Champagne and Chocolate

 

And I'm not even talking about the consumable kinds. Fall is in the air and I decided that a wreath I'd made for Spring / Summer was out of season and I needed something more Autmn-y. I loved the brown hydrangea I used in the wreath I made for my mom so I ran back to Michaels to get one for me and also found the most beautiful champagne colored ribbon. So using one of these again from the $1 Tree: 

I wrapped it in the champagne ribbon, and added the chocolate brown hydrangea, and some "milk" chocolate and dark chocolate flowers, along with some floral picks I found in my stash. I wish these wreath forms were just a little bigger but as I reminded myself "they're a dollar".  Added a few spiral thingies I made from a never ending roll of paper bark covered wire, added a chocolate brown bow, and:

 

Linking Up At: 

 

 

When You Wish Upon A Tray...

Welcome to those visiting from :







I keep finding trays. Doesn't it seem like when you find something to re-purpose, you keep finding more of that thing wherever you go? I found an old tray with a glass bottom at an antique store and initially, I thought I would reverse decoupage the glass part because it looked pretty bad. But once I got it cleaned up, it looked pretty good so another idea came to mind.

It had a beat up finish but was kind of "70's brown". Taped off the glass part, painted it black acrylic paint, dry brushed it with darker brown, didn't like it, glazed it with black and glazing medium and then finally went randomly over it w/ silver Rub N Buff  which really made the handles pop.

In one of my scavenging visits to JoAnn's, I'd picked up a package of "Hip In A Hurry" vinyl that was 70% off that I thought would be perfect for this project:

The best part is there are 4 sheets in the package and I only used one for this, so 3 more projects..yeah!
 You can guess from my play on words in the title which one I used? No? OK here:

When You WISH Upon A Tray

And despite my earlier statement that "more is more" and I really thought I was going to do more on this, I decided that simpler was better. That won't be a habit! To finish it off, I used two Prima paper flowers I'd picked up while on vacation.

Now, if I could only find a cheese dome!

Linking Up At:

 

 

I'm In The Book...Are You?

These days, phone books are almost obsolete so the phrase..."I'm in the book" needs a new purpose. I'm all about re-purposing:) 

The book I'm talking about being in is this one:

The blog guidebook is an awesome resource and place to list your own blog...for FREE! You choose which category you want to be listed under and you can easily search all of the listed categories if you're looking for a specific type of blog. PLUS...they feature different blogs which is a great way to see and be seen, and they offer great hints and tips about blogging. If you haven't checked it out, buzz on over there. 

Choco-licious...Sharing A Share

So, having been at this blogging thing a little over three months, I'm still learning all of the rules of etiquette. Let it be understood that my heart's in the right place even if my brain isn't ( it's been known to happen!).

Anyhoo...one of my favorite things to do every day is to read my blog reader. I mean that's why we follow blogs right? I love to see what everyone's been up to. So I saw something fantabulously awesome featured on one of the blogs I follow Craft Envy (love that name!) a great blog by sisters in law Vanessa and Nicholette, and it led me to another new blog I just started following today The Sisters 4 Say More Is More , a cool blog run by you guessed it four sisters: Selina, Sophia, Olivia, and Elise. I just had to feature this project. Had to had to had to. Look:

CHOCOLATE Flower Necklace

YUM! Chocolate and jewelry and handmade? HELLO! Easy to see how this was one of Craft Envy's favorites. If you want to see the tutorial, click on over to The Sisters 4 Say More Is More. 

As usual, I can relate pretty much anything to a movie. "More is more" is something I say all the time. I got it from the movie "One True Thing" which I saw with one of my BFFs and we laughed in hearty agreement at the scene where Meryl Streep says this as she is trying to explain her life to her very un-crafty daughter played by Rene Zellwegger. She says "Less is not more. More is more" . Totally my philosophy when it comes to embellishments. And supplies. And chocolate.  If this movie was re-made today, Meryl Streep's character would SO be a blogger!

CSN Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who linked up or left comments at my Holiday Open House! There were some great ideas and delicious recipes so if you missed it, you can still check those out.  Per the rules, you needed to leave a comment to be eligible for the giveaway so I have used random.org to pick the winner from the comments. And the winner of the $50 CSN gift certificate is....


Terrell from :

Congrats Terrell!!! I have given CSN your contact info.

Holiday Open House #2

Welcome one and all to the second ever link party at The Answer Is Chocolate! So glad you could come.  Grab a cup of your favorite holiday drink and let's see what great holiday ideas everyone's got!

I'm thrilled that CSN Stores has enabled me to be a good hostess and offer one lucky party guest a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to one of their stores!!! In your trips around blog land no doubt you've seen  that they offer everything from dining room sets to housewares, bedding, shoes, handbags, you name it, they sell it. To be eligible  (US and Canada only) you must be a follower of The Answer Is Chocolate and leave a comment on this post. Even if you link up something, PLEASE leave a comment so I can use random.org to fairly select a winner. That's it!

Reminder...Linky Party Friday!!! Now With Giveaway

Come one, come all!

Link up anything that's related to holidays from Halloween to New Year's...could be decor, cards, decorations, ornaments, wall art etc.!

Could be inspiration and ideas of things to make and/or give as gifts! Jewelry projects, re-fashioned fashion,headbands,etc.
 
Could be party ideas for these occasions!

Could be recipes that would be great for holidays!  Especially Chocolate...I have a reputation!


And I'm really excited ( really really really excited) to announce my first ever sponsored giveaway! CSN Stores is giving me the chance to offer a $50 gift certificate to one of their over 200 stores where you can get everything from dining sets to home decor, housewares, things for your home office, handbags, shoes! Is there anything you can't get from them?

Come by on Friday to find out how you can win this awesome giveaway! See you then.