BFF Link Party #17

By the time this posts, my son will be a moved in college freshman! Yikes! If a chocolate shortage hits the news, you'll know it was because of one freaked out blogger's consumption of it. Let's see what everyone's been up to this week OK? Knowing how ahead of things blogland is, I won't be surprised to see some Halloween goodies start popping up! You know the drill...if you made it link it! Party on!

Today’s Guest Chocoholic: Christine from Christine and Co!

Hello there, The Answer is Chocolate devotees!  I am Christine, from Christine & Co. and I am delighted to be doing a guest post for my friend Carol.  

Okay, so I have yet to meet the person who doesn't love Pinterest. One of my boards has "things I have to try out," so I thought I would bring you one of my experiences.

I came across this picture of a wood block that was wrapped with string, and then used as a stamp.  After following the link to this picture, I found out it was a technique (one of many) in this book Print Workshop.
It was written by Christine Schmidt.  I had to try it for myself.  

Oh you know I'm doing this again! There are so many applications for this.
Here's what I did...

I took some twine and wrapped it around an old block of wood.

Got some ink on it, and stamped...

I added my own tag, and a strip of ribbon from my stash.  Gift bag, anyone? 
This was fun--I loved being here! Come by my place for a visit at Christine & Co. The more the merrier!

Today's Guest Chocoholic: Maggie from Midwestern Sewing Girl!

I'm so excited to be here guest-posting for Carol today! The Answer is Chocolate is one of my absolute favorite blogs...I NEVER miss a post...truly... My name is Maggie & I write a little blog called Midwestern {Sewing} Girl where I detail my craft, diy & remodeling projects as I (attempt to) makeover my house...I would absolutely love it if you would stop by sometime!

link

Today I'm going to share one of my favorite projects with you...this was all I used...
...some map graphics, a little Mod Podge and black grosgrain and... my plain white lampshade got a whole new look...

Here's how it went... I downloaded these super-cool pdfs from The Graphics Fairy... they're from a 1915 Atlas...so awesome. I opened them up in PS Elements, removed the color and lightened them up and then printed them out on plain-old computer paper.

Mod-Podge'd 'em up...waited for 'em to dry & hot-glued the grosgrain to the top and bottom edges...easy-peasy lemon-squeezy. Now, I wouldn't try to circumnavigate the globe using my lampshade...I did have to make some cuts in some strange places in order to get the maps to fit...and there is a possibility that now North America and Asia are sharing the same continent on my lamp...but it works for me...

So, that's it! Super-easy...big impact...

Thank you so so much for having me today, Carol!!! You are the absolute best...

And don't forget, folks, to stop on over! I'd love to see you...

  

    

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

Today's Guest Chocoholic: Carolyn from homework!

I’m so happy to be here at The Answer is Chocolate while the Head Chocolatier and her family are vacationing.

Wine charms are a great way to cut down on the amount of glasses you use when hosting a gathering. At one time or another, everyone sets down their glass, forgets about it and gets a new glass. The glasses pile up which means more dishes for the hostess. You can buy wine charms almost anywhere or you can make your


Wine or water glass charms can be personalized with your guest’s name or you can use symbols or pictures on the charms. The trick is for your guests to remember which charm is theirs

For my wine charms, I decided to go with a deck of cards. I found clipart and printed out the face cards and aces. (There wasn’t a joker in the clip art – darn!) You can find the deck of cards clipart here. Be creative, you can use celebrity images, sports teams or fun names.

I used a small circle punch and added another gold circle for decoration. I twisted the wire around a pencil and then twisted the charm around the wine glass stem.

Then, let your guests decide if they’re the Queen of Hearts, King of Clubs or Ace of Diamonds. 

Thanks so much for having me over Carol. It’s been fun hanging out at The Answer is Chocolate today. 


Carol says: Thanks so much Carolyn! This would be fun for so many parties whether for "adult" beverages or not. I hope you'll go visit Carolyn who has some of the most simply elegant ideas on the blogosphere! 

