Copycat Crafts....Too Cool!

I was visiting my friend Kathleen's blog Charm Bracelet Diva  who has been featured on a site I hadn't heard of but am totally in love with now! It's called Copycat Crafts

You know how we all love to do knock off projects from Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, West Elm, etc.? This is totally the place to check out because that's exactly what they specialize in.

Here's Kathleen's Ballard Designs knockoff:

Gilded Chalkboard Inspired By Ballard Designs

Wearables, Home Design, Recipes, Holidays! So cool! For example, I've already seen people working on Easter projects and there's a link to a tutorial on how to make this Pottery Barn egg wreath.

And...you can submit knock off projects you've done and you could be featured too!! I'm so excited because I have been feeling a little slumpy this week so this is just what I need!

BFF Open House Link Party

Happy whatever day of the week this is! It's been a whirlwind with some family stuff and work stuff and just stuff stuff! Hope everyone's had a less hectic week. 

Let's jump right into some awesome ideas shared at last week's party!

Spring is the time for eggs. Whether you are celebrating Easter or Passover or just the renewal of Spring,  egg symbolism abounds. I am in LOVE with these CEMENT ( yes I said cement) eggs from Kileen at Raven Would. Cement!And I love the nests she made for them as well. 

Speaking of nests, you how creative is this idea from Artsy VaVa? Look at that cool gumball machine! Swoon. 

How sweet is this Button Bunny from 3 Winks Design? Love the combination of buttons and colors. 

"How do you like your eggs?" .... "Covered in chocolate!" So these Vegan Peanut Butter Eggs definitely belong in my basket. From Sew Historically: 

Now, let's see what you've been up to THIS week !

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Disneyland’s Blue Ribbon Bakery Cinnamon Rolls

One of the things we indulged in our our recent Disneyland trip :

The BEST cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had. Better than Cinnabon in my opinion. Made fresh daily at the Blue Ribbon Bakery on Main Street:

Definitely not something you want to indulge in every day ! So upon returning home, I couldn’t wait to see if I could find the recipe online!!

I haven’t had a chance to try this recipe yet, but I’m going to try this one from keyingredient.com:

Disney Cinnamon Rolls (Main Street Bakery)

½ cup warm water
2 packages yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 (3½ ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoon milk
In small bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
In large bowl, mix pudding according to package instructions with milk. To this add ½ cup melted butter, egg and salt. Mix well, then add yeast
mixture and blend well. Gradually add flour and knead until smooth. Place in a very large greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size. Punch down and let rise again for second time.
Roll dough on a very large floured surface. Dough should roll out to a long rectangle, about 34 × 21 inches in size. Take the 1 cup of melted butter and spread over entire dough surface, using a pastry brush.
In small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over top of buttered dough. Roll dough up like a jelly roll.
Measure dough every 2 inches and cut with a knife. Take each roll into the palm of your hand and gently pack the roll (this keeps it from coming apart during baking).
Place each roll in a buttered baking pan and allow to rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350ª oven until golden brown in color, about 15-20 minutes. Frost rolls while still warm.
Since we are going to cheat, let’s fo all the way with the frosting. I know
your children will love this production.
Cream Cheese Frosting
In mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Spread on the very warm rolls. Enjoy!

If they turn out half as good as the real thing, they’ll be wonderful!

BFF Open House Link Party #130

Was Halloween already a week ago? November is already flying by! Just three weeks until Thanksgiving and the start of Hanukkah!  Then madness begins. Here are a few features from the last two parties ( kinda oopsed last week). 

With holiday entertaining season upon us, it's time to spruce up the homestead. Laura from The Shed has got a fantastic before and after  on some light fixtures that had seen better days ( I've got some of those too). Fantastic results!

Whether you need some additional seating or just a place to put your feet up, Kristina from ReMade Simple has a wonderful pouf idea using the sewing machine she got at Ikea. I didn't even know they sold sewing machines! 

It's apple pie time! OK not that you can't have apple pie all the time but this time of year is what I associate with apple pie the most. Love these apple pie cups from Roxana's Home Baking. Bite sized perfection. 

I say this every year. Thanksgiving needs more chocolate. ( Um Reeses, you can make a heart, a tree, an egg...you can't make a turkey or a leaf? ) Here's a cute idea to bring chocolate to your Thanksgiving table . Hershey's Nugget Turkeys from The Pin Junkie!

