Wood Beads and Silver: Man Friendly Jewelry

Man crafting remains my nemesis. Fortunately I have a husband and son who do wear some jewelry. College boy even has a Professor who liked an earlier bracelet I made and hinted how much he’d like one. Done!

These are so easy it’s criminal to even post this as a project.

You need:

• Wood beads ( I used a Darice ValuPack)
• Silver spacer beads (Blue Moon)
• Focal bead ( I used an onyx bead)
• Stretchy cord
• Super glue

Here’s how things work in my house. I made one each of the light and medium wood bracelets, let College Boy choose which color he wanted and which to give away so I would know which color I’d be making for Mr. Chocolate. I make something for College Boy, I hear “I want one” . That’s how we roll.

Here’s the really really hard tutorial:
String in a pattern you like; knot, dab glue DONE.

I just decided to use one color of the wood bead for each bracelet but they come in a mixed pack of light , medium and dark.

BFF Open House Link Party #139

Happy Friday Eve all and welcome to this week's party. Hope everyone's settling into the New Year OK and those of you who've been hit by the Polar Vortex are thawing out. Here are a few features from the past two holiday parties and looking forward to seeing what you've been up to! 

Have a special family piece that you might want to play with  ( like this vintage milk glass cake plate ) but don't want to permanently alter it? Mich in LA has a great idea to dress it up with beads. You could swap out the colors for every occasion. 

Tis the season to be organizing right? Cami from Titi Crafting has a great way to be organized and use up that washi tape you can't stop buying. Oh c'mon, I know I'm not the only one!

New Year. Same passion for chocolate. Check out these Chocolate Pecan Toffee Bars from This Silly Girls Life. YUM!  The problem was, I couldn't decide between them and these: 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites from Organizer By Day. So I featured them both! 

Now for this week's party: 

Anna Griffin and Coco Chanel: Black and White Birthday Card

My first project of the New Year and no surprise, it’s a card. In fact you’ll see a few coming because I have a bunch of January birthdays to celebrate.

First up is a card for a girlfriend who is “crazy for Coco” as in Chanel. Like the style icon ( and yours truly) she is a huge fan of classic black and white (although I added a tiny swatch of pink in here).

While out and about this weekend, I found these gorgeous Anna Griffin papers at a little boutique that surprisingly had a scrapbooking section. On sale even! The paper is reversible with a bolder print on one side and the lighter print on the other.

The card is 5x7 white cardstock, layered with panels of the Anna Griffin papers and a pink patterned scrap from my stash. The black and white polka dot ribbon is American crafts.

I computer generated the quote using mixed fonts, printed on white card stock, trimmed, and matted on black paper. Added a little black and white washi tape and rhinestones. 

This card is also a pop up. I’ve never made a pop up card before and what took me so long I don’t know! I cut a crown from the black and white paper using my Cricut Expression and Wall Décor and More Cartridge and just kept the inside simple:

And voila, a card fit for a queen !

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BFF Open House Link Party # 138: Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all rang in the New Year with family and friends and wish you all good things in the year ahead! Sorry to be a little late with the party.  I did not start the New Year healthy but that means there's only improvement ahead right? 

We'll get back to features next week so straight to the party. I can't wait to see what inspiration and ideas you all have in store for 2014. 

Ringing Out 2013 With Thanks and A Look Back

I'm still not sure how the heck it got to be New Year's Eve 2013 already. Blink and a year goes by it seems. As with all years in our lives there are somethings I will be more than glad to say goodbye to in 2013 but thankfully much more I'll look back on with fond memories.

First a thanks to all who continue to hang around my little corner of the blogosphere. When I started blogging almost four years ago, I had no idea what I was doing ( not sure that still isn't the case) or where it would lead. I've seen some of the blogs that started out when I did come and go; others take off into huge blogs; others remain, like me the tortoise and not the hare: slow(er) and steady. I think I'm just fine with that pace.

I've had some amazing opportunities to work with incredible brands and sponsors. Definitely want to continue that into the New Year. I've shared laughs and some tears with readers and definitely want to continue the laughs in the New Year but life being what it is, there will be some tears and those are easier to bear when shared. I've been honored beyond measure to have some of my work featured at blogs like homework, Someday Crafts, and curated sites like LooksiSquare.

It was fun to take a look back at some of the posts that resonated with my readers in 2013 and sharing some of them here. Again, thank you for being part of the chocolate fueled fun here at The Answer Is Chocolate. I hope you find a reason to continue in 2014! Happy New Year chocoholic friends.

Top Posts of 2013: 

I love playing with coffee filters and in January made this "medium time" coffee filter wreath which resonated with readers:

Still one of my favorite projects ever, this one was popular with readers too: Eggshells Under Glass: 

The most viewed project of 2013 was this silkscreened box and votive ( thank you Plaid and Blueprint Social):

Some jewelry projects were popular too like this copper and silver birds nest necklace and bracelet: 

and another post that gave me an opportunity to work with Plaid, Martha Stewart, and The Blueprint Social:

Halloween crafting is one of my absolute favorites and you also liked these projects: 

Bewitchingly Vintage Witch Hats

and

Glitter Finish Stars and Pumpkin using Martha's new decoupage finishes.

You also liked these painted appetizer plates made as a Hanukkah gift for a friend ( she liked them too!)  and most recently, these little bleached bottlebrush trees were a hit. 

Wishing you all a very Happy and safe New Year's Eve. Looking forward to more fun in 2014!!

BFF Open House Link Party #137

Happy Boxing Day everyone! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. This week's party is featureless and I'll resume features after the New Year. In the mean time if you're not too pooped to party, party on! 

Elegant and Easy: Dollar Tree Candle Hostess Gift and Table Favors

Tall jar ( prayer) candles are a staple in my craft stash. I love altering them and they make easy and affordable gifts. I pick mine up at Dollar Tree and in all my trips there, I’ve looked at but not picked up the lidded jar candles in the same section. Until now.

While I was at DT, I also found this gorgeous tissue paper…natural colored with metallic dots! It comes in silver, gold and red dots. I bought the silver and gold. Why didn’t I buy the red???

For this project you need:

• Small jar candles ( as mentioned Dollar Tree)
• Tissue Paper
• Decoupage Medium ( I used Martha Stewart Matte)
• Ribbon and beads to embellish

Remove labels from candle. I was so happy that these came right off. Cut tissue paper into strips ( 1.5 x 8 ). Coat glass with decoupage medium and apply tissue. Go over top of tissue with more decoupage medium. Let dry. Embellish with ribbon and beads. Done!

I always like to have a table favor on my holiday tables. A little something guests can take home with them to remember the occasion. I made these for each of my Christmas dinner guests and have them at each place setting.

Easy, affordable, and I hope elegant. Tis also the season for parties and hostess gifts. I made the tall candle for a friend hosting a treat exchange.

Instead of paper, I wrapped the candle in a scrap of drop cloth. I bought this huge drop cloth at Home Depot a few years ago to use as a tablecloth and ended up cutting it up and using it for all kinds of things. And anyone wonders why the Home Depot people look at me funny?

I used the Glitter Finish Martha Stewart decoupage medium for this one. The focal is this little Kaiser Craft laser cut wood holly piece I picked up in the scrapbooking section somewhere. I added self adhesive rhinestones and glued on some additional jewels and wrapped the center of the candle with ribbon yarn.

To finish, I tied on a big glittered bell and two small bells using plain twine.

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