to your specific post, not your general blog
• Link party will run from Friday to Sunday with giveaway winner selected on Monday

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!!

In order to keep the selection of the giveaway winner simple using random.org, you MUST leave  a comment.  You don't have to link up anything, but you MUST leave a comment. Even if you link up you (say it with me ) MUST leave a comment.  Additional entries if:

• You are a follower of The Answer Is Chocolate (leave comment saying so)
• You blog / tweet / facebook about the link party and giveaway ( leave one comment for each thing you do)

Now on to the good stuff!!! The giveaway will consist of two fun things! My friend Cindy, whom I have known since our kids started first grade together (and now they're HS Seniors yikes!), is an Independent Rep for Silpada Sterling Silver Jewelry and has kindly offered as a giveaway a $25 gift certificate!!! If you are not familiar with Silpada , their jewelry is gorgeous and I love that they provide entrepreneurial opportunities for women!  Look at some of their gorgeous stuff!

 

 

 

You can browse through their current catalog at Cindy's site here

But wait, that's not all! I've been so delighted with the wonderful feedback you've given me on my Stashbusting projects, so I thought it might be fun to share a few things from the closet of magical mystery! So in addition to getting to shop for some jewelry, the winner will also receive some "stash"!

This collection includes the owl and raven images ( from The Graphics Fairy) printed on clear label paper; a sheet of the vinyl I used on my upcycled cabinet door; a package of Magenta peel offs; a paper mache star like the one from my Witch Wand,  and other misc embellishments.

Thanks again for making this one of the most fun experiences I've had, ever! See you tomorrow!

BFF Open House Link Party #151

Friday Eve...best day of the week! Hope none of you endured any awful April Fool's day pranks. Not a fan of that day. 

Here are some inspiring ( inspire Spring?) ideas from last week's party: 

My readers know I love making cards. This one from It's Always Ruetten is a must make idea. Perfect for so many occasions. 

Spring and birds go together don't they? I really like this layered stencil bird project from Laura at Pet Scribbles. 

Doreen over at Altered Artworks took her love of altering things to a bigger level. Ab fab makeover of this flea market found metal file cabinet to some new Industrial Chic storage for her workroom. 

I couldn't believe that this gorgeous cake was Diane's first attempt at cake decorating. Visit An Extraordinary Day for the details. I can assure you , my first attempt looked nothing like this. I'm not even sure it looked like cake! Easter, Mother's Day, showers ...

Finally this week's chocolate feature. Simple, classic, delicious and never tire of this combination. Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars from The Pin Junkie. 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

What Good Are (Altered) Wings Wall Art

I teased these when I shared my last project: Another Altered Cabinet Door. I might need to change my blog name to something w/ "altered" in it . 

I saw these wood wings earlier in the year at Michaels when they first came in and went back and forth on them mostly because they had a whole selection of different wings and I couldn't decide. That became easier when after procrastinating, there were fewer to choose from but the ones that remained were 70% off. Score! I mean they were originally only $19.99 but I got them for $5.99. Deal. 

Supplies: 

• Wooden Wings
• Acrylic Paint
• White Glue
• Leafing Glue
• Silver Leaf
• Vinyl Quote
• Misc. Embellishments 

I had all of the other supplies in my stash which Mr. Chocolate calls "The Michaels Annex".

Paint with your basecoat color of choice. I used Craftsmart gray. Since I'm partial to a chippy / shabby / crackled look, I didn't care about complete coverage. 

If you prefer a more opaque look, go over w/ another coat. 

Did a combination of my fave white glue crackle and dry brushing over the grey using white acrylic paint. While the paint was drying, I laid out my quote in my Silhouette software and cut w/ my Cameo. The quote is by the poet Atticus: 

This is the same font I used for my vinyl ( it's called Ambrosia) and of course now I don't remember where I downloaded it from!  

I cut out my quote using black matte vinyl and since I'm easily frustrated w/ vinyl projects and inevitably muck something up that results in swear words , I trimmed the words into individual pieces to minimize the muck up opportunity. 

This also made it easier to lay out the words. Once I was happy with where I wanted them, I applied them to the wings. 

Never content to leave anything alone ( what fun is that?!) I decided to add some silver leaf to the tips of the wings and pulled out this pair of plaster wings I had in my stash, along w/ some adhesive rhinestone swirls. 

Metallic leafing is such a rich accent. I love adding bits and pieces of it to things. You need a good leafing glue ( called size) and I like the Mona Lisa brand. Basically paint where you want your leafing to go using the glue, wait 20-30 min (weather conditions matter so if hot, shorter time) until tacky and then apply your leafing. You can find many tutorials on how to use metal leafing on Pinterest and You Tube so won't go into that here. 

It hangs in our entryway which I pass everyday on my way to my office and it's a great reminder to me to be fearless, try new things, challenge myself. 

Handmade Gifts: Brushed Gold Geometric Tile Coasters

Like all makers, I'm sure you're in full fledged Handmade Gift mode. This is actually one that wasn't  on my list but which I was thrilled to make. Here's why.  

When my son came home for Thanksgiving, he was telling us about a party he and his roommate had thrown just before. Last year, I'd made and given him a set of coasters and he'd used them for the party but nicest of all, one of his guests wanted to know where he'd gotten them. "Um , my mom made them". Awww! She really liked them and I was so honored that of course I had to make a set for her! 

Supplies: 

• Ceramic Tiles . I got mine at Lowes for $.16 ea ( and a weird look from the Lowes guy when he asked if I was replacing tiles and I told him I was making coasters)
• Vinyl / Foil. I used Cricut Brushed Gold Adhesive Foil
• Die Cutter or Digital Cutter. I used my CAMEO 3 ( yep I use Cricut stuff on my Silhouette Cameo. I'm a riddle wrapped in an enigma). 
• Images to cut. Mine came from Silhouette Online Store
• Aluminum Tape
• Vinyl Bumpers ( Clear self adhesive dots to put on the bottom of the coasters)

Clean your tiles with rubbing alcohol to make sure you remove all the warehouse dust and fingerprint oils etc. 

Choose, cut and weed the images you want to apply. I wanted to do a coordinated set so I went with varying geometric images. I used a couple of the same ones I'd used for my son's, but I added the heart for the ones I made for his friend. 

I went with three images and made two of each.  Using transfer tape, apply the images to your tiles. 

To finish, I wrapped adhesive aluminum tape ( I bought a huge roll of this at a stamp show years ago but I believe it's from the electrical aisle of the HW store so your Lowes guy can look at you funny too!)

Finally, I put clear vinyl bumpers ( the kind you use to prevent cabinet doors from slamming) on the bottoms since I wasn't finishing the bottoms with cork or felt which are a couple of ways I've seen people complete these. 

Easy peasy and inexpensive gift that's pretty and functional. Can'tbeat that.