OK now time to see what everyone's been up to lately!

Bird's Nest Easter Cards

Sometimes the least expensive materials have the biggest impact. I saw potential in this “nest of eggs” stamp I found on sale at Michaels for $1.  It was perfect for my Easter cards.

For these cards I went back to my card making roots and stamped the nest on white paper with clear embossing ink and embossed with gold tinsel embossing powder. I went back and forth deciding whether to color the eggs in or ink up some papers before stamping,  but ultimately decided on the simplicity of a white and gold heat embossed image. I wanted a fresh Spring look so decided on Robin’s egg blue and Kraft papers.

I cut my 5x7 cards from plain white cardstock, then panels of the blue and kraft. Ran the blue panels through my Cuttlebug using a honeycomb embossing folder and then a scrap leftover from the card through a border folder from the same package. All by Cricut.

I mounted my embossed nests onto matching blue glitter paper by American Crafts , scraps from the kraft paper, and added a strip of gold metallic American Crafts glitter ribbon to the white embossed panel. Layered as shown and finished with a strip of gold and white washi tape.

I thought my cards needed just one more thing and remembered this fun shabby Melissa Frances ruffled ribbon I picked up at a scrapbook show, and made a bow from some color coordinated ribbon I had on hand.

Sharing At:

BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Friday Eve all! Hope it's been a good week for everyone. Easter weekend is upon us so here are some last minute ideas to try or Pin for next year! 

This Spring vignette from An Extraordinary Day can stay up well after Easter. I love all the pussy willows and that big moss egg along w/ the golden eggs and birds. Wondering if that little bunny is chocolate? 

The only thing better than Pottery Barn is a great PB knockoff like this glittered bunny from Pugs and Paisley. Fess up. Who (else) walks through PB saying "I can make that". 

Speaking of Pottery Barn, this stunning floral table runner from Bird's Party looks like it could have come out of their catalog doesn't it? So pretty and and would be perfect for a Mother's Day or bridal shower table. 

If you need an addition to your dessert table, these Chocolate Cake Bites Wrapped in Coconut from Make Easy Cakes is just the thing. For me, chocolate and coconut is an irresistible combination! 

Now on to this week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

BFF Open House Link Party #96 and Last Week's Features

It's time again already for another party! As I mentioned last week, starting with this week's soiree, I'm going to combine features from the prior week's party into one post. You all are making it harder and harder to highlight just a few things because there is so much talent shared each week. Here are just a few ideas: 

From a cute new blog called I Dig Pinterest and I Did It Too, blogger Christine shared these super cute Easter egg candlesticks. 

As someone who loves neutrals, I couldn't resist these cotton tailed bunny napkins from Natalie at Sophisticated Yellow

A yarn wreath is still on my craft bucket list. Check out this beautiful Spring wreath with burlap flowers from Life On Lakeshore Drive

Since St. Patrick's Day is this weekend my chocolate feature was obvious. I'm not sure there would be any of this Lucky Leprechaun Cookie Bark leftover for any Leprechauns at my house. Visit Leigh Anne at Your Home Based Mom for the how tos. 

Now let's get to this week's party. If you're new, following isn't required but I love to follow back and meet new bloggers. Thanks to everyone who links up each week. Don't forget to share the bloggy love. Who doesn't love comments? Happy Weekend everyone. It will indeed be one here. College Boy comes home tomorrow for Spring Break. So excited! 

Today's Guest Chocoholic: Jocelyn from Inside BruCrew Life

Hi, fellow chocolate fans!

Jocelyn from Inside BruCrew Life here with you today. I am so thrilled to be guest posting on The Answer is Chocolate.  Carol is an amazing blogger with so many fun things to keep you busy.  I always look forward to seeing what she has come up with. Thank you so much Carol for asking me to be a part of your blog today!   This summer has been crazy!  Can anyone else believe that is almost over???

I am a SAHM mom to 3 kids, and I have been married to my best friend for 13 years.  I enjoy spending lots of bonding time with my kitchen aide.  I have quite the sweet tooth and my blog has become an outlet  for me to share those crazy baking concoctions with others. My family is used to me making something yummy at least 2-3x's a week. In fact, I tease my husband that we like to eat brownies for dinner when he is working. (ok, not really) I also find time each week for card making, scrapbooking, and making flowers for my etsy shop, The Trendy Owl.

