BFF Open House Link Party #36 Wrap Up and Features!

Sorry for the delay in getting features posted! Some days I can multi-task, other days not so much!
Another fun party with wonderful ideas. I’m way behind on Valentine’s Day décor so if you’re behind like me,  here are some inspiring ideas to get you started.

Tonia over at The Gunny Sack has the cutest and I think the most original idea I’ve seen for giving out Valentines:

Go check out her tutorial ! I just love this idea!

If you sew or can convince someone you know who sews to make these for you, Bev from Flamingo Toes has an absolutely GORGEOUS pillowcase project for you:

Yes I’m punny, and yes I LOVE these!

Need a simple yet beautiful way to wrap Valentine’s gifts? With stuff you likely have on hand? Yes and Yes? See Randee over at her blog Randee’s Organized Chaos has just the thing for you. Wax. Paper!

And finally, while not specifically Valentine’s this amazing journal from Terry over at Cherished Treasures showcases  creating a special place to  keep track of all those movies you attend with your sweetie throughout the year:

Thanks as always to everyone who linked up and hope to see you all again this Friday!

Don’t forget, there’s a great giveaway from Pick Your Plum that’s up all week. Winner will be announced on Friday!

Happy Monday! Giveaway From Pick Your Plum!

I’m so excited to share this with you all today. Have you heard of Pick Your Plum? If you haven’t, you need to check them out! Pick Your Plum offers daily specials on various crafting supplies and items at a ridiculously discounted price.

I have been thrilled with the things I’ve ordered from them and they’ve arrived even faster than I expected. The thing is, when they’re gone, they’re GONE and things go fast so I would suggest signing up for their email newsletter and following them on Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss out.

Some of their recent offerings have included:

Giant Paper Clips With  Flat Pads for Embellishing

Adorable Assortment of Cupcake Liners

Still Bummed I Was Too Late for These!!

The wonderful folks at Pick Your Plum have generously offered me the chance to do a giveaway! One of you lucky people will get a "Plum Box" ( $25 worth of goodies!!) from Pick Your Plum! You get one entry for each of the following ( YOU MUST LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH!) and the giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. Winner will be announced on Friday January 20.

• Be or become a follower of The Answer Is Chocolate
• Like Pick Your Plum on Facebook
• Follow Pick Your Plum on Twitter
• Blog / Tweet / Share giveaway 

Easy peasy! Good luck!

My First Official Silhouette Cameo Project

OK technically my second, but I didn’t think using it to decorate CoCo counted.

I love handmade paper. A little too much perhaps. I love it like some people love fabric and can’t resist the temptation of so many gorgeous patterns. I walk into places like Paper Source and just stand there drooling. They cut a wide path around me!

The thing is….I love to collect it and then freeze at the idea of cutting it up. Silly huh? But it’s sooooo pretty. I can't cut it up!!! I’m facing my fears and determined to use it this year!

Supplies:

• Sheet of handmade paper . I fell in love with this grey / yellow / silver combo.
• Last of the Goodwill $.99 frames from Pottery Barn from last year’s score. Like these so much I haven't even painted them. 
• Vinyl.

I’ve had fun downloading images from the Silhouette online store for CoCo. A girl needs choices right? I picked a fun tree and a bird image. I originally cut both in white but decided I wanted a contrast so cut the bird from grey vinyl. This machine is so easy to use it makes me feel like a lazy guilty crafter!

Cut  the handmade paper to size, framed it, and applied the vinyl on top of the glass.

And since I dare not waste any of this gorgeous paper, I made a layered paper flower from the scraps:

Easy peasy and will be a nice addition to my powder room.

Sharing At: 

BFF Open House Link Party #36 and BFF Creatively Living!

Happy almost Friday all. It’s been a quiet week here at TAIC…had to have a little medical thing done so laying a little low and slow. Getting ready for college boy to head back to school and enjoying the last few days with our great young man.

This week I’d like to introduce you to another talented and creative person, Katie from her blog Creatively Living. Katie describes her blog as: Taking everything from thrift store finds, to dumpster dives and making them into a beautiful home.

Not only does she manage to do that for her own busy home ( she’s a military spouse and mom to 5 kids!) but shares her talents with others, like doing a room makeover for her sister. This week’s feature will be a little different since I’m going to share several projects from Katie’s room makeover. Let’s take a look: 

When will you be over to my place Katie?