BFF Link Party# 16

Hi all and welcome to Blog Feature Friday where you can link up anything that's made by you! Papercrafts, mixed media, made over, upcycled, thriftcycled, freecycled, you get the picture. Party on!

Today's Guest Chocoholic: Charm Bracelet Diva!

I'm absolutely thrilled to be guest-posting here today for my good friend Carol at

The Answer Is Chocolate!

Hi!  I'm Kathleen from Charm Bracelet Diva.  

Charm Bracelet Diva is where I share my love of all things vintage, shabby, chipped, Goodwill~ed (yes, that's a word in my world!) and repurposed.  In fact, my husband believes that Goodwill is practically my second home!  My blog started out as a handmade jewelry blog, but it has since grown to include DIY crafts and home decor as well.

Here are a few of my projects:

Ballard Designs-inspired Gilded Chalkboard

Pottery Barn-inspired Book Bundles

Vintage Watch and Charm Necklace

Pottery Barn-inspired Candles

Monogrammed Flour Sack Pillow

Vintage Charm Bracelet

So today I'd like to share with you my first experience with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP).  The blog world has been abuzz with reviews of her paint for a while now, so why not get on the bandwagon too?

First off, let me say that I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to painting furniture.  But why should that stop me?  I've been itching to try ASCP for quite a while now but was hesitant to fork over the $$$$$cash.  I finally gave in and ordered it, using some hard-earned jewelry sale money.I purchased Paris Grey.

From the get-go I had an old chair in mind to experiment with.  It has sentimental value for me ~ it was my Mom and Dad's, and it graced their bedroom for many, many years before I inherited it.  It's at least 60-plus years old.

O.K., so it's definitely seen better days.

The cool thing is that it folds flat.  I thought that was pretty neat.

Sorry for the dark photo but it's all I've got.

I also had a seat cover in mind.

I picked this up at a local flea market after many months of searching.  It wasn't pristine by any means but hey, it's a grainsack for pete's sake.  It's what they call c-h-a-r-m-i-n-g.

First I pulled out all the staples underneath the seat, removing the upholstery, such as it were.  I then used the very old floral fabric as a pattern for my grainsack.  Once this was done I moved on to the painting.

After discovering some cracks on the chair back, I made sure I glued them down with wood glue and clamped them overnight.

Here are the cracks after I glued and sanded.  Hopefully you're saying, "Cracks, what cracks?"

I need to confess here that I'm a pretty impatient DIYer, so I just jumped right in with the painting.  Luckily with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint you don't have to prime or sand before you paint!  I also only did one coat because some certain guest blog post had to be done by a certain date and I had a full weekend coming up that did not involve painting OR blogging! 

Sadly, I don't think the one coat did a good job covering the original finish, despite claims that this paint will cover almost anything in one coat.  I also don't think it looks very grey, more like white.

Clearly I sanded (yes it sands nicely, and look out cause there's a LOT of dust!) but I didn't use any wax.  SO.....who knows what two coats and some wax would have done for the overall appearance?  I think I really have to get used to looking at it.  I mean, my whole life I've been used to seeing this.

And now I have this.

Thoughts?

I'm sure there are a lot more ASCP experiments in my future.......I mean who knows?  I also have my parents' entire bedroom suite including a bedside table, 3 (!) dressers, a headboard and a huge, ornate, killer mirror. 

 {I'm doin' the happy dance!}    

Okay, so there you have it.  Thanks for playing, and please make sure you stop by Charm Bracelet Diva real soon and say hello!  I'd love for you to follow me, and maybe join in on one of my Tuesday Club G.W. parties.  
You can learn about them here.  (They're really all about those  trash treasures you find at Goodwill and thrift stores and yard sales and antique stores...get the idea yet?)

And finally, thanks go out to my friend Carol, for the chance to post on her awesome blog!

xoxo