Now since I am posting on a blog named after chocolate, I felt it would only be right to give you a recipe full of chocolate.  How about a chocolate brownie cupcake filled with fudge and topped with coconut butter cream?  Yup, it doesn't get much better than that:-)  I hope you enjoy this crazy creation.  Please stop in my blog sometime.  Any friend of Carol's is a friend of mine:-)

Brownie Cupcakes with Coconut Butter Cream
1 brownie mix
1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chocolate chips melted with 1 tsp. butter
hot fudge topping
toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350*  Fill your cupcake pan with cute liners and set aside.  Mix up the brownie mix according to the 3 egg directions.  Stir in the 1 c. chocolate chips.  Fill liners 3/4 full and bake 20-22 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Scoop out a small portion of the middle and fill with the hot fudge topping.  Frost with coconut butter cream.  Drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Coconut Butter Cream
1 c. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut extract
4 c. powdered sugar
1 c. shredded coconut

Beat butter until creamy. Add the salt, water, and extract and cream again. Slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Stir in the shredded coconut.  If you are going to use a piping bag to frost your cupcakes, use a very large tip, so the coconut doesn't get stuck in the tip:-)

Thank you for letting me share one of my chocolate creations with you today. I would love for you to visit me over at my blog...
just don't judge me when you see how much sugar I consume weekly:-)

Hugs, Jocelyn

BFF Open House Link Party Happy Spring!

Happy Friday Eve and Easter Weekend for everyone celebrating. Is it Spring where you are now that the calendar says it's official? Signs of it here between the raindrops.  Here are some fun Springtime ideas from last week's party. 

If you're dyeing eggs this weekend Practical Mom has a great tutorial on these gorgeous marbled eggs. 

I'm seeing lots of metallics in home decor and Lynda Creates shared this fun geometric metallic pillow along with the how to. 

Nothing says Spring like flowers and Twenty Something in the 2010s share a lovely way to dress up mason jars to hold your Spring blooms. 

If you're looking for another kind of egg this weekend, how about these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough eggs from Sugar Spice and Family Life? 

OK now on to this week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Papercrafting: Faux Chocolate Bunny Cards

 

My inspiration for this year's Easter cards came from a classic Easter staple, the foil-wrapped chocolate bunny. I used dark brown cardstock and glitter cardstock.

Supplies:

• Dark Brown Cardstock
• Pastel Glitter Paper (Recollections)
• Foiled/Marbled Background Papers (Recollections)
• White Cardstock (110lb)
• SVG File (I downloaded a set from Creative Fabrica)
• Cricut Cutting Machine
• Cricut Design Space
• Self-adhesive rhinestones
• Foam Tape
• Tape Runner

I used these papers by Recollections at Michaels for the background panels. I had these in my stash but was thrilled to find they still carried the Spring Marbles stack and picked up another one during their recent sale. 

I found a collection of bunnies at Creative Fabrica, downloaded, and selected the one I wanted to use. 

A moment of self-congratulatory pride...drumroll please! The middle of the top layer was empty and I found an egg design in Cricut Design Space and added it to the middle! Please clap!

This idea was inspired by foil-wrapped Chocolate Bunnies so I used dark brown cardstock for the bottom layer (used the offset tool in Design Space to create) and then cut the glitter layers. 

I attached the glitter layers to the "chocolate" layers using foam squares.

The thing I love about the Recollections papers is how well so many of the patterned papers work with solids. Being a paper hoarder, I have stacks from different years and they work together. I chose solids from the Spring Pastels stack to coordinate with the Spring Marbles papers and the Glitter Stack is also Spring. 

 

As always, my cards are 5x7 and the panels are 4.75x6.75 and 4.25x4.5. I attached the marbled papers to the solid using my ATG tape runner, then attached the layered panel to the card, then the "Chocolate Bunny" to the center using foam tape.

To finish, I grabbed my stash of self-adhesive rhinestones and added as shown. Now, family and friends have a calorie free Chocolate Bunny!

I did versions in pink:

Blue

Green

Lavender

When I make multiples, I use the same image even if I do different colors to make it easy to keep the settings in the software and machine the same and not confuse myself! 

Sharing At:

Sundays on Silverado