Another corner of this room showcases this fabulous chair re-do:

Here’s a closeup of the chair:

Isn’t it gorgeous?!  Katie also made over the frames she used to create the gallery wall from those her sister already had, unifying them with color and adding mats.

I love the silhouette Katie did and framed, and that little catch all next to it? It’s a condiment holder! You can also see in the mirror the chadelier Katie made from two wall sconces she found at Goodwill.
You really need to pop over to Katie’s to see the whole room and SO much more!

Now, what have you been up to this week? If you made it, link it and no advertising or stores please. Otherwise…party on!

PS...mark you calendars for Monday January 16. I have a FUN treat coming :) 

Why Yes, I Did Name My Cameo

After entering every single Silhouette giveaway I could, I finally broke down and asked “Santa” for a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas. I know I totally didn’t need it but…..

Fortunately, Santa has a great elf in Mr. C and I screamed with delight when I opened my present.

I finally had a chance this week to take it out of the box  and install the software ( super easy!) and then last night, dove right in and played with it and even CUT SOMETHING! Woo Hoo!

I also couldn’t resist naming her, so the first thing I had to cut was something for my new BFF. Meet “CoCo” …a play on the name of one of the world’s foremost designers (Chanel) and my chocolate infused blog.

I downloaded the damask swirl from the Silhouette online store and cut it and the letters from chocolate brown vinyl.

I am totally overwhelmed by the amount of designs you can cut with this wonderful tool and cannot wait to play and play and play, but the set up really was very straightforward. 

I have TONS to learn but CoCo and I will learn together!

First Card of 2012!

It’s been a slow creative start to the New Year although I have unboxed and installed my new Silhouette Cameo! Now I just need to learn how to use it! I have named her, and yes she is a her. Her name is CoCo.

Time and birthdays wait for no lazy crafter however,  so I have had a couple of birthday cards to make. I thought I took pictures of both but oops.  I did make them using the same papers: Basic Grey’s Little Black Dress collection.

The two patterned papers are the different sides of a double sided paper. The stars are punched from glittered cardstock scraps in my stash ( I am focused on using up my scraps this year) and the swirly thingys are leftovers from my sticker stash.

I have a slight problem with clear $1 stamps. JoAnn’s, Michaels, and my soon to be closed ( waaah) local store Paper Zone, all carry them and let’s just say I’m an equal opportunity $1 stamp collector. This one is from Inkadinkado. I stamped the image on a scrap of paper from the card I forgot to photograph, and accented with glitter glue. The frame is from a pack of K and Co die cuts.

BFF Open House Link Party#35 Wrap Up And Features: Giving Back Edition

Thanks to everyone who linked up to the first BFF Open House Link Party of 2012 and the 35th weekly BFF Open House here at The Answer Is Chocolate!

As always, some fantastic ideas were shared,  but  this week’s features all share a common theme. One thing I love about crafters, artists, and creative people is the willingness to share those talents for good causes. I always love  “crafting for a cause” and will be looking for more opportunities to do so in 2012.

Mary, aka “Mrs. Redo” shared a project that still has me emotional because I know someone who’s been affected by the cause she and her family have crafted for: Domestic Violence.

You can visit her blog to learn more about “Operation Comfort Doll” , dolls made to give women in shelters escaping from Domestic Violence. Each doll comes with this note:

"I am a Comfort Doll. I was made especially for you

by a woman's heart and hands who cares. 

When you need strength or just a smile,

hold me and feel the love I send.

Like me, you are unique, worthy, beautiful,

and deserve all good things in life.

You have the strength within yourself to be extraordinary.

Find the strength and shine!

Comfort Dolls - created with our hands - 

given with our hearts."

Michelle over at Faith Trust and A Little Pixie Dust shared the way she chose to celebrate reaching 500 Followers on her blog. Michelle collected and donated coats for a local  shelter providing temporary housing to families. Michelle did this in honor of her readers! OK trying not to cry here!

Those are some of the coats in the background, and that’s Michelle. How special is this?! As one of her readers,  I feel so humbled by her thoughtfulness and generosity.


I know that in times of sadness, creating something has been healing for me. Karin, over at Art Is Beauty, recently had a dear friend of hers lose a brother to suicide.  Turning this tragedy into something healing, the family started a suicide prevention awareness foundation in his name. Karin created this beautiful piece of art that will be part of an auction to raise money for this foundation:

These things just spoke to me as needing to be shared. Like our favorite Super Heroes, we can use our talents for good! I know these ladies have done just that and I am so honored they shared their generosity at my little link party.

Now where did I put my tights and cape?